Fall has arrived, and Sacramento once again has supplied California employers with something scarier than Halloween ghouls: another round of workplace legislation. This year’s harvest includes restrictions on artificial intelligence, expanded leave rights, and steeper penalties. There is even a temporary reprieve from last year’s “stay-or-pay” restrictions. (Apparently, some regulations need a little regulating themselves.)
Here is what employers should know. Unless otherwise noted, the
The California Legislature recently passed Assembly Bill 1883 (“AB 1883”), which would prohibit employers from using artificial intelligence (“AI”) workplace surveillance tools for two specific purposes: recognizing employees’ emotional states or collecting employees’ neural data.
Earlier versions of AB 1883 were considerably broader. Among other things, prior versions would have restricted the use of surveillance tools to infer protected activity or protected characteristics, regulated facial-recognition
You might think that California employers who seek nothing more than enforcement of a perfectly reasonable arbitration agreement might finally be able to stop looking over their shoulders, but that is simply not going to happen anytime soon. It seems that with each new legislative session, Sacramento comes up with yet another scheme to limit employers’ right to arbitrate employee disputes.
As experienced practitioners may
A new California law imposes significant new registration and reporting requirements on a broad range of asset management firms. Although the statute is styled as a “venture capital” law, its expansive definitions and California nexus provisions mean that many firms that do not traditionally view themselves as venture capital companies may nevertheless be subject to its requirements. Meet the new “Fair Investment Practices by Venture
On October 12, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed S.B. 294, the “Workplace Know Your Rights Act” (the “Act”). In response to recent immigration enforcement actions, the Act aims to educate workers on their civil rights in the workplace.
The Act sets forth two requirements.
First, it requires California employers to provide a stand-alone written notice to new hires and current employees advising them of
The California Civil Rights Council, which promulgates regulations that implement California’s civil rights laws, has published a new set of regulations concerning artificial intelligence (“AI”) in the workplace. These new rules (available here) are set to go into effect on October 1, 2025 and amend the existing regulatory framework of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”). This latest round of regulations is continuing a trend
California continues to police artificial intelligence (“AI”) in the workplace. Following proposed rulemaking on the use of AI for significant employment decisions, as we reported here, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan introduced Assembly Bill 1221 (“AB 1221”) this legislative session. The bill aims to regulate workplace surveillance tools, including AI, and use of employee data derived therefrom. Applicable to employers of all sizes, AB 1221 could
As we reported here, California’s Senate Bill (S.B.) 399, took effect on January 1, 2025. This law prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings about the company’s opinions on political or religious matters, including discussions about unionization. California joins almost a dozen other states, including Illinois, New York, and Oregon, in enacting union-backed statutes that prohibit so-called “captive audience” meetings.
The Teamsters
The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has released updated guidance clarifying how the state’s latest statutory enactments will impact employers’ paid sick leave obligations. Specifically, as we reported here, Assembly Bill (AB) 2499 and Senate Bill (SB) 1105 expand the permissible reasons for which employees can use paid sick leave.
The updated FAQs now explain that, in addition to existing uses of paid