Black Bart Award Nominee: One Party Dominance
If you’re looking for the person, group or organization that most shaped California in 2018, consider this: Jerry Brown purposely goes where the president won’t and invites leaders from around the world to San Francisco for a landmark summit on climate change. Nancy Pelosi leads her party to a smashing election day victory and stands […]
California, France and a Gas Tax Hike
In California, voters recently rejected an effort to reduce the 12-cent a gallon gas tax increase backed by the legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown. In France, rioting and protests accompanied a proposed 25-cent per gallon gas tax increase. Why the different reactions? Trying to discern an answer is important because some argue that the situation […]
2019 Brings Bans on Certain Settlement Agreement Provisions
AB 3109 (Stone) takes effect on January 1, 2019 to make unenforceable any provision in a contract or settlement agreement that prevents a person from testifying in a judicial, administrative or legislative proceeding in response to a court order, subpoena or official request about alleged criminal conduct or sexual harassment. In addition, SB 820 (Leyva) […]
Frivolous PAGA Lawsuits Don’t Help Workers or Employees
Fourteen years ago, California set up a new method for enforcing its complex wage and hour laws. The legislation, called the Private Attorneys General Act, or PAGA, allows private attorneys to sue employers on behalf of a class of company employees. The ostensible motivation behind the law was to protect workers. But in reality, PAGA […]