When A Drug Test Result Isn’t About Today
You used marijuana on your own time, off the clock, weeks before a drug test flagged it. Now your job is on the line, and the timing does not sit right with you. This shows up often enough that California…
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The IRS Just Changed The Number Your Mileage Reimbursement Depends On
Many California employers assume mileage reimbursement is a nice-to-have, something to adjust once a year if at all, as long as the number is in the right neighborhood. That assumption is comfortable. It is also wrong. The IRS just raised…
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A Safety Plan Is Not a One-Time Project
Many employers believe that once the Workplace Violence Prevention Plan is written, trained on once, and filed away, the compliance obligation is finished. It is not, and treating it that way is exactly how a good-faith effort turns into a…
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One Missing Form Can Unravel a Background Check Program
Many employers believe that once they hand a job applicant the federal background-check disclosure form, the hiring process is fully covered. It is not, and the gap is a paperwork gap, not a substance one. California layers its own background-check…
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An Off-Clock Opinion Isn’t Always Fair Game
You posted an opinion about a story that was dividing the country, and it never crossed your mind that your job was the thing on the line. Then Monday came, and your manager wanted to talk before you had even…
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Is Your Arbitration Agreement Ready for 2027?
Many small business owners believe that once an employee signs an arbitration agreement, every dispute with that employee is locked into arbitration for good. That assumption is about to get tested. On June 30, 2026, the Governor signed Assembly Bill…
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Outcomes Still Count in California, Whatever Federal Enforcement Decides
You heard that federal civil rights enforcement is shifting away from looking at outcomes, and toward requiring proof of intent instead. You wondered if that means a policy that happens to hurt one group more than another is now safe,…
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The Federal Contractor Test Just Loosened. California’s Did Not.
“My new gig app said I was an independent contractor. I found out later I never actually qualified as one, not in California.” That’s a version of something I hear often enough that it deserves its own explanation, separate from…
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Separation Agreement Gag Clauses: Federal Retreat, California Unchanged
Many California employers assume that if federal labor enforcement backs away from scrutinizing confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in separation agreements, the pressure on those clauses eases across the board. It does not, and treating it as though it does is…
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Getting Your Name and Pronouns Right Is Not Optional
Someone at work keeps using the wrong name or the wrong pronouns for you, even after you’ve corrected them more than once. Maybe it gets waved off as an honest mistake. Maybe you’ve started to wonder if it’s worth mentioning…