California Divide

States across the United States are banning the practice of billing kids for the cost of their foster care. Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar effort in California, citing costs to the state.

Newsom announced on Saturday he vetoed two labor measures, one that would have given strikers unemployment benefits and another that would have made domestic work safer.

More than half a million fast food workers, mostly minorities and women, will earn higher minimum wage because Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a fast food bill Thursday. But some say that’s not a living wage.

A union-backed bill that would make strikers eligible for California's unemployment benefits awaits the governor’s signature. Businesses say it’ll cost too much.

Pablo Silva, a Venezuelan asylum-seeker, was among the first migrants flown from Texas to Sacramento last September. His struggles foreshadow what other migrants may face as they're also shipped to California with little or no preparation.

Hate crimes were up 20% in California in 2022, with those against transgender, Muslim and Black people increasing especially sharply. But the state is also spending more than any other to combat such crimes, including a hotline, state commission and a new round of grants to community organizations.

More workers are filing claims with the state alleging employers are retaliating against them for engaging in legally protected activities, such as seeking overtime pay or reporting wage theft or discrimination. The state’s waitlist for investigations and hearings is growing, and few workers have won their claims.

Many farmworkers in Coachella Valley lack legal status as citizens and don't qualify for most federal and state disaster aid. Even a new $95 million storm assistance program for immigrants that Governor Gavin Newsom recently touted is out of reach because it pertains to the winter and spring storms and floods.

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and the United Farm Workers union say a recent death in a tomatillo field was due to heat, but a coroner's report doesn't back that up.

Gov. Gavin Newsom promised $95 million would help undocumented workers rebuild after winter storms and floods. Months later, $18 million is being doled out and there are translation issues with the state’s website.