Economy

As unemployment drops, business leaders and educators pinpoint what’s gone wrong for workers and where to look for opportunity.

Santa Barbara County adopts new rules aimed at preventing COVID-19 outbreaks among H-2A farmworkers. The move comes amid reports of outbreaks, including a monthlong investigation by CalMatters and The Salinas Californian that uncovered outbreaks that sickened more than 350.

A bill on the governor's desk would require employers to notify workers and county public health officials about coronavirus outbreaks. A joint investigation by CalMatters and The Salinas Californian uncovered reports of guest worker outbreaks where neither workers nor counties were notified.

Lawmakers passed two safety net measures aimed at helping undocumented residents, many who work in essential jobs, access groceries and tax credits. Will Gov. Gavin Newsom sign the bills?

Given overwhelming demand for pandemic relief, undocumented Californians hope the governor will authorize a second round of emergency grocery money. But it’s still not clear yet where funding will come from.

Why did a lawmaker need to bring her newborn to the COVID-exposed state Capitol to do her job? To help pass a new family leave law.

State lawmakers aimed for a $600-a-week unemployment extension and billions in tax vouchers. Federal inaction, economic anxiety and the pandemic derailed those plans.

In a year when the coronavirus pandemic upended every aspect of normal life, the impact in the California Capitol was also dramatic. Lawmakers took an unprecedented two-month pause in the spring, when Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide order for people to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus. They returned to the […]

Starting Aug. 31, hair salons and barber shops will be allowed to reopen statewide with precautions. Other industries, including nail salons and breweries, didn’t get as lucky under a new tiered state monitoring system.

Cuts in service could be just the beginning, local agencies warn, as they face unprecedented tax and fare shortfalls that threaten bus and rail lines next year, too.