California Chamber Of Commerce

In March, the state is finally set to approve rules to protect workers from excessive heat indoors. Officials busted a 2019 deadline — a delay that demonstrates California’s byzantine rulemaking process.

Under two new laws, employers in California can’t ask workers about their use of cannabis outside the workplace and can’t use hair or urine tests. Employees in construction are excluded, as are applicants for federal jobs with background checks.

Under a new law, employees in California are guaranteed five paid sick days a year, two days more than previously. Worker advocacy groups say the benefit is needed, but business groups warn of additional costs.

For more than a quarter-century, legislative bills on the California Chamber of Commerce's "job killer" list have mostly died, but it was a bit different this year.

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.

The California Chamber of Commerce has targeted 17 bills on its annual "job killer" list. The eight survivors all relate to workplace issues.

Workers from a variety of industries urged Cal/OSHA's board to quickly pass new rules for hot, indoor workplaces.

A bevy of new legislation takes aim at hidden fees across several industries. A growing body of research mostly shows that people spend more when fees are revealed later.

By happenstance, two long-serving veterans of Capitol politics died within hours of one another. Since their deaths, Allan Zaremberg and Rex Hime have been widely praised, and the plaudits are richly deserved.

Independent expenditure committees funded by special interest groups are spending millions of dollars to make their picks in the California primary. In some races, they are clearly supporting or opposing candidates. In others, the strategy is more complicated.