AB 89, also known as the Peace Officers Education and Age Conditions for Employment, or “PEACE” Act, went into effect on January 1, 2022.

The most straightforward piece of that legislation was Government Code section 1031.4, which raises the minimum age for most peace officer employment from 18 to 21.  This is a current requirement

On November 19, 2020, pursuant to emergency rulemaking authority, the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (“OSHSB”) adopted temporary regulations regarding measures that employers must undertake in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace (“emergency regulations”).

The emergency regulations, which will likely take effect on November 30, 2020, apply to public

Since Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 4, 2020, he has issued more than 50 executive orders. Some of those orders directly impact existing statutory law.

In a recent challenge to Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-67-20 on elections, Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah H.

 As California battles close to 600 wildfires burning more than one million acres across the state, many areas are experiencing unhealthy and even very unhealthy air quality. During these conditions, employers must comply with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CalOSHA) worker safety requirements to protect outdoor workers from wildfire smoke effects.

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This COVID Briefing was authored by J. Scott Tiedemann and Paul D. Knothe


A fever, which is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as 100.4°F/38°C or higher, is a symptom and key indicator of COVID-19.  Many employers, including law enforcement agencies, are already taking or are considering taking employees’ temperatures

Last week, we published several special bulletins covering COVID-19.  Below are short summaries and links to the updates published since our last COVID-19 round up.

We will continue providing these special bulletins and updates as needed.  Please visit https://www.lcwlegal.com/responding-to-COVID-19 for the most up-to-date bulletins.

Governor Newsom Amends Brown Act Changes in Subsequent Executive Order

This post was authored by Lisa S. Charbonneau.

Under Article XI, Sections 4 and 5 of the California Constitution, charter cities and counties have exclusive authority to regulate and determine their own municipal affairs, free from intrusion by the state.  These provisions of the Constitution are collectively referred to as the municipal affairs clause

In the wake of recent attention to sexual harassment in the workplace, employers and members of the public are asking: what about all of those sexual harassment trainings we required?  Are they helping?  How do we know?  And, if they’re not achieving our goals (public policy and agency-specific), what can we do better?

Just What

This post appeared in November 2017.  It was reviewed in August 2022 to provide the most up-to-date legal information.

This principle used to be clear – paid administrative leave was outside the scope of adverse employment action.  This was based on court holdings that an employee suffers no substantial or material change in terms and