Senate Bill 627, also known as the No Secret Police Act (“Act”) was signed by Governor Newsom on September 20, 2025. The Act takes effect on January 1, 2026; an urgency clause in a prior version of the legislation that would have made it effective immediately was not included in the final version.
Keeping employees safe is a priority for all California public agencies. Unfortunately, workplace violence is real. Data from the California Department of Industrial Relations reports that in 2021, 57 working people died from acts of workplace violence in California. The Department of Justice reports that in the United States, an average of 1.3 million
On January 1, 2024, California Government Code section 7299.7 went into effect, requiring “local agencies” to provide “emergency related information” in languages other than English. To date, there is little guidance as to what the law legally requires, most likely because the actual implementation date is January 1, 2025. Given that we are now over
With the enactment of Senate Bill (“SB”) 553, the legislature amended Labor Code section 6401.7 and added Labor Code section 6401.9, requiring employers to adopt and implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”) and corresponding training for their employees by July 1, 2024.
As the effective date for these statutory requirements rapidly approaches, LCW has
Non-employees may be able to sue employers for COVID-19 infections that can be traced to the employer’s workplace. A recent California Court of Appeal decision may pave the way for third parties to collect compensation from employers due to COVID-19 infections.
A California Court of Appeal recently allowed a cause of action brought by an
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
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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Our nation continues to react to the death of George Floyd, and this reaction includes the thousands who have participated in mass protests across the country. Many people feel compelled to speak openly and passionately about an issue of national importance. Public employees likely wish to express their views as well, and this includes not
This Memorial Day weekend marks the 24th anniversary of the disappearance of Kristin Smart, a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who disappeared in the early morning hours of May 25, 1996 while walking to her dormitory following a party. Kristin Smart was reported missing to the
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.