This article was originally published in April 2017. The information has been reviewed and is up-to-date as of April 2025.
A newly-elected official is going to want to fill top posts in their organization with persons committed to the official’s vision for the future. In the same way, a top official after a period of
Since the 2018 United States Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME prohibited public sector labor unions from charging agency fees to non-members, public sector labor unions have sought methods to incentivize union membership. For example, the state legislature recently amended the Meyers Milias Brown Act permitting labor unions who represent public safety officers to
This year’s presidential election will take place in only about a month and a half, and in the final weeks, one can expect an increase in political discussion and debate. This discussion and debate could certainly continue after the election as well. This activity could make its way into the government workplace, and public agencies
At Columbia, Yale, University of Southern California, University of Texas, University of California Los Angeles, and elsewhere one has seen tent city campus landscapes, and students gathered for delivery of impassioned chants before cameras, sitting quietly with protest signs against walkways, or alternating turns to speak publicly to gathered crowds. Many times, however, news cameras
For practicing Muslims, Ramadan began on March 10, 2024, and concludes on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Ramadan is a month in the Islamic calendar devoted to fasting and prayer. Although not all Muslim students participate in fasting during this month, many schools throughout California do serve students who are abstaining from food and drink from
On March 15, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Lindke v. Freed an important case concerning state action, the First Amendment, government officials, and social media. The decision provides clarity on how First Amendment free speech standards apply to government officials in curating public comments on their social media pages.
In
This article was originally published in July 2016. The information has been reviewed and is up-to-date as of February 2024.
Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are typically cited as the major religions of the world, although there are many others that have tens of millions of adherents or more. The United States has no
In a much-publicized congressional hearing on December 5, 2023, the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania faced pointed questions by the House Education and Workforce Committee regarding antisemitism on college campuses. Several exchanges—and public debate thereafter—focused on whether certain violent or politically-charged speech would violate the universities’ Code of Conduct, particularly the
With the approaching election year, we can anticipate a high level of political activity from the public to support their views of what should be the country’s future. No doubt, at times this political activity will encroach on the workplace, and for public agency employers, this can create unique problems. State statutes and agency rules
