CALIFORNIA
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
California Will Revive Its Role as the Leader of the “Trump Resistance” California will lead the blue states resisting changes by the incoming Trump administration, in line with Gov. Newsom’s November 6 proclamation. Most of the substantive labor protections in California are already stronger than federal law, but California will attempt to push the legal envelope into areas of federal control – such as protecting immigrant workers and finding ways to make it easier for employees to unionize. California Will Enact the Nation’s Strongest AI Employment Regulation While a bill aimed specifically at the use of AI in employment (AB 2930) did not make the cut this year, it will certainly be back in 2025. Moreover, two different state agencies (the California Civil Rights Department and the California Privacy Protection Agency) are moving forward with ground-breaking initiatives (like these) regarding the use of AI in employment. Either by legislation or regulation, California will join and likely surpass other jurisdictions that have recently enacted their own requirements in the absence of comprehensive federal regulation. California Will Further Explore Industry-Specific Regulation Labor advocates succeeded in California this year with the creation of a Fast Food Council, a fast-food specific minimum wage, and a healthcare minimum wage. In a tough environment for union organizing (which may be made even tougher under a second Trump administration), labor advocates will look to explore other creative ways to legislate specific working standards for other industries. LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025
2024 IN REVIEW
Trump Shocks Businesses with Labor Department Leader Nomination Of all the surprising things that President-elect Trump has done since Election Day, employers might include the selection of Lori Chavez-DeRemer as his Secretary of Labor nominee at the top of the list. After all, this one- term House member made news this past year when she was one of only three Republicans to back the union-friendly PRO Act. We still believe she’ll largely carry out most of the employer-friendly initiatives you’d expect from a Trump appointment, though. Read all about what employers can expect here. Republican Trifecta Won’t Lead to As Many Congressional Gains As You’d Think Republicans captured back the White House and the Senate and retained a House majority – but don’t expect to see a cavalcade of conservative wish list items passed in Congress over the next two years. The Rs hold an insanely narrow majority in the House, meaning that ambitious plans can easily get derailed by upstart conservatives or moderate centrists. And John Thune’s (R-SD) tenure as Senate Majority Leader will be similar to Mitch McConnell’s – especially with several moderate Senators (namely Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)) remaining in the chamber, joined by John Curtis (R-UT) – perhaps frustrating those who wish to plow forward with drastic policies and norm-busting sentiments. But a Few Interesting Weapons at Their Disposal That’s not to say we’ll see a toothless Congress in the next term. The party will band together to pass a fair number of business-friendly initiatives. At their disposal? The Budget Reconciliation process, an expedited way to pass legislation dealing with spending, and the Congressional Review Act, a tactic to snuff out some of the more hard-to-swallow Biden-era regulations. SCOTUS Power Solidified For Years to Come Another development to watch unfold in 2025 (or 2026) – the expected retirement of at least one conservative Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. We expect to see Clarence Thomas (age 76) or maybe even Samuel Alito (age 74) decide to hang up his robe while the Senate remains in Republican control. If President Trump follows his first-term playbook and selects a replacement in their 50s, we could see a conservative SCOTUS for at least the next decade.
PAGA Reformed by Lawmakers and Limited by Courts: Employers Just Kept Winning A groundbreaking law enacted on July 1 (and effective the same day) overhauled California’s Private Attorneys General Act, offering much- needed relief to employers. A victory lap followed, as state courts issued decisions that limit the powers of additional non-party plaintiffs in PAGA actions, clarify public entities’ exemption from PAGA penalties, and bar PAGA representative claims after an employer prevails in arbitration. More employers were served a win in September, thanks to an extension of a PAGA exemption for certain construction employers. But California Employers Raced to Keep Up with New Workplace Laws Many new workplace laws took effect this year, requiring covered employers to develop a workplace violence prevention program, comply with a new heat illness standard for indoor work areas, and expand paid sick leave policies. In addition, Governor Newsom signed off on a wide range of new workplace laws this year that will take effect January 1, such as a ban on “captive audience” meetings, an expansion of victim-of-violence leave, rules against driver’s license discrimination, and new protections for freelance workers. Notably, California voters just rejected a ballot measure wage hike – meaning that the state’s non-industry-specific hourly minimum wage will In February, a California appeals court gave state privacy officials the green light to begin enforcing new regulations governing the state’s cornerstone data privacy law (and the state’s Supreme Court denied an appeal from the coalition of business groups). The California Privacy Protection Agency also issued its first Enforcement Advisories this year, including one in April on data minimization requirements and another one in September on the importance of avoiding “dark patterns” on websites. The CPPA has big plans for 2025, as you’ll see in our predictions. Lofty Efforts to Regulate Artificial Intelligence Fell Short While California lawmakers considered more than 30 AI-related bills this year, a groundbreaking AI discrimination bill failed to pass, Governor Newsom vetoed a controversial AI safety bill, and only a few AI bills were actually signed into law (including two new AI “digital replica” laws that could play a crucial role in resolving a drawn-out labor dispute between video game actors and developers). But the state is just getting started – so check out our predictions. rise to “only” $16.50 rather than $18 in 2025. Data Privacy Took the Spotlight
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Benjamin M. Ebbink
Rick Grimaldi
Sacramento/Washington, D.C. Partner and Co-Chair, Government Relations Practice Group bebbink@fisherphillips.com
Philadelphia/Washington, D.C./New Jersey/Cleveland Partner and Co-Chair, Government Relations Practice Group rgrimaldi@fisherphillips.com
Braden Lawes
Benjamin M. Ebbink
Washington, D.C. Senior Government Affairs Analyst blawes@fisherphillips.com
Sacramento/Washington, D.C. Partner bebbink@fisherphillips.com
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