In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber General Counsel, Labor and Employment Bianca Saad, CalChamber Associate General Counsel, Labor and Employment Matthew Roberts and CalChamber Senior Employment Law Counsel Erika Barbara discuss mid-year employment law updates — including presidential executive orders, local and industry-specific minimum wages, a new poster requirement, annual workplace violence prevention obligations and recent court decisions.
Since the beginning of the year, employers have seen many employment law changes. To help employers stay on top of their obligations, Saad, Roberts and Barbara describe some important mid-year updates, starting with several federal administration executive orders. They explain how Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, affects federal contractors and companies’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and procedures, as well as how Executive Order 14168, which sets U.S. policy that only two biological sexes and genders exist, impacts gender identity and expression issues in the workplace.
Then, they discuss which California localities had a July 1 minimum wage increase as well as the health care worker minimum wage rates that also increased on July 1 — reminding these employers that they will need to update any minimum wage-related workplace posters.
And all employers need to be aware of a new poster requirement that started on July 1 related to crime victims’ leave.
Plus, since it’s the first anniversary of California’s general industry workplace violence prevention standards, they remind employers about their annual obligations to review their workplace violence prevention plan and train their employees on the law and their plan.
Finally, they explain some recent court decisions affecting employers, including addressing blanket meal break waivers for shifts six hours or shorter and reverse discrimination, which is discrimination against someone who is a majority group member of a protected class.
Want to know about more mid-year updates? CalChamber’s free Your 2025 Midyear Employment Law Update white paper is now available to download. CalChamber members can download it here.
