Workforce Bulletin

What employers should know about key developments this week:

• Two Federal Agencies Target DEI: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is urging its employees to file whistleblower complaints and report diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities that violate the administration’s ban. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a 2025-2029 National Enforcement Plan that prioritizes enforcement against DEI-related discrimination.
• DOL Opinion Letters: The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division published four opinion letters addressing overtime exemptions, bonuses, meal breaks, and compensable work. While these letters do not signal dramatic shifts in the DOL’s position, they provide greater clarity, consistency, and transparency.
• PAGA Standing: A California appeals court held that an employee who loses in individual arbitration may also lose standing to bring a representative claim under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday®: This week, we’re examining California Governor Gavin Newsom’s new deal that was brokered to amend the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 (PAGA).  

Last week, Governor Newsom announced that California’s business and labor groups had come to an agreement to reform PAGA. Two legislative bills encompassing the agreed-upon PAGA reforms (AB 2288 and SB 92) were signed into law by Governor Newsom on July 1, 2024. Epstein Becker Green attorney Kevin Sullivan tells us more about the PAGA reforms, their potential impact on California employers, and who the likely winners and losers are.

As featured in #WorkforceWednesday: This week, we present a California labor and employment update featuring the upcoming deadline for non-compete notice rules, workplace violence regulations by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), and the recent Estrada decision's implications for the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).