Many people with disabilities need special accommodations to use websites.

Although the government proposed a web accessibility rule years ago, it never became final. Meanwhile, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), has published Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and some courts have adopted versions of these standards.

In 2024, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice made WCAG Version 2.1, Level AA the official web and mobile app accessibility standard for state and local governments.  This rule does not yet apply to private businesses, but the federal government could adopt a similar rule for them.  Some courts already require it.

Governments with 50,000 or more people must comply by April 26, 2026. Cities, municipalities with fewer than 50,000 people, and special district governments have until April 26, 2027.

A Fact Sheet on ada.gov summarizes the final rule’s main points. Key highlights include:

• Federal, state and local governments must meet this standard in their mobile apps and websites;
• The rules apply even if an outside vendor creates and/or maintains the app or website; and
• Some content is not covered, such as archived materials from before the final rule, older electronic documents, third-party content like posts from the public, individual password-protected documents (like a water bill), and preexisting social media posts.

Take-Away:

Companies with websites or apps should work with knowledgeable IT staff or consultants to ensure their sites meet accessibility standards. WCAG Version 2.1, Level AA is the recommended standard.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• Ahead of the Curve: Workplace Policy Handbook and Forms for 2026, (April 17, 2026)
• Don't Fix What Ain't Broken: Walmart Tagged For Cancelling Accommodations And Terminating Disabled Worker, March 13, 2026)      
• Who Lurks About Your Website? Lawyers are Trolling for Disability Access Claims (Sept. 3, 2021)

Helena KobrinApril 23, 2026

Retaliation claims remain a major workplace risk for California employers. Retaliation under state law means taking negative action against an employee for engaging in protected activity, i.e., adverse action that could discourage a reasonable person from speaking up or participating in a workplace process.

‍Recognize Protected Activity

‍Protected activity goes beyond formal complaints. Examples include:

• reporting discrimination or harassment;
• complaining about unpaid wages or missed breaks;
• requesting medical leave or other protected leave;
• requesting disability, pregnancy, or religious accommodation;
• raising safety concerns or suspected violations;
• participating in an internal investigation; or
• filing a workers’ compensation claim.

Recognize Actions That Create RiskRetaliation claims often involve negative actions after protected activity, such as:

• termination or layoff;
• demotion or pay cut;
• reduced hours or schedule changes;
• harsher-than-usual discipline;
• unfavorable transfer;
• removal of duties;
• denial of training or promotion; or
• increased scrutiny or micromanagement

Document Issues in Real Time

‍Supervisors must document attendance, conduct, or performance issues promptly. Timely records show decisions are based on business reasons, not protected activity.

‍Review Discipline Carefully

‍Discipline soon after protected activity may appear retaliatory. For example, an employee receives a poor review after complaining about discrimination; or loses shifts after raising wage concerns. Before acting, employers must confirm facts, review documentation, and ensure consistency with past practices.

‍Apply Policies Consistently

‍If similar conduct usually results in coaching or a verbal warning, do not impose harsher discipline on an employee recently engaged in protected activity without clear, documented reasons.

‍Take-Aways:

When supervisors recognize protected activity, apply policies consistently, and document decisions clearly, employers reduce retaliation risk.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• File Flaws - Top Five Personnel File Errors  (April 9, 2026)
• Plot Twist - Book Thrown at Children's Society for Alleged Workplace Retaliation (April 2, 2026)
• Establishment 101: Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2026 (March 26, 2026)

Cindy Bamforth

April 17, 2026

Under California’s "ABC" test,  a worker is an employee unless the company can establish that he or she (a) is free from the company’s control and direction; (b) performs work outside the usual course of the company's business; and (c) operates as an independent business of the same nature as the work performed.  For example, if a finance company hires a plumber to fix an office toilet, (a) the company does not tell the plumber how perform repairs; (b) the company does not do plumbing; and (c) the plumber operates an independent plumbing business.

The California legislature created several somewhat arbitrary exceptions to the ABC test that have been approved by federal and California courts.  See Question 4 of Independent contractor versus employee FAQs.

A written agreement is essential to meet any exception.  Most exceptions still require companies to establish that all prongs of a separate multi-factor test are met, including primarily the extent of the company's right to control the manner and means of work performance, and actual control. The company must also satisfy other state and federal criteria, including the IRS factors and the federal Department of Labor's Rule, currently under a revision process, with principal factors being:

• the economic reality of the relationship, i.e., is the worker dependent on the company or running his/her own business?;
• what control does the company have over the worker?; and
• what opportunity does the worker have to make a profit?

California misclassification consequences can include liability for unpaid wages for up to four years including possible overtime and missed breaks; itemized wage statement violations up to $4,000 per worker; waiting time penalties; liability under California's Private Attorneys General Act between $5,000 to $25,000 per violation; and attorneys' fees and court costs.

‍Indications of misclassification include:

• Company control over the worker’s performance, including schedule and how the work is done;
• No written independent contractor agreements;
• Independent contractor agreements that go on indefinitely or for a long term;
• Paying someone on 1099 basis to avoid payroll taxes or upon the worker’s request;
• Requiring contractors to work on an exclusive or full-time basis;
• Having contractors and employees performing the same job functions;
• Rehiring former employees as contractors for the same job;
• Paying contractors by the hour;
• Not requiring invoices from contractors;
• Providing contractors "benefits" such as paid vacation and expense reimbursements;
• Hiring contractors whose main area of expertise or work is in a different field;
• Having contractors perform central functions; and
• Hiring contractors who claim to have their own businesses without verifying.

Take-Aways:

A worker’s status is not a matter of personal preference of the company or the worker.  Assume workers are employees unless they unequivocally meet all legal requirements to qualify as independent contractors. Consult with a skilled management-side employment attorney to ensure you are analyzing the issues correctly.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• Seemed Like a Good Idea: Home Care Outfit to Pay $2.3M for Misclassifying Caregivers as Independent Contractors (March 21, 2025)
• Sweat the Details - Friendly Workplace Practices Audits Before PAGA Comes Calling (January 24, 2025)
• California Invests $18 Million to Prosecute Wage Theft (March 8, 2024)

Helena Kobrin

April 10, 2026

California employers must keep complete personnel files, including signed acknowledgments, disciplinary and grievance-related records, performance reviews, and education and training records. State law gives current and former employees the right to inspect and copy records related to job performance, education and training, and grievances.  Strong file practices enable employers to respond quickly and reduce risk.

Avoid these common mistakes:

1. Don’t mix medical information

Store medical records, e.g., doctor’s notes, accommodation requests, and leave of absence certifications in a separate confidential file.

2. Don’t include I-9 forms

Keep I-9s in a separate file to limit access to unrelated records during inspections or audits.

3. Don’t leave investigation materials in personnel files

Maintain investigation notes, witness statements, and related materials in a separate, secure file to protect confidentiality and preserve any applicable privilege.

4. Don’t document inconsistently

Document all performance and disciplinary issues consistently. Gaps and inconsistencies can undermine subsequent employment decisions.

5. Don’t record only negative performance

Document both positive and negative performance to build a complete, credible record.

Take-Aways:

Audit personnel files periodically for organization, completeness, and compliance. Maintain separate files for medical records, I-9s, and investigation materials. Since recordkeeping rules vary, retain personnel records for at least four years or longer if claims or disputes occur in the interim. Respond to file requests on time, and consult legal counsel as needed.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

   • Establishment 101: Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2026 (March 26, 2026)

    • Personnel Records Access - Employee Rights Expanded (November 7, 2025)

    • Preservation Salvation (April 27, 2023)

Cindy Bamforth

April 9, 2026

‍

A tale on the eve of law school and all that followed:

Varanasi to Delhi, 11/20 to 11/21/1973

“Mirage” is his name presently.  My traveling companion amazes. At 31, he’s a Boston College School of Law graduate, leaving for the hippie life one day before he was to leave for Vista training and the legal defense of the other “Indians,” North American style.  M explains his law education as being perhaps mostly a ploy to escape the draft.

The afternoon is mostly resting for tonight’s 13 UP INDIA express to Delhi, strictly 3rd class. We take a last meal at the Mei-Li Chinese, about as American as could be had, (chicken) egg omelet, fries and two cakes all to the tune of “I’m a Soul Man” from Tom Jones Live at Caesar’s Palace!

We get our loads together. Mirage sold his pack in Kathmandu, replacing it with a gunny sack tied with clothes line and suspended off his head Nepalese style.  We find ourselves in the train station, only mildly surprised to learn the Upper India Express is an hour late. We sit on a wooden crate, watching the dusk fade and world go by. Rich people with lines of porters behind them; the not-so-rich squatting by their things, waiting as we are. The poor, old and young, propelling themselves from soul-to-soul in quest of baakseech, one man crawling on his hands and knees, his god-given walking platforms otherwise shriveled and deformed.

Freight and passenger trains pull in, pull out. A curious person asks our names and country, giving five or six others reason to get close, listen and look. That hour late comes and goes. Then here come 13 UP pulled by a huge steam locomotive. The heat and mass of the lead engine drives us back, then we edge in close to the moving cars ready to spring on the first slow moving 3rd class. And there it is. I pile through, my pack a body block to those behind me, and a massive sea anchor to those piling out. In the sixty seconds of ensuing chaos, we have carved out our settlement on one spare seat in the human jungle. Humanity is packed solid all over, coming through windows, sitting upon the luggage racks. They are packed six on the wider seats and everyone else on the floor.

Namaste, Benares and into the night, window up at the short stops, down for the cool breeze while underway. At the stations, the scent of excrement floats out from the nearby bathrooms. So good to get going again, every time.  Babes are on all sides, crying in the early going, having a hard time with the task at hand for all of us, adjusting to conditions that would surround us for the hours, and hours, to come.

Allahabad comes at midnight, many people including our new bright-eyed young friend get off, but the car is assaulted by many more, now standing room only, the hungry eyes of over-population all around us. Mirage makes the mistake of leaving three inches of the corner of his seat free and having some guy plant his rear on it. Now a big-assed soldier is alternating standing up, facing his friends while sticking that rear in Mirage’s face and turning half around to affix the greasy eyeball on my friend’s space.

Three sadarjis (Sikhs) and their wives observe us from the platform with amusement and we amuse back.  They act as if their space was a private suite in the Allahabad Waldorf, the shortest bug-eyed gentleman having milk tea brought in on a tray, they all sipping it with 1st class flair. Then the men, one after the other, open their suitcases and change their pants with casual ease, boxer shorts impeccably ironed, like the crowded station was their own V.I.P. Lounge.

We finally pull out just before 1:00 A.M. It is crammed to the breaking point inside, one gentleman with his forehead resting on the corner of my seat. The ones awake are in good enough spirits by the tones of voice.

Between stops I sit with my eyes closed. The time seems to go faster that way. I think back to the mornings at the Ganga and the half-submerged bathers standing facing the sun, cupping water, lifting it up, letting it fall between their hands, and going back for more. The picture is a matched contradiction: sublime river and this crazy-crowded Upper India Express!

4:00 A.M. comes Kanpur, blessed Kanpur. The car empties 50%, no-one left in the aisles, except a mother and her four kids who chose to sit by the toilet door. I feel as though we are on our home stretch, although we aren’t even half-way thru. The sun will be up soon, hopefully

Mind is scraped dull over the next few hours. Now, I’m unconscious and those busy with a Hindi conversation suddenly make perfect sense, like they are talking American about a CIA operation and all sorts of other intriguing late-night movie material.

The day comes on painfully slow, the sun rising red. By 9:00, the luggage rack monopolizers are up and looking out the windows.  We trade, two window seats for two sleeping spaces. It isn’t really sleep, just a lay-out while listening to assorted junk-sellers with a taste for one-priced auctioneering -- carrying 2 rs at the top of their lungs for a padlock, getting no buyers and going on to an identical lock, same price, louder voice. The singers aren’t bad, until they start rolling you over for baakseech.

Afternoon arrives, we get our seats back and try to ignore the heat and the glare.  Our cattle cavalcade pulls over the Yumuna River Bridge, past the Red Fort and into the Old Delhi Station an hour before I expected: 1:00. Our car empties in an instant.   I take my sweet time getting squared away looking gratefully out the window at that big sign that says DELHI.   Mirage and I put one foot in front of the other following the signs that somehow knowingly say “WAY OUT” and wading through the old “Hello, Hello, You Want…”   On hitting the street, the human hornets’ nest is in full fury. I put my arm firmly around Mirage’s shoulder and grasp his hand. Farewell, fellow traveler.

Tim Bowles

April 3, 2026

‍

In her complaint to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and Labor Commissioner's Office (LCO) a former employee of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators(SCBWI) claimed retaliation for reporting perceived racial discrimination, an inadequate response to a disability accommodation request, and potential Equal Pay Act violations.

The SCBWI claimed no connection between those complaints and placing the employee on administrative leave and later termination for insubordination.

After separate investigations, CRD and LCO concluded that SCBWI violated California worker protection laws. SCBWI agreed to pay $180,000 to resolve the matter.

Without admitting wrongdoing, SCBWI also agreed to hold biannual executive training on anti-retaliation and anti-discrimination, revise and distribute its workplace policies, and notify staff and the governing board of the findings.

CRD Director Kevin Kish stated: "If an employee believes the law is being broken, they are allowed to complain — and employers cannot punish them for doing so."

Take aways:

California protects employees who report misconduct or pay practices they reasonably believe are unlawful, even if the claims prove unfounded. Employers should respond to complaints carefully, investigate promptly, document employment decisions, and avoid any appearance of retaliation.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.

See also:

• Establishment 101: Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2026 (March 26, 2026)
• Employer Pay Data Reports - State Website a Valuable Aid for Making the May 13, 2026, Deadline (February 13, 2026)
• Kentucky Fried Chicken Settles Sexual Harassment Claims (January 23, 2026)

Cindy Bamforth

April 2, 2026

In "Sign of the Times, “Workplace Know Your Rights Act", Response to Federal Raids (October 24, 2025), we relayed California employers’ requirements, beginning February 1, 2026, to  provide each worker an annual, stand-alone notice summarizing key labor protections and constitutional rights.  

These incoming Labor Code sections aim to standardize and expand the scope of such notices in the face of growing Homeland Security aggression. The state has since issued a template notice.

An employer is required to notify any worker’s designated emergency contact in the event the employee is arrested or detained.

Thus, no later than March 30, 2026, an employer must provide each employee the opportunity to name that emergency contact. The employer shall then provide all new employees that opportunity at the time of hiring.

‍

‍Take-Away: By March 30, 2026, employers must inform and provide each worker the means to designate his/her emergency contact in the event of arrest or detention

‍
● on the worksite;
● during work hours; or
● during the performance of that worker’s duties.  

‍

The Labor Commissioner or public prosecutor are to enforce all “Know Your Rights” requirements, with penalties of between $500 and $10,000 per violation.

For further information, please contact Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth or Helena Kobrin.See also:

• Establishment 101: Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2026 (March 26, 2026)
• What's New in 2026: Sign of the Times (Update) (January 9, 2026)

Helena KobrinMarch

27, 2026

Workplace policies define appropriate conduct and best practices in your place of business, enabling efficient and productive operations. To these ends, our 2026 Workplace Policy Forms & Handbook provide a practical “hire-to-fire” foundation designed to align everyday workplace operations with current legal requirements.2026 Model Forms Include:

• Employment application and job description prototype, including key requirements for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and California’s constitutional privacy protections;
• Pre-employment protocols, structured to meet current legal standards;
• Employment agreement, including protection of confidential company data;
• Alternative dispute resolution agreement, reflecting current arbitration requirements;
• Meal and rest period acknowledgments, confirming employer provision of required breaks;
• Termination paperwork, including new separation checklist and updated sample severance release agreement (to be applied as appropriate for full transition and greater protection against later, preventable suits); and
• Paid sick leave sample policies.

All 2026 forms orders also include sample hiring checklists, providing practical guidance to help ensure consistent, documented compliance throughout the onboarding process.2026 Model Employee Handbook (80+ Pages) Includes:

• Employment conditions, including mutual “at will” termination rights;

• Discrimination and harassment prevention and complaint procedures;
• Employee compensation and benefits;
• Performance expectations;
• Limits of employee privacy, including valid management access to employee-maintained databases and social media guidelines;
• Paid and unpaid leaves;
• Workplace health and safety;
• Job-related injury or illness; and
• Drug and alcohol policy, including testing and violations procedures and standards.

Client Feedback:“Tim’s office makes HR matters so much easier!  We just have to do what they tell us to do. We order their updated hiring forms and employee handbook each year and it keeps us protected simply with the correct up-to-date wording (since laws are always changing) that we would otherwise not know about.  Just the hiring forms alone have saved us thousands of dollars in one lawsuit.  We also take part in their yearly HR seminar, which keeps us up-to-date on new laws and key points to follow to keep us protected.  I HIGHLY recommend any employer to connect with Tim and his team – especially in these current times!” – LO

CONTACT US TO ORDER NOW To order or for more information, contact Office Manager Aimee Rosalesat 626.583.6600 or email her at officemgr@tbowleslaw.com

March 26, 2026

I got started in Africa in 2004, in Tanzania. Now, 2026, I have never fully come home. Some snapshots:

Where Humanity Began, and Never Left

Thursday, 12 August 04 [flight to Inyonga, drive to Katavi National Park, Rungwa River Camp]

Serge and his Excel single-engine touches down at the dirt strip at Msembe Ranger Station at around 10:00. We load and take off. Through the prop drone and air dance, it is a desert below, wilderness, dry stream beds, kopjes [rock promontories], low trees, grey/greens, khaki flats, some ghost clouds, horizon lost in the blurring mix of air and dust. 10,420 feet above sea level and horizontal, headed W x N, 29 degrees, 135 knots over the ground.

We land an hour-plus west at Inyonga. Serge comes around the strip 300 meters off the deck. Several kids are waving at us from the tamped down yards of rectangular, mud-block huts, rich reddish-brown earth. As we come in for the approach, people are hurrying in from everywhere and nowhere to line-up on one side of the strip. By the time we reach the unloading zone, the area is massed, if not mobbed, with people.

All ages are here, mostly young, between 5 and 12 years, mostly boys, some in collared shirts, some in rags, wide eyes, curious; the crowd buzzing. More people flood in from the adjoining blocks of town; no-one’s speaking any English, all in Swahili or whatever tribal language prevails. The townies are shoulder-to-shoulder, five or six deep to see the Westerners fall out of the plane. Last to exit, I give a big hello to the waiting front row of open-faced, belly-high boys. They absorb the greeting, no-one venturing to offer any motion back.

Now the kids press in closely, eight and ten thick. “Hello, jambo!” Their shy curiosity is broken quickly by the digital LCD displays on our cameras. I take a shot of them craning, waving and beaming into the camera and then instantly show the results. Unrestrained exhilaration rolls over the young in waves, jostling for the closest look and exchange with the white guy from the sky. They are like kids anywhere, seemingly let out of school and on a lark, the bold ones, the followers, the clowns, the show-offs. Daudi, in Swahili, has a tough time getting the boys to acknowledge they are skipping school, but it is clear they are educated by their easy ability to answer his math questions …

In town, Daudi points to the tall plum tree hard-by the main intersection. This is the service mark of the Arabic slave traders who established the East African routes for stolen humanity some 500 years ago. In their wake, most people of this area adopted and have passed-on Islam to this day.

Inyonga is loosely translated as “hanging tree” or “strangulation tree.” This city was an execution center when the Germans ran the show in the 1800s …

We leave to the southwest over a narrow track that Daudi classes as a high-quality Tanzanian roadway. A lot is thick sand, which he attacks at 40 mph or more; then axle-cracking ridges and shelves; then more sand; no road signs; mud-block huts and bare dirt front spaces with young kids, old women waving; more sand tracks which D wrestles through at high speed like he was bringing a bull to the ground; me in the rider’s front seat, thinking that if everything else around here is living on the edge, elemental life-and-death, why not me?; no windshield, no seat-belt, no side-door (just a low-lying piece of wood).

Of course, the sole safety feature of this hurdling mass is D’s driving skill. He plows through the straight stretches like there is no tomorrow, the thin miambo trees hugging in on the road, all young growth, not likely to kill, only to slow if we went off-kilter …

As we work our way on a slow stretch through the miambo, two guys approach, walking a bicycle. We stop. They are Sukuma tribe cowboys, dressed like Andre 3000 in the middle of absolute nowhere, one guy in a Cat-in-the-Hat knit cap, black and bright horizontal striping, luminescent gold and yellow scarf, overcoat, leggings and bright plastic rings of all colors stacked from ankle to mid-calf. The other guy was nearly his Big Boi equal, also gaily scarfed, swiping easily at the tse-tse as we talked. They had come nearly 100 k today and were headed well north of Inyonga.

The Sukuma are the largest of the 125 tribes in Tanzania, comprising some 6% of the total population, starting south of Lake Victoria and spreading throughout the nation. They have taken it upon themselves to dress in wild combos of traditional and “modern,” like Bob Marley hyperventilating. They have an annual fashion festival. Daudi describes one warrior who topped off his traditional battle dress with pink bra and panties.

The track gets no better as we come down from flat plateau, through the trees, among mountains and into the Katavi river system. Katavi, where “unimproved” would be an improvement.

The obscure track to camp leads off and down to the left from the “main roadway,” twin lines through the grass. Daudi has us walk the quarter mile to avoid getting hit by the thin filaments of the “upupu” pods, a pea-like sheath hanging from vines on each side of the trail. They are not painful, but produce a nearly unbearable discomfort, one that has driven D and his friends into waters infested with hippo and croc just to try and attain some relief. He is convinced that enough of this can drive a person insane.

It is dark shortly after arrival. The beer is very good, the rice and beef goulash welcome with D’s green three-alarm chili.

Toward bed, the hyena are evident, calling to each other up and down this dry rocky riverbed. Going back to tent, I keep spotting little glistenings among the leaves. These are eight-eyed spiders, one of them rather large, tarantula quality. The crew has placed a line of ash placed across the path leading from our tents to the river bed. The headlamp reveals the apparent motive, an intense line of ants, maybe three inches wide, moving right-to-left across the path, just the other side of the ash line.

The night passes quickly.

Tim Bowles
March 20, 2026