California private employers should confirm whether they must file 2025 pay data reports with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), due May 13, 2026. Covered employers submit these through the CRD’s Pay Data Portal. The program aims to identify and deter pay disparities based on sex, race, and ethnicity.

Private employers with 100 or more payroll employees must file a payroll employee report. Those with 100 or more labor contractor workers must file a separate labor contractor employee report. Reports must include employees based in California or assigned to a California establishment.

Employers must report workforce data by establishment, job category, race, ethnicity, sex, pay band, hours worked, median and mean hourly rate, and NAICS code, using a workforce snapshot from a pay period between October 1 and December 31, 2025. The CRD indicates this year’s pay data reports must also include employees’ overtime pay exemption status, employment type, and weeks worked during the reporting year.

If an employer fails to file, the CRD may seek a compliance order and recover costs. Courts may impose civil penalties of up to $100 per employee for a first violation and up to $200 per employee for subsequent violations. Labor contractors may share penalties for failing to provide required pay data.

Take-Aways:

Covered California employers must verify filing obligations, gather data promptly, and submit pay data reports by May 13, 2026. The process promotes pay equity and reduces penalty risk.

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

See also:

• Employer Pay Data Reports - State Website a Valuable Aid for Making the May 13, 2026 Deadline (February 13, 2026)
• Retaliation Red Flags - Best Practices to Prevent Claims (April 17, 2026)
• Establishment 101: Workplace Policy Handbook & Forms for 2026 (March 26, 2026)

Cindy Bamforth
May 7, 2026

There are no coincidences.

I met Joseph over a Summer, 2005 Youth for Human Rights conference in Ghana. Off the flight from his native Liberia, two coastal countries over to the west, “Jay” was death-camp survivor thin.

With a bootlegged DVD of Liberia, An Uncivil War, “Jay” spun out his life. He was eight when the genocide broke out, aged 22 when it ended. Fighting hit his Monrovia neighborhood toward Christmas, 1989, forcing him and family to largely walk the 50 miles to the Sierra Leone border. A 14-year- old commander confronted them at the last checkpoint, in charge of fighters twice his age by being a stone-cold killer. It was eight-year-old Jay who begged and bargained for his remaining family’s lives.

On that Ghana conference’s last day, Jay asked me a question: Would I help him? While the idea was outlandish – how are one (older) L.A. lawyer dude and one (much younger) survivor of the killing fields going to make any difference? – I heard myself say, “Yes.”
***
Then, ten months later, came this journal entry, Monrovia, Liberia, Sunday, June 4, 2006:

“We arrive at Kokota International at 11:00, way early for the 2:30 Accra [Ghana] to Liberia flight, Slok Air. Contrary to assurance in town, Slok GM Kofi insists he will only accept cash, no AmEx, no Visa, no MasterCard, no nothing.

“It is of course Sunday. No banks are open. Our only hope is an ATM and my one Mastercard. We are going to need over $900 U.S. for a round trip, or 9M Ghanian cedis. By taxi, we find an off-site Standard Bank. That ATM will only go up to cedis 800,000 ($80) and doesn’t like my card in any event. So, no go. We hit nearby Barclay’s (broken) and Ecobank (Visa only, no Mastercard). Still, no go.

“Now, I count up the travelers’ checks, nearly $1,000. Cool. I call GM Kofi back at Slok Air. Ex-nay on AmEx travelers’ checks. However, the lady behind airport money conversion window will consider it, but only $400.

“We take the plastic bag bulging with resulting 7,000,000 cedis back to Kofi. ‘Super!’ he says. It’s now 50 minutes to wheels-up. There’s no time to count 7M in small bills, so he takes our word and writes the tickets. [Kofi will later be first at the stairs when we return five days later to accept my payment in full.]

“… Two-plus hours later, we come down over beautiful beaches into Robertsfield, Liberia. It’s around 4 p.m. UN helicopters – maybe 30, including heavy lifters and gunships – are parked in a bunch. A UN passenger jet is disembarking. Through the tiny terminal, Joseph and his cohort greet us in the chaos street side.

“There is a pall over the people, not exactly a poverty of spirit, more like a semi-speechless shock after the last and very recent shots in 13 years of barbaric armed conflict. The buildings are grey drab concrete, black-stained from age and mold. This is a near-end of humanity, stomped-on hard by the unforgiving boot of some insane giant that found the population an annoyance like so many ants, with the few pockets of persons not fully exterminated slowly gazing about to see whether the coast is clear.

“We head the 40 miles to town. The sun is before us, descending gracefully through bright hazy sky and scattered clouds.
“The road for first half is hardly populated. Joseph says it is all government-owned land and thus off-limits for settlement. While it could well be cultivated for rice, Liberia cannot feed itself and must import. When rice hits the streets, it is $30 per bag, way more than most people can afford.

“We pass three UN checkpoints – the real deal, gun towers, sandbags and badass Nigerian troops -- and then suddenly, the thickening masses of Monrovia. In the sinking darkness, there is a large billowing black-smoked fire up on the hill (burning tires to soften the rock for gravel).

“We are through Congotown where exiled warlord Charles Taylor’s empty hulk of a house backs right up onto the street; now we’re by the burned out shell of assassinated President Samuel Doe’s defense ministry, War of the Worlds ruins; presently past Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s unpretentious presidential house; and finally to our modest digs, Corina Hotel.

“Post-dinner, Joseph takes his leave with the rule: ‘open the door for no one, see you in the morning.’”
***
Now almost 20-years on, we have come to recognize West Africa’s struggles -- bloody civil wars notorious for child soldiers, Ebola, endemic poverty, entrenched corruption -- are stark demonstration of illiteracy as the most destructive human rights violation. With decades-long partnerships in government and civil society, we train educators and students through Applied Scholastics International. “APS” is uniquely qualified to offer the solution to illiteracy through the proven effective learning methods of American author and innovator L. Ron Hubbard, widely known as “Study Technology ” or “Study Tech.” Our challenge is not demand, it’s enough capacity to meet the demand.

The plan back in 2005 was one week in Ghana, take some pics, head back. Thanks to him, I’ve never really returned.

… and so, we work. No coincidences.

Tim Bowles
May 1, 2026

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-Aways:

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 Kobrin
April 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 Risk

Retaliation 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

As covered in our blogs New Heat Illness Prevention Measures Now In Place and Heat Illness Prevention Amendments Are Likely to Take Effect May 1, 2015, heat illness prevention regulations obviously apply to industries that require significant outdoor labor, including agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction, and transportation and delivery of agricultural and construction products or other heavy materials.

However, all California employers are responsible for ensuring their indoor workers are also protected from high heat hazards. The California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board (Appeals Board) recently ruled against two employers with Injury and Illness Prevention Programs that failed to effectively address such unhealthy inside conditions. The case stemmed from a warehouse operator who suffered heat illness while working inside a metal freight container with a temperature exceeding 100 degrees F.

The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) section includes helpful discussion of various heat illness prevention issues. The DIR also offers a separate information page on the requirements.

Our attorneys, Tim Bowles, Cindy Bamforth, or Helena Kobrin can also address questions and concerns.

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 3^rd 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 3^rd 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 1^st 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