Somach Simmons & Dunn | Attorneys at Law
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The California Legislature passed approximately 900 bills in 2021, of which 770 were signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Many of these bills relate to water, land use, local governance, and ... read more
On September 16, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 361 (AB 361) into law which allows public agencies to continue to conduct meetings remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and ... read more
California Prevailing Wage Law Expanded to Cover Potentially All Contract Work On March 29, 2021, California’s Supreme Court issued a far-reaching decision (Kaanaana v. Barrett Business Services, Inc. (2021) 11 ... read more
On Friday, March 19, 2021, the California Senate passed, and Governor Newsom signed, Senate Bill (SB) 95, which requires employers to provide up to 80 hours of supplemental paid sick ... read more
The Court of Appeal for the Third Appellate District recently ruled in Wyatt v. City of Sacramento that a City’s imposition of a surcharge in the form of a “general ... read more
Last week, in a unanimous decision, the California Supreme Court (Supreme Court or Court) ruled that when a public employee uses a personal account, “to communicate about the conduct of ... read more
In August 2015, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California each issued decisions addressing the standing of environmental organizations to ... read more
On May 4, 2015, the California Supreme Court held that a prevailing defendant in an action brought under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is not entitled to an ... read more
On May 11, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (collectively, the “Services”) issued a final rule to address the practice of using “surrogates” ... read more
On January 1, 2015, Assembly Bill 1522, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (Paid Sick Leave Law) went into effect. Under the Paid Sick Leave Law, employers are ... read more
On December 10, 2014, the California Second District Court of Appeals held that the Public Records Act does not allow local governments to compel the return of privileged documents inadvertently ... read more
In Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Superior Court issued on August 7, 2014, the Supreme Court of California held that a local legislative body does not have to ... read more
Assembly Bill 218 (AB 218) went into effect July 1, 2014, and prohibits public agencies from using criminal convictions to evaluate a job applicant during the hiring process before the ... read more
On March 27, 2014, the California Sixth District Court of Appeal held that the California Public Records Act (CPRA) does not require disclosure of communications between public officials stored on ... read more
On December 30, 2013, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) and the Natural Resources Agency (collectively “Agencies”) released the document “Possible Topics to be addressed in the 2014 ... read more
On December 14, 2012, the San Bernardino County Superior Court entered a Judgment Pursuant to Stipulation (“Judgment”) in People v. Foster Enterprises et al., San Bernardino Case No. CIVRS 1102120. ... read more
On January 8, 2013, the State of Texas filed a complaint in the United States Supreme Court (Supreme Court) alleging that the State of New Mexico has, contrary to the ... read more
