Far-reaching new laws seek to better working conditions for a broad swath of Californians in 2023 from white-collar employees to blue-collar farm laborers, fast-food servers and construction workers.
Measures expanding family leave, providing for bereavement leave and mandating pay transparency are among lawmakers' "incredibly productive" record of accomplishment, said Mariko Yoshihara, legislative counsel and policy director for the California Employment Lawyers Assn. "But there's still a lot more work to do."
Legislative wrestling between worker advocates and the state's powerful industries meant several ambitious efforts failed to gain traction last year. They are likely to surface again this year, including bills to expand overtime, protect employees from artificial intelligence surveillance and stop businesses from moving call centers out of state.
