Week@Work

Every Monday, we release a short, practical briefing on what California employers need to know this week. Enjoy it on us!

Episode 38

November 9, 2026

Week@Work updates California employers on the most important legal news from the prior week. At the national level, we examine how the midterm elections could reshape workplace legislation/regulation and a $22 million settlement involving alleged discriminatory employment practices by a federal contractor. In California, the state Supreme Court considers the future of PAGA arbitration, a costly wage-and-hour settlement highlights the price of missed breaks, an appeals court upholds the dismissal of harassment and retaliation claims against a nonprofit, and Delta Air Lines faces a lawsuit alleging unpaid work by flight attendants. And our bizarre case of the week features a financial adviser who impersonated a federal labor official to drum up business—only to find himself facing a very different retirement plan.

Past Episodes

Previous episodes are available in the EmployersLawyer Library, which is accessible to all clients.

Episode 29

August 31, 2026

Week@Work updates California employers on the most important legal news from the prior week. At the national level, this week’s episode addresses a $21 million DEI bias settlement and a columnist’s firing over social media posts is overturned. In California, a dancing flight attendant’s suit has been dismissed while a religious accommodation lawsuit was reinstated by the Ninth Circuit. New lawsuits include a negligent supervision case brought by a former child star against Disney and a retaliation complaint brought by a whistleblower against TikTok. And our bizarre case of the month involves a termination meeting that may become the smoking gun in a bias lawsuit thanks to an AI tool.

Episode 28

August 24, 2026

In this week’s episode, Joe addresses the end of a religious discrimination battle involving Southwest Airlines and a federal court dismisses a race case finding the accused treated everyone equally poorly. In California, AI may have terminated the first human worker in San Francisco, restaurant chains pays $3 million to settle harassment charges, and a teacher at Beverly Hills High School claims she was fired for her political activity. And our bizarre case of the week involves a morgue employee who took the idea of “taking your work home” way too literally.

Episode 27

August 17, 2026

Week@Work updates California employers on the most important legal news from the last week. At the national level, this week’s episode addresses blacklash at the EEOC over the EEO-1 and a Ninth Circuit holding that proposed religious accommodations created an “undue hardship”. In California, a state court holds an employee working in Utah can’t assert arrest bias claim, Simi Valley pays $230K in harassment suit, and ABC News (and Matt Gutman, now of CBS News) has been hit with a high-profile employment case by a former producer. And our bizarre case of the week involves an EMT who claims she had to show colleagues naked pictures of a co-worker to protect them from sexual harassment.

Episode 26

August 10, 2026

Week@Work updates California employers on the most important legal news from the last week. At the national level, OpenAI agrees to pay $3M to settle claims it favored foreign workers while the NLRB adds a new member (and the authority to make new policy). In California, San Francisco adopts new rules on considering criminal convictions when making employment decisions, a court has reinstated a $13M gender bias verdict in favor of two male LAPD officers, and a new lawsuit against Tesla explores the interaction of disability accommodation and marijuana use. And our bizarre case of the week involves secret workplace recordings that may put a whistleblower in jail.

Episode 25

August 3, 2026

This episode of Week@Work updates California employers on the most important legal news from the last week. At the national level, the NLRB found a worker who publicly criticized his employer’s DEI programs was protected under federal law and a federal appellate court reinstated an HR manager’s retaliation suit. In California, Kanye West has settled a harassment suit brought by his former assistant, a court held Kaiser mishandled a religious accommodation request, and Warner Bros. sued Amazon for recruiting an executive under contract. And our bizarre case of the week accuses Comcast of using cream pies to motivate employee sales.

Episode 24

July 27, 2026

This episode of Week@Work is full of important news (and tips) for California employers. At the national level, the EEOC has voted to eliminate the EEO-1 requirement (but California data collection obligations continue) while the Department of Labor interpreted pay obligations for mid-day commuting. In California, failing to pay out vacation cost BofA $4 million, the Ninth Circuit found an offensive Facebook post didn’t create a hostile work environment, a worrisome bill in Sacramento falls to the wayside, and three new class action lawsuits demonstrate the importance of proper pay practices. And our bizarre case of the week analyzes accusations that a U.S. Cabinet Secretary engaged in religious proselytizing to workers.

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