Business, Management, Marketing, Money, Tax, Law, People

Quick Hits Cal/OSHA’s High Hazard Unit inspects employers with the highest incidences of occupational injuries and illnesses, using an annual list based on “Days Away, Restricted or Transferred” (DART) rates to target high-risk industries. The 2025-26 High Hazard Industry List, effective October 1, includes new industry groups and shows generally lower DART rates, with the High Hazard Unit conducting 268 targeted inspections last fiscal year. The annual High Hazard Industry…

BillSummaryCurrent StatusAB 250Window to reactivate sexual assault claims. This law establishes a two-year window, from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027, to revive civil claims for damages suffered as a result of sexual assault, even if the statute of limitations has expired.Signed into law on October 13, 2025AB 288Labor organization and unfair practices. This law empowers the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to oversee and certify union elections…

Quick Hits A federal court largely dismissed challenges to the NCAA’s former transgender-participation policies but allowed a narrow Title IX claim against the NCAA to proceed to targeted discovery focused on whether the NCAA is a federal funding recipient. The court rejected constitutional claims against the NCAA, reaffirming that the NCAA is not a state actor, and found many claims against Georgia public institutions moot in light of Georgia’s new…

Quick Hits Litigation remains steady and costly. Hundreds of lawsuits and arbitration demands continue to allege that website-tracking technologies—such as pixels, analytics tools, and chat features—violate the California Invasion of Privacy Act and related privacy laws. Despite mixed judicial outcomes, the volume of filings has not slowed. Courts are deeply divided. Some judges have dismissed cases on standing or “contents” grounds, while others allow claims to proceed where third-party vendors…

Quick Hits Data subject rights requests run on short clocks, so having a response strategy is critical for timely and complete compliance. Mistakes commonly occur when businesses contract with vendors, receive and triage data subject rights requests, and engage in recordkeeping exercises during and after responding to the data subject. An increase in regulatory power and inquiry is increasing the risks associated with improper handling of data subject rights requests.…

Quick Hits The November 2025 Visa Bulletin showsno change from last month’s bulletin for employment-based categories for both final action dates and dates for filing. USCIS will continue to accept adjustment of status filings based on the Dates for Filing Chart. The cutoff dates remain consistent with the dates listed in the October 2025 Visa Bulletin. Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Visa Applications Employment- BasedAll ChargeabilityAreas ExceptThose ListedCHINA-mainlandbornINDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES1stC22DEC2215FEB22CC2nd01DEC2301APR2101APR1301DEC2301DEC233rd01APR2301MAR2122AUG1301APR2301APR23Other Workers15JUL2101DEC1722AUG1315JUL2115JUL214th01JUL2001JUL2001JUL2001JUL2001JUL20Certain Religious…

Quick Hits Chief Financial Officers Act agencies and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission must now submit Action Plans on Race and Ethnicity Data to OMB by March 28, 2026, extending the September 28, 2025, deadline that had been imposed when OMB released the SPD 15 revisions in March of 2024. OMB also extended the deadline to update federal information collections of race and ethnicity data to be consistent with…

Quick Hits The Trump administration is scheduled to rescind the Biden-era independent contractor rule, months after the DOL stopped enforcing the current rule. The current independent contractor rule, issued in 2024, adopted the multifactor “totality of the circumstances” test that has been used by the courts for years, albeit with commentary signaling enforcement of various factors in a manner that was wrought with potential challenges for employers. This rule still…