Business Law Blog

How Plaintiff Lawyers Use the System Against You By Thomas F. Nowland, Esq. Copyright 2026 Nowland Law All Rights Reserved. You just received a summons and lawsuit filed by a former employee claiming wage and hour violations including failure to pay overtime, failure to allow meal and rest breaks, discrimination and wrongful termination. "Wait, what?!" you say. “I always pay overtime and [...]

Operating a business in California means accepting a hard truth: the employment litigation environment is a heavily armed gauntlet, and the default assumption of the state is that the employer is liable. Even when a company acts flawlessly—strictly following the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), engaging in the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) interactive process, and paying health premiums out of [...]

For decades, the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) has functioned as a strict-liability mechanism, allowing employees to sue on behalf of the state for minor Labor Code violations. The result? Massive settlements that disproportionately benefit plaintiff attorneys while draining California businesses. The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) receives thousands of PAGA notices annually. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year alone, the [...]

California employers face a rapidly shifting operational landscape. Lawmakers recently passed bills that rewrite the rules on employee contracts, escalate safety enforcement into criminal matters, and dramatically increase administrative penalties. Businesses must audit their operations now to avoid costly surprises in 2027. AB 1697: A Delay for the Ban on Stay-or-Pay Contracts California recently targeted "stay-or-pay" contracts. These include training repayment agreements [...]

California human resources departments face a complex set of new rules as we approach 2027. Lawmakers are expanding the Fair Employment and Housing Act, broadening leave policies, and requiring new types of employee training. These changes will alter HR compliance standards and increase the risk of workplace lawsuits. AB 1940: Accommodations for Menopause Assembly Bill 1940 explicitly adds perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, and [...]

Employee monitoring and digital privacy are facing strict new limits. The California legislature recently passed several bills that dictate how businesses can track workers and website visitors. For California employers, these changes bring a mix of heavy new compliance burdens and some welcome relief from predatory lawsuits. AB 1331 and AB 1883: New Limits on Employee Monitoring Corporate surveillance is getting pushed [...]

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how businesses operate. The California legislature noticed this trend and is stepping in to regulate how employers use automated systems. Unchecked technological workforce management will soon be a thing of the past. Two major bills are currently awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom's signature. Senate Bill 947 and Senate Bill 951 will expose employers to heavy litigation and civil [...]

For decades, California business owners have relied on a fundamental assumption: mandatory consumer arbitration is a fast, efficient, and cost-effective alternative to the grueling machinery of the civil court system. By embedding standard arbitration clauses into Terms of Service, companies shielded themselves from runaway jury verdicts, massive discovery burdens, and class-action litigation. As of January 1, 2025, the California Legislature attempted to [...]

For corporate counsel and business executives operating in California, standard-form agreements are no longer a set-it-and-forget-it asset. In 2026, the state legislature and judiciary have engineered a profound structural shift across almost every facet of commercial and employment contracting. The traditional leverage mechanisms utilized by employers to retain talent, by developers to withhold funds during disputes, and by corporations to force favorable [...]

For executives steering corporate operations in California in 2026, compliance is no longer a matter of simply adhering to a unified statewide code. The regulatory landscape has fractured into a highly complex, multi-jurisdictional matrix. The state government is actively attempting to usurp federal labor authority, the legislature is mandating unprecedented direct-to-employee disclosures regarding constitutional rights, and local municipalities are passing hyper-specific environmental [...]

Welcome to the Nowland Law blog. For corporate executives and business owners operating in California, the regulatory and legal environment in 2026 has introduced unprecedented complexities. The state legislature continues to aggressively recalibrate the balance of power across various industries, creating a landscape where traditional business strategies—whether in talent acquisition, vendor management, or project financing—are increasingly fraught with liability. In this post, [...]

For corporate executives operating in California, the regulatory environment in 2026 has reached a new pinnacle of complexity. Managing operations within the world’s fifth-largest economy requires more than just market acumen; it demands a proactive, structural alignment with a rapidly shifting legal landscape. This year, the California legislature has fundamentally recalibrated the balance of power in the workplace and aggressively expanded corporate [...]