The city of Newport Beach in Orange County, California has made it mandatory for brick-and-mortar businesses to accept payments in cash when the customer is physically present at the business. This means that the businesses can no longer decide to go “cashless” and can no longer require payment from online services such as ApplePay, Venmo, Zelle, etc. In addition, these businesses are not allowed to charge a fee or place any other condition on its acceptance of cash. This city-wide requirement begins on March 31, 2025.

Beginning on January 1, 2025, California began paying significantly higher paid family leave benefits and higher disability benefits to California families. Over 18 million workers pay into the California State Disability Insurance program, meaning the workers automatically pay into these insurance plans through their payroll contributions.

Many U.S. employers use the H-1B Visa to obtain workers, and many employers have staffed nearly entire companies with such workers. It is a non-immigrant visa that allows employers to hire foreign workers in what is referred to as a “specialty occupation” for up to 3 years, with a maximum of 6 years. The Biden Administration took steps to “modernize” the H-1B program and the new regulation took effect on January 17, 2025.

California has increased its minimum wage to $16.50 per hour this year, and nearly all of the cities with even higher minimum wages are in Northern California except for San Diego and West Hollywood. If you work or own a business anywhere in California, you need to be aware that minimum wage has increased across the entire state starting in January of 2025.

Los Angeles county is trying something new to enable cooks and bakers to operate their own little restaurant by allowing them to prepare food in their own home. Starting on November 1, 2024, Los Angeles will begin a new program called the Micro-enterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO). This program will be available in all of Los Angeles County except for Pasadena, Long Beach, and Vernon because these cities have their own health departments.

The new California law, which was recently signed by Governor Newsom on September 22, 2024, explicitly states that the California Small Business Procurement and Contract Act is a state law that provides assistance and services for all persons regardless of their immigration status. California has now affirmatively provided eligibility to aliens. Yes, now even small businesses and micro businesses owned by illegal aliens can receive these benefits.

A new law took effect earlier this year which aims to make no fault evictions more difficult on landlords. Many California landlords are still reeling from the pandemic-era restrictions on evictions and rent moratoriums. Well, California’s legislature has placed further restrictions on landlords. California landlords need to be aware of the new no fault eviction notice rules and the requirement for relocation assistance.

Back in April of 2024, the Federal Trade Commission voted to adopt a ban on noncompete agreements, stating that such a ban was justified because noncompete agreements are an “unfair method of competition.” Texas filed suit in federal court challenging the ban, arguing that the FTC lacks authority to issue such a ban. The court agreed and in August of 2024 blocked enforcement of the ban nationwide. Since that time, on October of 2024, the FTC filed an appeal. Although an appeal is pending, employers can technically continue to enforce existing noncompete agreements against workers.

California's new law, which takes effect in 2025, requires landlords to pay to change the lock on all exterior doors (or reimburse the tenant who paid to change the lock out of his or her own pocket), which can (in some cases) cost hundreds of dollars. In addition, landlords must change the locks even in cases where the tenant does not provide a police report or court order. This is because the list of acceptable proof has expanded to even include mere “statements” from a “qualified” third party such as domestic violence counselors, human trafficking caseworkers, sexual assault counselors, and health practitioners (social workers, surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists). A police report is not required, nor is a court order required.