California is adapting to the prevalence of technology in the modern workplace – especially artificial intelligence – as these digital tools become more embedded in business infrastructure. Among other consequential AI-related bills currently under consideration, Assembly Bill 1221 (AB 1221) stands out.  Now advancing through the legislature, the bill is poised to impose comprehensive restrictions on workplace surveillance technologies.

If enacted, the bill would require businesses to provide clear and timely notice – at least 30 days in advance – before ...

As AI and automation tools become increasingly integrated into hiring and workplace operations, California’s Assembly Bill 1018 (AB 1018) is drawing significant attention for its potential to reshape how employers use these technologies. While the bill is intended to enhance fairness and transparency, it also raises important questions about compliance, liability, and practical challenges for businesses across the state.

AB 1018 follows a similar proposal from 2024, Assembly Bill 2930, which failed to advance out of legislative committee. That earlier bill raised many of ...

            Employers have long been scrutinized for perceived unequal bargaining power when it comes to enforcement of company-drafted arbitration agreements.  Indeed, both the California legislature and the courts have aimed to protect employees from unduly oppressive, one-sided, or otherwise unfair agreements.  In some cases, this scrutiny extends to extrinsic statements and circumstances surrounding an employee’s review and signing of an otherwise enforceable arbitration agreement.

            In Velarde v. Monroe Operations, LLC, an employer was denied the right to compel arbitration ...

On June 30, 2025, the Supreme Court granted a petition for certiorari from Cox Communications Inc. and agreed to weigh in on one of the most consequential digital copyright cases in recent memory. The Court’s ruling could redefine the scope of liability for internet service providers (“ISP”) and clarify the standards for contributory infringement and willfulness in the digital age.

How We Got Here

In 2018, a coalition of more than 50 major record labels filed suit against Cox in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging that Cox had turned a blind eye to massive copyright ...

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc., a healthcare staffing company, believed that it had a “squeaky clean” Arbitration Agreement with its employees.  Indeed, the Arbitration Agreement seemed unimpeachable by current California standards: it included: (1) a mutual acknowledgement that arbitration would be the exclusive method of resolving claims between the employer and employee in connection with the employment relationship; (2) a clause that the employer would pay arbitration fees not normally incurred if the action was brought in a court of law; (3) a statement that the ...

            Until two weeks ago, no U.S. court had ruled on whether training generative AI models on copyrighted works could constitute a fair use, or if the simple act of training such models without a license would constitute copyright infringement. Two new summary judgment rulings out of the Northern District of California have now set the stage for how future courts may interpret fair use in the context of AI training—Richard Kadrey, et al., v. Meta Platforms, Inc. and Andrea Bartz, et al. v. Anthropic PBC. That stage poses significant dangers for technology companies.

            In both cases, the ...