In keeping with the new year theme, today's podcast includes two new "sleeper laws" that took effect on Jan. 1, 2020. These laws have not been highly publicized or spoken about frequently in the news, yet are still important for employers to know. In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Executive Vice President and General Counsel Erika Frank and employment law experts Matthew Roberts and Bianca Saad highlight laws on domestic partnerships and flexible spending accounts, sexual harassment prevention deadlines, and new required updates for workplace posters and pamphlets.

In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Executive Vice President and General Counsel Erika Frank and employment law experts Matthew Roberts and Bianca Saad recap the topics on which they received the most questions during their seminars: the CROWN Act, expansion of lactation accommodation law, wildfire regulations, and meal and rest breaks.

California's new lactation accommodation requirements, effective Jan. 1, 2020, impacts a broad spectrum of California employers. In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Executive Vice President and General Counsel Erika Frank and employment law experts Matthew Roberts and Bianca Saad discuss new lactation accommodation requirements, highlighting location specifications, a new policy requirement, rest and meal break premium pay penalties, private right of action, exceptions, and the undue hardship exemption.

Human resources professionals often have some of the most difficult conversations in the workplace. Whether they need to mediate workplace conflict or craft policies that comply with state and federal laws, the advice HR professionals provide can be an invaluable asset to businesses. Sometimes, however, HR professionals can be perceived as simply wanting to ruin workplace fun.

In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Executive Vice President and General Counsel Erika Frank and employment law expert Jennifer Shaw discuss ways HR experts can combat dismissive attitudes from leadership and help the workplace comply with federal and state laws.