Gov. Gavin Newsom News

California Governor Signs Legislation to Protect Warehouse Workers

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed a bill that limits warehouse employers like Amazon.com Inc from setting productivity quotas, the first legislation of its kind in the United States. The new provisions require all companies using warehouse labor to …

California, Nevada Governors Tour Site of Massive Wildfire

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The governors of California and Nevada on Wednesday planned to tour the state line area blackened by one of two massive wildfires that have destroyed dozens of homes in the U.S. West. Cooler weather and …

Regulators Withdraw Controversial California Work Mask Rules

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s workplace regulators have withdrawn a controversial pending mask regulation while they consider a rule that more closely aligns with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s promise that the state will fully reopen from the pandemic on Tuesday. The …

California’s Epic Drought Is Parching Reservoirs and Worrying Farmers

There is dry, and then there is desiccated. As any movie fan knows from the classic film Chinatown, California is an infamously thirsty place. But this year, even by its own standards, the state is shockingly, scarily parched. So far …

As Drought Intensifies, California Seeing More Wildfires

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As California sinks deeper into drought it already has had more than 900 additional wildfires than at this point in 2020, which was a record-breaking year that saw more than 4% of the state’s land scorched …

California Targets Urgent Projects as Wildfire Season Looms

OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — California is in such an urgent race with another devastating wildfire season that officials began soliciting local project ideas even before they had money to pay for them. It faces such a threat of drought that …

California COVID Presumption Law Creates New Data Tracking Burdens

A California law enacted last month that eases the path to workers’ compensation benefits for employees who contract COVID-19 will require an unprecedented level of documentation and communication between claims managers and employers. “I have joked that this should be …

Fires Roil California’s Virus Fight Just as Outbreak Was Easing

Just as California appeared to be turning a corner in its fight against the coronavirus, raging wildfires threaten to worsen the outbreak. Blazes that rank among the largest in state history have sent thousands of residents fleeing to evacuation centers …

WCIRB Lowers Mid-Range Estimate of COVID Workers Comp Costs by $10B

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California published estimated costs of allowing state workers to receive benefits for COVID-19 claims without proving virus exposure at work, dropping a prior mid-range estimate by $10 billion. In a report published on …

California Prepares for More Wildfires as Coronavirus Challenges Budget

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has had 60% more wildfires so far in 2020 than last year because of drier weather, Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday, and he promised increased funding for firefighting even as the state’s budget faces a …