With the passing of California SB 294, by February 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, employers are required to provide a stand-alone written notice to current employees and new employees upon hire, with information related to employee rights, including:
2026 California Employment Law Update: Independent Contractors and Employee Vehicle Business Expenses
Effective January 1, 2026, SB 809 adds Labor Code sections 2750.9, 2775.5, and 2802.2. The law reaffirms that mere ownership of a vehicle, including a personal vehicle or a commercial vehicle used by a person in providing labor or services for remuneration, does not make that person an independent contractor. The ABC test still applies, meaning drivers may be classified as independent contractors only if they are free from the hiring entity’s control, do not work outside the hiring entity’s usual course of the business, and are running an independent business.
2026 California Employment Law Update: California Bans “Stay to Play” Clauses
Maynard Nexsen’s Atlanta Office Adds Financial Services Litigator
Maynard Nexsen Celebrates 21 Attorneys Recognized in 2026 Legal Elite of North Carolina
Maynard Nexsen Celebrates 22 Attorneys Recognized in 2026 Legal Elite of North Carolina
Maynard Nexsen Announces Largest Class of New Shareholders
Trump’s Executive Order on AI and the Potential Impact on State Healthcare Laws Governing AI
President Trump’s new executive order on artificial intelligence (“AI”) seeks to impose broad and strict impediments to state-level regulation of AI. Signed on December 11, 2025, the order establishes a “minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI” and states that fragmented state AI laws slow innovation and hinder the country’s competitiveness in the global AI market in a number of ways. According to the executive order, state-by-state laws and regulations:
White House Issues Executive Order on National AI Policy Framework and Preemption Of State AI Laws
On December 11, 2025, the White House issued an executive order (“Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence”), calling for a single federal AI policy to ensure “national and economic security and dominance” and preempting state AI laws (with a few exceptions – see Section 8 below) to avoid “cumbersome regulation” that would “thwart” these “imperative[s]”. This executive order follows a series of previous AI-related executive orders, including:
White House Issues “Genesis Mission” Executive Order on AI
“I’ve Got Some Good News, I’ve Got Some Bad News”: Important Updates from CARB’s Latest Public Workshop
DOL Explains How to Properly Calculate FMLA Leave
On September 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division issued a new opinion letter clarifying how employers should calculate the hourly equivalent of an employee’s available leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”). The opinion also addresses how FMLA applies to employees whose schedules include both mandatory and voluntary overtime. While the guidance largely reaffirms existing principles, it provides clarification for employers that manage nontraditional or fluctuating work schedules.