California employers face constant pressure to make personnel decisions quickly. Terminations, separations, performance issues, and new hires often cannot wait for a lawyer’s calendar. The most effective way to handle these routine but high-risk situations is to have a core set of documents drafted, reviewed, and approved by employment counsel in advance. When the situation
July 1 is just around the corner, and with it comes another wave of local minimum wage increases across Southern California. For employers operating in multiple jurisdictions—particularly those with hotel, hospitality, or healthcare workers—the compliance landscape continues to grow more complex. Beyond the day-to-day importance of paying the correct rate, accurate wage compliance is now
Five AI Strategies California Employers Should Be Executing Right Now
AI is not coming to your workplace. It is already there. Your employees are using it — on personal accounts, on free tools, and in ways your current policies almost certainly do not address. The California employers who are winning the next decade are not
For decades, the law firm business model operated on a familiar premise: a broad base of junior lawyers, a small group of partners at the top, and clients footing the bill for hours billed at every level of the pyramid. That model — the associate leverage model — is now under significant structural pressure, and
As California employers enter 2026, employment law compliance is no longer just about having policies in place—it is about being able to prove that the company took documented, reasonable steps to comply with the Labor Code before problems arose. Despite the 2024 PAGA reforms, PAGA filings continued to rise through 2025, and courts are now
What “Reasonable Steps” Really Mean in 2026: How California Employers Reduce PAGA and Employment Litigation Exposure
As California employers move through 2026, one thing is clear: employment litigation—and PAGA litigation in particular—is not slowing down.
Despite the highly publicized 2024 PAGA reforms, 2025 became the largest year yet for PAGA LWDA filings. That reality has
At Zaller Law Group, we do not talk about AI and technology in the abstract. We use it—every day—as a litigation tool to give our clients a measurable advantage.
California wage-and-hour and PAGA cases are data cases. Outcomes often turn on what the time records actually show, how quickly they can be analyzed, and whether
As California employers enter 2026, one thing is clear: PAGA risk is not going away—and it is not plateauing.
The numbers tell the story. Despite the highly publicized 2024 PAGA reforms, 2025 became the largest year yet for PAGA filings. That reality should reset expectations for California employers. Reform did not reduce filings—it changed how
Happy Holidays! As we close out 2025, I’m reflecting on an incredible year at Zaller Law Group. This year brought both challenges and opportunities for California employers—from navigating new 2026 legislation to managing the ongoing wave of PAGA litigation, to embracing AI tools that are transforming how businesses operate.
Despite the complexity of California’s regulatory
For most California employers, employee time and pay data has historically been treated as a legal obligation—something you keep because the law requires it, not because it creates value.
That mindset needs to change in 2026.
After years of defending employers in wage-and-hour class actions and PAGA cases, I have seen firsthand how employee data