Sunday, October 11, 2015 was the deadline for the Governor to act on bills that were passed by the legislature.

There were two bills the Governor rejected that are seen as key victories for employers.  They are:

AB 465 was vetoed. This bill sought to bar mandatory employment arbitration agreements.  This would have caused lawsuits to increase and would have driven up litigation costs for California’s employers.  In vetoing AB 465, Brown correctly called the bill “a far-reaching approach that has been consistently struck down in other states” for conflicts with federal law.

Brown also vetoed SB 406, an unwise expansion of the state’s unpaid family leave policy. SB 406 sought to expand the pool of workers who can take up to 12 weeks off to care for grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and parents-in-law.  The Governor indicated this proposal also would conflict with federal law and would potentially require employers to provide up to 24 weeks of family leave in a year.  What are we France?!?

Not all news was good news.  Watch this blog for updates and further discussion about the Governor’s actions on this year’s legislative agenda.