The 2022-23 Budget: Supply Chain and Port Infrastructure Proposals

Feb 15, 2022 - Short ‑Term vs. Long ‑Term Strategies. The  current supply chain disruptions are the result of both short ‑term issues, such as greater consumer demand, as well as long ‑term issues, such as the capacity and resilience of the goods movement system.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4540

Federal Paid Leave for Workers Impacted by COVID-19

Mar 27, 2020 - The federal test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is different than the state test. As a result, some California workers, including those who work for app-based companies, may be employees under California law but independent contractors under federal law.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4212

The 2020-21 Spending Plan: Labor and Employment Issues

Oct 5, 2020 - This post provides a high-level overview of the state ’s major labor and employment programs and highlights the major labor issues in the budget package, including provisions related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4274

The 2020-21 Budget: Staffing to Address New Independent Contractor Test

Feb 11, 2020 - New Law Also Exempts Some Professions From the ABC Test. The new law exempts some professions from the new test. These workers may continue working as independent contractors. Workers excluded from the new test include, among others, physicians, construction contractors, real estate agents, attorneys, accountants, private detectives, and travel agents.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4151

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 10 (Professional Scientists)

Aug 28, 2018 - We highlight the major fiscal provisions below. Pay Increase for All Unit 10 Members in 2019-20 and 2020-21. The agreement would provide all Unit 10 members a 5  percent General Salary Increase (GSI) effective July 1, 2019 and an additional 5  percent GSI effective July 1, 2020.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/3881

Repaying the State’s Federal Unemployment Insurance Loan

May 26, 2021 - In this post, we (1)  provide an overview of the state ’s UI system financing, (2)  highlight how the pandemic affected the UI system, (3)  look ahead to upcoming costs to employers and the state to repay the federal UI loan, and (4)  assess the Governor ’s proposed $1.1  billion pre-payment.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4442

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Units 10 (Professional Scientists) and 18 (Psychiatric Technician)

Sep 9, 2025 - We highlight the changes relative to the 2024 MOU below. Increases 2025-26 Special Salary Adjustments for Employees Below Top Step of Salary Ranges. The 2024 MOU included pay increases in 2025-26 of (1)  between 4  percent and 5  percent for employees at the top step of their classification ’s salary range and (2)  3  percent for employees not at the top step of their classification ’s salary range.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5073

Climate Change Impacts Across California - Workers and Employers

Apr 5, 2022 - As highlighted in Figure  1, such industries include agricultural production, forestry, commercial and residential construction, utilities, and landscaping, as well as the outdoor ‑based hospitality, services, and recreation industries.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4587

The 2020-21 Budget: Improving the State's Unpaid Wage Claim Process

Feb 19, 2020 - The proposal also highlights recent efforts to build industry expertise among its staff. For instance, each hearing officer in an office might specialize in one field —say , wage claims in the construction industry.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4165

The 2024-25 Budget: State Employee Compensation

Mar 21, 2024 - Because of these concerns, we highlight questions below for budget committees to consider asking the administration. Why did the administration choose vacant positions as the metric to identify savings?
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4888