Hello there my dear readers! Happy new year!

I know it has been a while since you’ve heard from your humble blogger and, believe me, it is one of my biggest heartbreaks to have been away so long.

Now, before you start recounting the rumors you’ve heard, I can assure you (once again) that no, I have not been (justly) incarcerated, my fingers have not been broken for owing money to Lenny “the Finger-Breaker” Marone for unpaid horse racing losses, and (this one is my favorite) I have not become an applicant attorney and scared away all my potential clients by calling them all malingerers (old habits do die hard…)

Rest assured dear readers, your money is safer betting that your humble blogger is participating in the violent overthrow of the rightful government of Arrakis before abandoning the ranks of the intrepid defense attorneys that hold the line of the defense community.

So, as the kids say these days: “new year, new me.”  And what can we expect from 2020?  Well, how about a friendly recap of some of California’s legislation, carefully considered to promote the abundance of wealth that comes from a vibrant economy, which takes effect as of today?

For starters, California minimum wage is now $12.00 per hour ($13 if the employer has more than 25 employees).  If your injured worker earned minimum wage and was on TD, is he or she going to seek a rate increase to reflect the 8.3% increase?

California has once again enacted legislation disapproving of agreements not to seek re-hire, as per AB-749.  While agreements to end the employment relationship will remain in effect, agreements not to seek future employment will not be enforced in California if signed on or after today.

The TTD rate has gone up as well for injuries sustained or after today, with the minimum rate going from $187.71 to $194.91 to and the maximum going from $1,251.38 to $1,299.43.

The big one, of course, is AB-5, that will make it considerably harder to raise and maintain the independent-contractor defense.  It is your humble blogger’s understanding that there are several legal challenges pending so we’ll see if AB-5 survives to see welcome 2021 (one can hope…)

What am I missing, dear readers?

Happy New Year from your humblest of bloggers!