Golden State Today

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) California has announced a series of updates and events for the week of March 24-28, 2025. A key highlight is a webinar scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, at 10 a.m., featuring Ben Ebbink, a prominent labor and employment law attorney. The session will cover significant new laws for small businesses in 2025 and ongoing compliance issues from previous years.

Ebbink brings extensive experience to the discussion, having worked as a partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP and serving as legislative advocate and principal of FP Advocacy LLC. He also spent 15 years as chief consultant to the California Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment. This marks his fifth webinar with NFIB.

In legislative news, NFIB recently released its "Good, Bad, and Ugly Bills" list for 2025. Just two days after publication, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee voted against one of the bills deemed beneficial by NFIB. Senate Bill 2 aimed to prevent upcoming changes to Low Carbon Fuel Standard regulations that could raise gas prices by $0.65 per gallon.

Senate Bill 261 on wage theft is set for review by the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee this Wednesday. The bill proposes public posting of orders or decisions against employers regarding labor law violations on an official website.

Upcoming calendar highlights include Cesar Chavez Day on March 31 when the legislature will not be in session, followed by spring break from April 10-21.

On a national level, NFIB has expressed approval following FinCEN's removal of Beneficial Ownership Information requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act. NFIB President Brad Close stated that these requirements were "outrageous and invasive." The organization plans to work with Congress to repeal the act fully.

Additionally, John Kabateck, NFIB California State Director joined discussions on small business recovery post-natural disasters in a recent podcast episode alongside Florida counterpart Bill Herrle and member Aileen Band.

In other news, NFIB participated in an amicus brief related to Amazon.com Services' case against the National Labor Relations Board at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit concerning employer rights during unionization discussions.

The next Main Street Minute update is scheduled for March 31.