Governor Jerry Brown signed dozens of bills into law on July 16, 2015. We’ve complied a few that may have an impact on your practice below.

• AB 987 by Assemblymember Marc B. Levine (D-San Rafael) – Employment discrimination: unlawful employment practices. Revises provisions of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) related to employee requests for accommodation. Specifically, this bill makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer or other covered entity to retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting an accommodation for physical or mental disability or religious belief or observance, regardless of whether the request was granted. This legislation is in response to a recent California Court of Appeal decision in Rope v. Auto-Clor System of Washington, Inc., 220 Cal. App. 4th 635 (2013). Read the law as amended here.
• SB 594 by Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) – Child custody. This bill specifies that a child custody evaluation, investigation, or assessment, and any resulting report, may only be considered by the court if the evaluation, investigation, or assessment, and any resulting report, is conducted in accordance with the minimum requirements. Read the law as amended here.
• SB 146 by Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) – Real estate licensees: fictitious business names: team names. This bill exempts “team names” of realtors from the requirement of filing a fictitious business name (FBN) with their local county when providing real estate services and revises the definition of “responsible broker’s identity”. Read the law as amended here.
• AB 87 by Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley) – Jurors: peremptory challenge. Clarifies the prohibition against discrimination in the exercise of peremptory challenges to prospective jurors. Read the law as amended here.
• AB 539 by Assemblymember Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) – Search warrants. Authorizes the issuance of a search warrant to compel a blood draw from a person suspected of operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Read the law as amended here.
• SB 14 by Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) – Sexual battery: consent defense: minor’s sexual conduct. Prohibits a consent defense in certain civil actions involving sexual intercourse with a minor and prohibits the use of evidence of the minor’s sexual conduct with the adult perpetrator. Read the law as amended here.
• SB 651 by Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino) – Juvenile conduct: victims. This bill conforms the definition of “victim” for purposes of restitution in juvenile delinquency proceedings to the definition of “victim” applicable in adult criminal restitution proceedings. Read the law as amended here.