
Dilemma of the Month: Asking About Health
What you need to know about the ADA and evaluating an applicant's health
I interviewed a job candidate who was severely overweight and had trouble walking. While the job is mostly a desk job (administrative assistant) the admins are expected to run things back and forth when needed. Could I have asked her about her health? I didn’t. I didn’t offer her the job, either, and now I’m feeling guilty. What should I have done?

Behind Closed Doors
Mayor Christopher Cabaldon has spent 20 years shaping West Sacramento — few know of the tragic accident that’s driven him forward
It is impossible to know what West Sacramento would look like without its most prominent advocate, Mayor Christopher Cabaldon. And it’s impossible to understand the mayor without understanding the tragic accident that drove him towards success.

Commonly Used Employer Interview Practices Now Prohibited by Law
By now, most employers know there are certain questions they can ask, and certain questions they must avoid when interviewing a candidate for a job. They know that anti-discrimination laws apply before a worker is even hired, and have heard stories about costly lawsuits resulting from an employer asking the wrong question of a prospective employee during a job interview.

As Capitol is Hit by “Me Too” Reports of Sexual Harassment, Will Lawmakers Make Changes?
Do Capitol employees have enough protection to believe that they can report sexual harassment or assault and maintain their careers?

Why CEOs Should Care About Being Political Actors
For the past seven years, I have taught a class at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, which is called “The Business of Politics.” As a guest speaker, Chris Micheli has presented a lecture for several years on lobbying at the State Capitol.

‘Show Your Taxes’—Could California Really Force Presidential Contenders to Do it?
There’s sometimes a fine line between good governance and trolling.
One of this year’s most controversial—if not quite as consequential—state bills is a proposal by Democratic Sen. Mike McGuire of Healdsburg that would require presidential candidates to release their tax returns before they can appear on a California ballot.

Lawmakers Missed a ‘Green’ Opportunity; Could Consumers Pay the Price?
Environmentalists are accustomed to notching wins in the California Legislature, where their projects often receive a friendly hearing from a supermajority of Democrats and a governor with a laser focus on climate change.

Mitigate the Legal Risks of Terminating an Employee
When an at-will termination is at issue, there are certain steps to take and considerations an employer should evaluate to minimize the risk of later becoming the target of a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Should California Look to Massachusetts to Fix its Housing Crisis?
It’s hard to fix a housing crisis.
Just ask the California Legislature. After months of tough negotiations to put together a package of bills aimed at plugging the 100,000 unit affordable housing gap, lawmakers finalized a deal just 24 hours before adjourning for the rest of the year.

Getting To Launch
GO-Biz Director Panorea Avdis on tax incentives, public/private partnerships and ZEVs
California Gov. Jerry Brown created the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, or GO-Biz, in 2012 to serve as a single point of contact for assisting entrepreneurs and others looking to start, grow or move a business that creates jobs in the Golden State. We recently sat down with Director Panorea Avdis to learn more about what the agency is doing to help California businesses.