(Subscription required) "What I could see happening is a loosening... of the federal law that would allow employers to provide certain benefits and protections to their independent contractors without that in and of itself creating an employment relationship," he said.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw — who ordered former President Donald Trump’s administration to reunite thousands of families it separated under the “zero tolerance” immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border — was promoted to Chief Judge of the Southern District of California Thursday.

The California Supreme Court rejected an appeal Wednesday allowing a suit against the business-review company Yelp for secretly recording sales pitches to customers, leaving intact a ruling that bars taping either side of a phone conversation without both parties’ consent.

The Pre-trial Fairness Act significantly limits the types of charges eligible for pre-trial detention at the first court date, among other provisions. No one arrested for a misdemeanor, with the exception of domestic violence, can be jailed pre-trial and many other charges which are unlikely to result in conviction are also ineligible for pre-trial detention.