Alan S. Gutterman

Are You Ready for California's New Climate Disclosure Laws? California businesses, it's time to get prepared! Governor Newsom's revised budget allocates funding for the implementation of SB 253 and SB 261, the climate disclosure bills passed in 2023. These laws require companies exceeding certain revenue thresholds to disclose: Greenhouse gas emissions (SB 253) Climate-related financial risks (SB 261) The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will be overseeing the implementation process. Does your business fall under these regulations? Start familiarizing yourself with the requirements now to ensure a smooth transition. #California #ClimateChange #Sustainability

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California Labor Code §3208.3 Claims: How is “Sudden and Extraordinary” Defined? - https://lnkd.in/ghTygSvq In California, employers are required to carry no-fault workers’ compensation insurance coverage for their employees. If a person is hurt on the job, they can file for benefits. However, California Labor Code § 3208.3(d) states that employers cannot be held liable through a workers’ compensation claim for a “psychiatric injury” of an employee who has not been on the job for at least six months. With that being said, situations where a psychiatric injury was caused by a “sudden and extraordinary” event are an exception. Here, our Sacramento workers’ compensation defense law firm explains how “sudden and extraordinary” is defined under California law. Know the Basics: Psychiatric are Compensable After Six Months of Employment In California, workers' compensation laws provide that psychiatric injuries are compensable, but with a notable caveat: the employee must have been employed for at least six months. If a worker develops a psychiatric injury after one day on the job, that injury is presumptive (but not automatically) non-compensable. The six-month requirement is based on the principle that sufficient employment duration allows for a fair assessment of work-related psychiatric stressors. Note: California’s workers’ compensation laws require six months of total employment. The six-month period need not be continuous. An Exception to the Six-Month Requirement for Sudden and Extraordinary Incident There is a critical exception to the six-month rule for psychiatric workers’ compensation claims in California: Trauma caused by a “sudden and extraordinary” event is compensable regardless of an employee’s tenure. In other words, a worker may apply to get workers’ compensation benefits for a psychiatric injury right away as long as they can assert that they endured some form of sudden and extraordinary event in the workplace. How California Defines “Sudden and Extraordinary” in Workers’ Compensation Cases The definition of “sudden and extraordinary” events in California workers' compensation cases can be central to these cases. However, the legal definition is somewhat vague, and courts will always closely examine the specific facts of the case. From a legal perspective, these terms have been interpreted to mean that a psychiatric injury within the first six months must be: Unforeseeable (sudden); and Unusual and inherently traumatic (extraordinary). The California Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) generally looks for incidents that deviate significantly from the routine work activities an employee might be expected to perform. For instance, a retail worker experiencing a violent armed robbery could be considered exposed to a "sudden and extraordinary" event, given th

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The California Climate Corporate Accountability Act and Corporate Accountability Act are groundbreaking laws that alter disclosure requirements for certain public and private U.S. companies operating in the state of California. While the timeline for disclosure may shift, is your business making plans to prepare? From in-depth analyses of regulatory gaps, climate risk assessments, and comprehensive inventories of Scopes 1, 2 and 3, we've got you covered! Download our California Climate Guide now 👇 http://spr.ly/6041irQUv

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Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed delaying the implementation date of the climate-related financial disclosure requirements SB 253 and 261 from 2025 to 2027. He cited infeasibility in meeting the original deadline and concern over inconsistent reporting as a result. The proposed amendments would also delay reporting on Scope 1 and 2 emissions to 2028 and Scope 3 until 2029. California's climate disclosure rules that were passed in October 2023 are more stringent than the SEC rules that were finalized in March 2024, and affect many of the same companies. The SEC rules have been stayed pending litigation. Despite this news, several other states are pushing forward on their own climate-related financial disclosure rules. New York, Washington State, Illinois and Minnesota have all introduced bills, much of which is similar to California but with slight nuances in each case. For example, New York would require annual reporting whereas California requires reporting only every other year. Illinois's bill also requires companies to report on Scope 3 emissions, but gives them just six months extra time to do so, rather than the additional two years that California allows. Despite the legal and logistical challenges facing climate-related financial disclosure rules, the continued momentum across various states gives an overall sense of inevitability to mandatory climate reporting in the US. https://lnkd.in/eDqdrRUJ #climateregulations #esgregulations #SECclimate #CSRD #TCFD

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For those of you who think charitable solicitations laws are archaic and don’t matter, think again! This new California law will apply to nationwide #ecommerce companies and #retailers so now is the time to understand what it means for your business. #causemarketing #adlaw

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Hawaii settled a lawsuit with youth climate activists which will commit the state to make major steps toward decarbonizing its transportation systems. Filed in 2022, the lawsuit was Navahine v. Hawai’i Department of Transportation. In it, various youth plaintiffs accused Hawaii of violating their state constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment” by allowing (and incentivizing) its transportation systems to act as “a major and increasing contributor” to GHG emissions. The settlement, signed last Thursday, commits the state to: -Reducing emissions in Hawaii within a year, and setting five-year interim emission reduction targets with a 2045 net-zero goal; -increase use of zero-carbon fuels for ground, air and marine transportation; and -Building out public transport and pathways for pedestrians and cyclists. I'll post a link to the full original complaint in the comments. #climate #sustainability #climatelaw

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"Designing for uncertainty" is increasingly important for climate solutions to ensure that the policies we put into place and investments made are adaptable. This new report by my colleagues at Resources for the Future assesses over 60 options for cap-and-trade policy design to find the ones most likely to drive down emissions while generating revenue for frontline communities. Check it out!

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𝗢𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝘂𝗺 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗿. When I meet with early-stage startup founders about patent protection, they often tell me that they only need patents in the U.S. because they will not be doing a significant amount of business internationally. Yet, in the next breath, they tell me that their exit strategy is to be acquired by Microsoft, Google, Amazon, or another multinational tech giant. That's when I point out that obtaining patents -- or at least preserving patent rights -- outside the U.S. can add significant value to their company in an acquisition by a multinational company. This is just one example of why it is so important to 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. For example, ask yourself not only 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 patents those acquirers would find valuable, but 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 they would find it valuable to acquire patents from you. Although obtaining an international patent portfolio can be expensive, there are strategies for maximizing the return on investment on an international patent portfolio efficiently. For example, once you have invested in an initial patent application in your home country, you can file a PCT (international) patent application at a relatively low marginal cost that preserves your patent rights in most countries for 2.5 years from your original filing date. If you get acquired before that deadline arises, your acquirer can assume the cost of pursuing patent protection in multiple countries. You can also strategically select certain patent applications for which to preserve foreign rights. If you're an early stage startup and have filed several patent applications in your home country, preserving international rights for even 𝗼𝗻𝗲 of those patent applications often can significantly increase the attractiveness of your patent portfolio to a multinational acquirer. I know that resources are scarce in growing startup companies and that everything is competing for scarce funds. If, however, your goal is to be acquired by a multinational company that values patents, 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲. Relatively small incremental investments in patents in multiple countries can provide a significant return on investment when assessed by a large company that stands to benefit from, and has the resources to invest in, those patents in multiple countries. #patents #intellectualproperty

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As we gear up for the November elections, Asian Law Caucus attorneys, advocates, and strategists are preparing know-your-rights materials in 12+ languages for voters across California. We’re planning for workshops at community centers and getting ready to launch the state’s largest nonpartisan election protection program. In March, more than 200 people, including many of you, served as volunteer poll monitors, helping to ensure voters across 640 polling sites could cast their ballots fairly and equally. If you’re interested in getting involved this November, email us at pollmonitor@advancingjustice-alc.org. This work is crucial for communities of color and immigrant communities. Last month, ALC’s Eileen Ma discussed the growing power of Asian American and immigrant voters with Stand Up America and our partners at Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) Michigan: “It will probably be more challenging than ever for many in our communities to vote. So we need to encourage as many eligible voters as possible to cast their ballots and insist on dismantling unjust barriers…It’s so important to marshall up the resources necessary to reach out to and turn out our communities to vote, including in the languages they use.”  READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/gwiGi8zm #GOTV #AAPIvote #AAPI #Democracy #Election2024 #CAvotes #Election2024 #KnowYourRights #VotingRights

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SB 343 was passed by the California Legislature and signed into law by Governor Newsom in 2021, and it was intended to limit deceptive or misleading claims about the recyclability of products and packaging. It sought to do so by limiting claims of recyclability—including use of the well-known chasing arrows symbol—to products and packaging that meet certain criteria. Generally, the criteria are that the material is of a type collected by jurisdictions serving at least 60% of California and is sorted into defined waste streams for recycling facilities serving at least 60% of recycling programs statewide. By Donald Sobelman and Christopher Rendall-Jackson

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Copyright allies -- on June 5, 2024 (Wednesday) at 12pm Pacific time, I'll be co-hosting another monthly Copyright Interest Group call of the California Lawyers Association. We'll have a couple of superb guest speakers -- i.e., Aaron Moss and Jeremy S. Goldman -- and we'll be discussing the most recent copyright developments over the past month, including: - USSC rules that copyright damages for a timely claim under the discovery rule can proceed past three years (Warner Chappell v. Nealy) - USSC declines to decide whether the discovery rule even applies to copyright claims (Hearst v. Martinelli)  - Copyright Act preempts X/Twitter's web scraping state law claims under copyright law’s “conflict preemption” - The latest developments in GenAI/copyright litigations - Cher triumphs in lengthy copyright termination battle against Sonny Bono’s widow regarding re royalty payments - Second Circuit upholds Childish Gambino’s victory in ‘This Is America’ infringement case - Netflix obtains en banc Tenth Circuit hearing on the ‘Tiger King’ appeal - Internet Archive fails to dismiss record labels’ copyright lawsuit over IA’s ‘Great 78’ phonograph archiving project If you'd like the Zoom info for the June 5th call, please send me a message. #copyright

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Legal Innovators California brings together private practice and in-house professionals actively shaping the legal innovation landscape or avid users of available solutions, attracting key decision-makers from both sectors alongside leading legal tech disruptors. This year, we introduce a new program section: the Start-Up Gallery. This initiative provides early-stage startups with a platform to delve into the legal industry and foster innovation. Currently, our Start-Up Gallery features LawDroid - Generative AI Legal Technology and Abstract. LawDroid, an intelligent automation company with a mission to promote Justice Everywhere, enables firms to engage and capture new clients through interactive chatbots, while providing data-driven insights and document automation. Additionally, it offers scalable tools for legal services and natural language processing for immediate client support. Based in San Francisco, California, Abstract is a VC-backed applied AI-tech startup operating in the Gov & Legal sectors. It serves as a project management and intelligence platform for understanding the impact of government policies on business and communities, as well as a tool to improve those policies. Abstract leverages AI models and proprietary data processing tech to uncover risks and opportunities posed by current and changing government policy for an organization's products, assets, investments, labor force, manufacturing, and more! Secure your seat at our Start-Up Gallery and witness new legal innovation firsthand this June! https://lnkd.in/eMqvvptS Richard Tromans | Artificial Lawyer |  Relativity | Tangible Global | FOSSA | ClearyX |  Incorporight Inc. | LegalOn Technologies  | SkillBurst Interactive | Jus Mundi | Steno | DWF | LawDroid - Generative AI Legal Technology | Abstract #legalinnovatorscalifornia #LegalInnovation #LegalTech #LawTechConference #LegalDisruption #LegalTechSolutions #sanfransicoevents #legalevents #legalinnovators #LegalInsights #TechInLaw

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Sharing a few excerpts from my article in Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine on AI and access to justice. First - what is the problem we must address? "While it is often the most vulnerable communities that face the most adverse outcomes, similar challenges span the socioeconomic spectrum. Start-ups, freelancers, and small businesses face legal issues that frequently result in lost revenue and almost always present a challenge to growth. Even large corporations face inefficiencies as prohibitive legal costs force them to manage some legal issues internally rather than utilize outside counsel—CEOs often tell their outside law firms how much more work they would send them if their fees were more affordable. Moreover, the negative impacts are not confined to the client’s side. Solo practitioners, as well as small and medium-sized law firms, struggle to generate enough business despite the scope of unaddressed demand. The rates these firms must charge to generate a profit after covering costs associated with marketing and client intake render their services inaccessible to a majority of Americans. Indeed, the high cost of hiring a lawyer puts paid legal advice out of reach for many people, with average hourly costs for lawyers ranging from nearly $200 to more than $500."

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