Business Law Agribusiness Committee

Since 1872, California has favored open competition and declared, with limited exceptions, that contractual provisions restraining an individual from ”engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business” are void.  California Business & Professions Code § 16600. Read more

California’s new climate disclosure requirements, Senate Bill 253 (SB 253) and Senate Bill 261 (SB 261), could significantly impact California’s agriculture industry. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bills into law on October 7, 2023, intending to increase climate transparency and accountability. The laws are the first of their kind in the United States. They will require companies doing business in California to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks. Together, the laws will significantly affect companies across the globe who conduct business in the state, which is poised to become the world’s fourth-largest economy. Read more

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) put the pedal to the proverbial metal with its recentCemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC decision and companion New Rule governing the formation of unions. Read more

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana (“Viking River Cruises”), the California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Adolph v. Uber Technologies (“Adolph”) provides further guidance on statutory standing under the Private Attorney General Act ("PAGA"). In Adolph, the California Supreme Court held that if an employee is compelled to arbitrate individual claims for labor code violations, and that employee is found to be aggrieved, the employee can maintain statutory standing to pursue PAGA claims in court arising out of the same events involving other employees. Read more

On June 1, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Morales-Garcia v. Better Produce, Inc., No. 22-55119 (9th Cir. June 1, 2023) affirmed the Central District of California’s ruling in favor of two strawberry marketers holding that the marketers were not “client employers” liable for laborers’ unpaid wages despite the fact that the farmworkers were working on the marketers’ farmlands, which were subleased to the growers. Read more

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established the first pesticide tolerance for hemp. This tolerance is for the pesticide ethalfluralin. Read more

The Agribusiness Committee of the California Lawyers Association’s Business Law Section presents guest speaker Mike Howerton on the topic: Intuitive Business Development for Overworked Lawyers on February 21, 2023, at 12 noon to 12:30 p.m.  Get real tips and a practical action plan to grow and development your legal practice from an entrepreneurial and executive coach!  Read more

The Agribusiness Committee of the California Lawyers Association’s Business Law Section hosted an informative Webinar on October 18, 2022 entitled Agribusiness Legislative Update. Read more

The Agribusiness Committee of the California Lawyers Association’s Business Law Section presents a webinar on Banking and Lending for Agribusiness (food and produce distributors and related industries) on November 15, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Read more

The Agribusiness Committee of the California Lawyers Association’s Business Law Section presents a webinar on Banking and Lending for Agribusiness (food and produce distributors and related industries) on November 15, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Read more