Under pre-existing law, if a tenant abandoned belongings which remained unclaimed for the statutory 15-or 18-day notice period, the disposition of the property by the landlord was dependent on whether the landlord reasonably believed the total resale value of the abandoned unclaimed tenant property was less than $300.

If the abandoned property was reasonably estimated to be worth less than $300, the landlord was entitled to dispose of it in any manner as she/he saw fit; but if the property was worth $300 or more, a landlord was required to hold an advertised public sale or auction open to competitive bidding.

Finally, after years of debate, the above monetary threshold value has finally been increased from $300 to $700, thereby allowing a California landlord to keep, sell, or destroy a tenant’s unclaimed abandoned personal property if the total resale value of the property is reasonably believed to be less than $700.

Under recently enacted legislation, California Civil Code §1950.5 (f)(1) and 1946 are amended to further provide that a landlord may not charge for storage costs if the former tenant reclaims their abandoned property within two (2) days; and to provide that a landlord may send the 15-day or 18-day abandoned personal property notice to the tenant by e-mail to an address provided by the tenant. [...]

Under existing law, a building or portion thereof including any dwelling unit, room or suite of rooms, or the premises on which these are located, is deemed to be ""substandard"" if specified conditions exist to an extent that endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the public or the occupants.

Under newly enacted legislation, [...]

Beginning January 1, 2014, a California employer's ability to recover attorney’s fees and costs in wage claims is further restricted. Effective January 1, 2014, Labor Code §218.5 will only permit an employer to recover attorney's fees and costs if the employer can prove that the employee brought the action in "bad faith." "Bad faith” is not defined by the statute, but typically a showing of "bad faith" requires proof of some type of intentional wrongdoing, or malice, on the part of the employee bringing the claim.

California Governor Jerry Brown on September 25, 2013, signed a bill into law that amends Labor Code §1182.12 and increases the state’s hourly minimum wage for all industries from $8.00 (presently) to at least $9.00 per hour effective January 1, 2014 and to at least $10.00 an hour by January 1, 2016. California employers should review their commissioned and salaried exempt pay rates to ensure their exempt from overtime employees pay continues to meet the minimum salary test.