Assemblymember Marie WaldronSpecial to Valley NewsHundreds of new laws went into effect Jan. 1. Many are non-controversial or have limited impact, but some will directly affect the lives of thousands of Californians.Among these are laws impacting businesses and employees. California’s minimum wage will increase to $14 for companies with 26 or more employees and $13 for smaller companies. California companies with five or more employees, instead of 50 or more, will now be required to provide 12 weeks of family leave. All publicly owned companies based in California will be required to have at least one woman on their board of directors, companies with 100 or more employees will be required to report employee wage data to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to help i
