Farida Jhabvala Romero / KQED

A month after fast food workers in California started earning at least $20 an hour, how is the financial picture for them and franchise owners shaping up?

Fire departments have tried to diversify their ranks for years with only modest success. The profession remains overwhelmingly white and male. One California training program is trying to change that.

Thousands of undocumented farmworkers in California are reaching retirement age. But many need to continue working because they don't have access to retirement benefits such as Social Security.

California has issued voluntary safety guidelines for employers of domestic service workers. These employees have been historically excluded from basic workplace protections.

More than 35,000 Californians who say their employers cheated them out of pay could wait a long time for justice. The state agency tasked with investigating their cases is backlogged and underfunded.

Millions of Americans have been exposed to a tremendous rise in wildfire smoke in recent years. People in rural Northern California are seeing some of the longest periods of smoke.