Farida Jhabvala Romero / KQED

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.