[Source: CalChamber] The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has extended the 2019 and 2020 EEO-1 reporting deadline to August 23, 2021. All employers with 100 or more employees (and federal government contractors with 50 or more employees) are obligated to report their EEO-1 Component data (How to Submit 2019, 2020 EEO-1 Component 1 Data Read More…
Newsroom
The future of EV batteries could be found under the sea
[Source: AXIOS] All the battery metals we need to power a billion electric vehicles could be lying on the floor of the Pacific Ocean — but collecting them and turning them into EV batteries is a major challenge. Why it matters: It’s going to take a lot of batteries to replace the world’s gasoline-powered cars with Read More…
Blackouts loom in California as electricity prices are ‘absolutely exploding’
[Source: Real Clear Energy / Robert Bryce] Two inexorable energy trends are underway in California: soaring electricity prices and ever-worsening reliability – and both trends bode ill (California’s Energy Policies Hurt Minority Citizens the Most | RealClearEnergy) for the state’s low- and middle-income consumers. Last week, the state’s grid operator, the California Independent System Operator, Read More…
DOL tells court it will not defend proposed prevailing wage rule
[Source: The National Law Review] The Department of Labor (DOL) has informed a federal court in California that it did not wish to defend the proposed prevailing wage rule, which would impose steep wage hikes, “at the same time that is internally evaluating the propriety of that Rule” in the challenge to stop the agency Read More…
‘Less water means more gas’: how drought will test California’s stressed power grid
[Source: The Guardian] Earlier this month, the water level in Lake Oroville – California’s second-largest reservoir – was so low that dozens of houseboats were hauled out. There wasn’t enough water to hold them. In a few weeks, officials say, the lake’s water levels are likely to dip even lower – forcing them to shut Read More…
Senate Bill 12 would kill housing construction
[Source: Orange County Register] Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state housing crisis in 2019, calling for 3.5 million new homes to meet the state’s booming economy. California business organizations joined with the Building Industry Association of Southern California, Orange County Business Council, and BizFed LA in supporting that declaration and call to action. Lack of Read More…
California businesses may have to pay more for workers’ compensation as benchmark rates are under review
[Source: The North Bay Business Journal] While it has little to do yet with the coronavirus, workers’ compensation insurance rates may be going up. Over the next month, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara will review rates recommended by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau, a nonprofit which evaluates trends, including the costs of potential claims. Read More…
Save metal finishing in California. Join our efforts. Contribute today.
[Source: MFACA] The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed to phase out decorative hex chrome by 2024, hard chrome by 2028, and chromic acid anodize by 2033. Join our efforts to save metal finishing. Contribute today. CSBA member Metal Finishers Association of California will no longer be able to provide this vital service to Read More…
Is your company prepared for California supply chain carbon emission and climate financial risk disclosures?
[Source: CalChamber] This year, the California Legislature is considering two major new climate policies. The first would alter the way companies collect, audit, disclose, and set carbon emission reductions goals, and the second would require companies to disclose all climate financial risk. Both bills would represent a sea change in how all companies do business—not Read More…