[Source: CalMatters] As the coronavirus pandemic was clobbering California — and the rest of the known world — this month, local government officials in Sacramento County enthusiastically decided to ask voters to approve a hefty sales tax increase for transportation improvements. Were members of the Sacramento Transportation Authority board smoking some of California’s newly legalized Read More…
Newsroom
Furloughs versus layoffs: is there a difference in California?
[Source: CalChamber] Many Californian businesses are facing difficult choices during this COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic). Confronting losses in revenue and uncertainty in the future, businesses are evaluating their options for preserving their companies while maintaining their workforce. CalChamber members are asking, “What is the difference between furloughing and laying off employees?” Read More…
COVID-19 federal paid leaves explained
[Source: CalChamber] The federal government passed a coronavirus emergency relief package on March 18 that provides protected paid leave to workers impacted by COVID-19. In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg is joined by employment law expert Benjamin Ebbink and CalChamber Executive Vice President Jennifer Barrera to discuss what Read More…
The rise in PAGA penalties is evidence of law’s abuse
[Source: Orange County Register] There’s growing recognition among California’s small businesses, nonprofits, and legislators that the state’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which deputizes employees and trial lawyers to enforce state labor law, must be reformed to curtail widespread abusive lawsuits. Over the last 15 years, more than 35,000 PAGA notices have been sent to Read More…
Predictable scheduling law not justified in California
[Source: Chris Micheli] This year, there is another effort to enact a “predictable scheduling” mandate on California employers, SB 850 (Leyva), which many believe would impose an unfair, one-size-fits-all, scheduling mandate on retail and food employers that penalizes these employers with “additional pay” for making changes to their employees’ schedule. Some of the concerns with Read More…
L.A.-Long Beach ports approve truck fee too low to clean smog, groups charge
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Los Angeles and Long Beach officials voted Monday to impose a modest fee on shipping containers moving through the nation’s largest port complex, in a first step toward helping truckers replace their diesel vehicles with lower-polluting models. The decision by harbor commissioners, which followed hours of public testimony at a joint Read More…
Coronavirus support available for workers, employers
[Source: CalChamber] On Thursday, March 5, California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) clarified employer and employee coverage related to the coronavirus disease 2019, also known as COVID-19. The additional support comes one day after Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency as part of California’s response to the coronavirus. Covered employees who’ve been exposed to Read More…
E.P.A. updates plan to limit science used in environmental rules
[Source: The New York Times] The Trump administration has formally revised a proposal that would significantly restrict the type of research that can be used to draft environmental and public health regulations, a measure that experts say amounts to one of the government’s most far-reaching restrictions on science. The revisions made public Tuesday evening mean Read More…
Why coronavirus could hit small businesses the hardest
[Source: Yahoo Finance] Keeping the U.S. economy on its feet as coronavirus pervades American borders is up to consumers and how much they’re willing to go out and spend, especially at small and midsize businesses, supply chain management expert Hitendra Chaturvedi says. Chaturvedi, a professor at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, said Read More…