Only Fairview? Really?
It’s a rare day to be featured in the lead editorial of the LA Times. But, if you want to see how far out this editorial board has become, then you’ll enjoy their simplistic treatise on coronavirus, insisting Fairview Developmental Center in Costa Mesa is the proper location to quarantine highly contagious coronavirus patients. Perhaps […]
Let’s Repair Minimum Wage Law
Last week, I was up in Sacramento speaking with legislators on one of our monthly advocacy trips with our members of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. A new year brings new bills: hundreds of ideas, some fresh, and some old. The new year also brings an opportunity to fix the unintended consequences of past […]
2020 and Another Minimum Wage Hike
Just like earlier this year, because of the enactment of SB 3 (Leno) in 2016, California’s minimum wage is going up again next month. On January 1, 2020, the state’s minimum wage will be increased for all sizes of businesses as “small employers” will see their third wage hike in recent years. Under prior state […]
Threatening to Jump onto a Freeway; LA Homelessness; Business on the Move
Whatever the reason, there was a man who recently threatened to jump from a bridge along the Hollywood Freeway causing both north and south bound lanes to be shut down for 11 hours! It all began around 11:00 pm on a recent Monday evening and concluded the following Tuesday morning around 10:00 am. For nearly […]
Labor unions and businesses must unite to fix PAGA
California trial lawyers are licking their chops over a trio of new state employment laws that significantly expand the liability of Golden State businesses. Assembly Bill 5, passed last month, severely restricts the use of contractors. Senate Bill 142, passed this month, adds rules regarding workplace lactation rooms. And, AB 673, also passed this month, […]
The Political and Policy Tensions of AB 5 (Dynamex)
Some have questioned the business community advocating a “support, if amended” position on AB 5 (Gonzalez), the bill that seeks to codify last year’s California Supreme Court ruling in Dynamex Operations West regarding worker classification and impose the “ABC Test”. The Supreme Court and subsequent appellate court decisions have ruled up to this point that […]
Fact check: Do Californians really cool on ballot measures as the election approaches?
In 2020, California voters will be asked to weigh in on some of the most contentious and consequential issues facing the state — criminal justice reform, rent control, school construction funding and inequality. For those hoping to make sense of the deluge of political polls and they’re likely to see over the next year, consider […]
Thoughts on the Recent Legislative Session; The Housing Crisis Unresolved
While the legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom had some solid accomplishments in the recent session, they fell short in dealing with California’s great curse of homelessness and the related shortage of housing affordable enough for working people. This is not a surprise. Homelessness and the housing shortage have so far proved immune to any solution. […]
Labor had a banner year in California — now will workers unionize?
Last summer, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled public sector unions couldn’t compel fees from nonunion workers, the talk was that organized labor had been hit hard, was facing a mass exodus, and was playing defense even in pro-labor California. Talk about a comeback. This week, as state lawmakers wrap up for the year, labor is celebrating a […]
Who’s in, who’s out of AB 5?
Doctors, real estate agents and hairdressers can keep their independent contractor status. But not truckers, commercial janitors, nail salon workers, physical therapists and — significantly — gig economy workers, who will gain the rights and benefits of employees in California under sweeping workplace legislation passed Wednesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom has committed to signing the bill, […]