[Source: Fox & Hounds] Over the years the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Air Quality Management District (AQMD) have been viewed by the business community as being over bearing and business unfriendly, especially since California is already the most environmentally regulated location on earth. Well, with the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 617 (C. Read More…
Category: California News
Despite court challenge, California pushes forward with retirement program for all workers in state
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Workers at architecture firm and general contractor Walker Workshop have planned and built high-end homes from Long Island to the Hollywood Hills. But planning for retirement and building savings is another story. Like many small business, the 16-employee Los Angeles company doesn’t offer a pension or 401(k) plan. Starting in January, Read More…
Here are important California labor law changes for 2019
[Source: North Bay Business Journal] With the new year around the corner, now is the time to prepare for new labor laws that will impact North Bay businesses in 2019. Among those includes a law, signed in 2016, which raises the minimum wage incrementally, boosting it on Jan. 1 to $11 per hour for employers Read More…
Downturn looms as leadership test for California, world’s 5th largest economy
[Source: The New York Times] It has the highest concentration of billionaires in the country. It exports more computers than any other state. It is the nation’s largest producer of agriculture products by far: More than $6 billion in dairy products alone last year. California is an economic powerhouse — now the fifth largest economy Read More…
CARB adopts blueprint for statewide community air protection in areas most impacted by pollution
[Source: CARB Office of Communications] Opening a new chapter in California’s fight against air pollution, the California Air Resources Board today took key steps toward implementing the Community Air Protection Program, a first-of-its-kind effort to improve air quality in local communities that face the worst impacts of air pollution. “This program represents a completely new Read More…
Anger in California’s carpool lanes as more than 200,000 drivers are set to lose decals
[Source: Los Angeles Times] For some California commuters, cutting down on carbon emissions isn’t a sexy enough reason to buy an electric car. But the ability to bypass freeway traffic without having to carpool — that’s another story. So there is grumbling in high-occupancy-vehicle lanes across California these days. On Jan. 1, the owners of Read More…
Gavin Newsom, John Cox a world apart on environmental issues
[Source: San Francisco Chronicle] Gavin Newsom and John Cox both drive zero-emission Teslas. That’s about where the common ground ends between California’s candidates for governor when it comes to the environment. Until recently, Cox said he wasn’t sure how much humans contribute to climate change. “I’m not a climatologist,” the Republican candidate would say. As Read More…
California to rely on 100% clean electricity by 2045 under bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown
[Source: Los Angeles Times] All of California’s electricity will come from clean power sources by 2045 under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, the latest in a series of ambitious goals set by the state to combat the effects of climate change. Brown hailed the move as another example of the state’s global Read More…
State Supreme Court ruling protects employers, preserves workers’ comp exclusivity
[Source: CalChamber] The California State Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of employers finding that an employee’s tort claims against a doctor who reviewed workers’ compensation cases is preempted by the workers’ compensation law. In December 2016, the California Chamber of Commerce filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case of King v. CompPartners, Inc. (S232197), arguing Read More…