The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - December 21, 2017 LA Rams, Target Join Inglewood PD Last Saturday morning, the Los Angeles Rams joined the Inglewood Police Department and the Target Corporation for the 2017 Shop With a Cop Initiative held at the Inglewood Target. This year, Inglewood PD decided to partner with Aidan’z House, a non-profit organization serving as a supportive resource for families with special needs children. Each child from Aidan’z House received a $100 Target gift card and was paired with an Inglewood PD officer and Rams personnel to guide them through the aisles and purchase items on their holiday wish lists. Here is a group shot from the event. Photo by Will Navarro New Laws Passed to End Pay Gap and Harassment in the Workplace By Rob McCarthy the new pay equity law. South Bay employers next year will be AB 168 applies to all employers, including paying more and asking less when the state’s state and local government employers and minimum wage rises again and a new law ends the Legislature. Violation of the “don’t ask, the practice of asking prospective employees don’t tell” rule governing past salary is a how much they’ve earned at past jobs. misdemeanor, subject to a penalty. The Western The hike in the minimum hourly wage to States Trucking Association denounced the law, $11 is just one of the changes that companies saying it “effectively eliminates an employer’s must incorporate into their employment practices ability to negotiate wage, as well as creates in the new year. The state minimum wage is a new reason to sue.” The San Jose School scheduled to increase every year on January 1 District in the Bay Area also opposed the bill, until it reaches $15 in 2022. Companies with saying that salary history information was 26 or more employees must pay $11 per hour, valuable in assessing the quality of candidates while smaller employers are required to pay for teaching jobs. $10.50 per hour next year. Local legislators Assemblywoman Autumn Employers, particularly food service and Burke, D-Inglewood), and State Senator Ben retailers, could choose to reduce employees’ Allen (D-Redondo Beach) supported the hours to lessen the impact of the wage hike bill’s passage. Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi on payroll and operating expenses. Economists (D-Torrance) did not cast vote on AB 168. predicted when passed in 2015, the $15 minimum Ahead of the change, employers are being wage law would hurt employment by forcing advised to revise job applications, all hiring business owners to cut staff and hours. forms and notices--both online and hard The other pay-related change ahead for South copies. Company hiring materials should omit Bay companies is AB 168, which the Legislature any questions that could seek salary history approved in hopes of narrowing the gender pay information, and policy and procedure manuals gap for women. Employers no longer can ask for interviewing and screening job applicants a job candidate about his or her salary history, should be revised, according to employment and instead must provide a salary range for the law firms. position if asked what a position pays. Another change coming for human resource Using salary history in pre-employment professionals and employment agencies is known screening contributed to the gender pay gap, as the “ban the box” law. Much like the salary the bill’s supporters said. Men traditionally earn question, employers no longer may ask job higher salaries than their female counterparts applicants during the interviewing process if for doing the same work, and knowing salary they’ve been convicted of a crime. An employer history gave employers an unfair leverage in can, however, withdraw an offer of employment salary negotiations, according to supporters to a candidate if a conviction or criminal history of the bill. shows up on a background check. A person’s salary history cannot be a criterion Employers with five or fewer employees are when a company is considering making an offer exempt, as are a small number of jobs. Those of employment either, under the new law. The include government positions that require a Legislature a year ago approved a less restrictive criminal background, farm labor contractors law that a company could not rely to past salary and criminal justice positions. to justify a wage gap between two employees Other employment-related changes happening with the same job responsibilities. on January 1 include: The new law is a total ban of the practice, Unpaid parental leave: The New Parent however. If the applicant “voluntarily and Leave Act expands the state’s family rights law without prompting” provides his or her salary to allow employees who work for an employer information, the employer may use it “in with 20 employees to take 12 weeks of unpaid determining the salary for that applicant,” under leave when a child is born. The existing law applies only to companies with 50 or more employees. This change is expected to affect 2.7 million working Californians, and applies both to private and public employers. Parents of newborns, adopted or foster children are eligible for unpaid leave to bond with a child. Parents who work for the same employer can be asked to share the 12-week leave. Workers may use vacation, sick days or paid personal time off as compensation during their new state-mandated family leave. Whistleblower protection: Senate Bill 306 will expands claims of retaliation by employers against whistleblowers who report alleged workplace violations. It allows the Labor Commissioner to launch an investigation of employers, with or without a complaint being filed. Current law authorizes labor commission investigations only when an employee files a complaint. California law makes it illegal to retaliate against any employee who provides information to a government or law enforcement agency when the employee has reasonable cause to think there is a violation or noncompliance with the law. Workers in whistleblower cases cannot be fired, demoted suspended or disciplined for their actions. Employers who retaliate face civil fines of up to $10,000, not including penalties levied by the labor commissioner. Coverage requirements for workers’ comp: Professional corporations owned by eight or more partners can apply to be exempt from the state’s workers’ compensation coverage requirements for the owners. The workplace accident policy needn’t include the professionals and directors of the corporation’s board if they waive their right to coverage, under the new law. This change, supported by the California Medical Association, is expected to save South Bay medical practices up to $18,000 per year on their workers’ comp insurance. Current law made the opt-out available only to partners with at least a 15 percent ownership stake. State Senator Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, sponsored the bill that lowers the ownership stake to 10 percent, making South Bay medical and other professional practices with 10 or more partners eligible for the workers’ comp policy savings. • Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................5 Classifieds............................3 Finance..................................2 Food.......................................4 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................... 6-7 Pets........................................8 Politically Speaking............6 Seniors..................................4 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Mostly Sunny 63˚/48˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 64˚/50˚ Sunday AM Clouds/ PM Sun 66˚/52˚
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