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 29, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................4 Classifieds............................3 Community Briefs...............3 Film Review..........................7 Finance..................................6 Food.......................................5 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................2, 6-7 Pets........................................8 Seniors..................................7 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday AM Showers 59˚/53˚ Saturday AM Showers 57˚/47˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 57˚/48˚ Inglewood Architect Unveils “Wiggle Walls” Mural at Rogers Park New Year Means Changes for Hourly Workers, Drivers By Rob McCarthy The state’s lowest-paid workers will get a raise on Sunday when the minimum wage moves to $10.50 per hour, and it won’t stop there. Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill in March making California the first state to commit to a $15 minimum wage. The first 50-cent jump kicks in on January 1 and affects businesses with 26 or more employees. Smaller businesses are being given additional time, though all businesses eventually will pay the same rate. The law calls for another 50-cent raise in 2018, followed by a $1 per hour jump annually until 2022. Once the minimum wage reaches $15 for small business, the rate will rise annually with inflation. The Governor has the power to suspend an annual increase if the state is projected to run a deficit or the economy sputters. Brown called the gradual increase in the minimum wage a “careful and responsible” approach that leaves the Governor flexibility to ease the burden on employers should the economy slow unexpectedly over the next five years. This is the third consecutive year that California has raised the minimum wage. It increased to $9 in 2015 and $10 this year. A full-time worker making minimum wage will earn $21,840 this year. The federal poverty level for a family of four is $24,300, and the federal minimum wage is $7.25--though a federally contracted worker in California would make the higher $10.50 per hour under the law. Along with the higher hourly rate, minimum wage earners are awarded paid sick days-- though that provision of the law won’t begin for another year. When the $15 hourly minimum takes effect sometime next decade, full-time workers will earn $31,200 per year and have three paid sick days. Filling the Retirement Gap Take-home pay isn’t the only employment issue for hourly workers in the state. An estimated seven million people don’t have a workplace retirement savings plan because their non-covered employers don’t offer one. A voluntary program for non-covered employers who want to save for retirement starts in 2017. The bill’s author, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, said he pushed for creation of the California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust to provide retirees the same opportunity for financial security at retirement that millions of Californians enjoy as a job perk. “Nearly seven million of our workers, who help make California the sixth largest economy in the world do not have access to a retirement savings plan at their place of employment, and after a career of working tirelessly they are forced to retire into poverty when their bodies give out,” Leon said. Much like the minimum wage law, the retirement-saving program would be phased in to give smaller employers more time to set up automatic payroll deductions for employees who choose to participate. Businesses with 100 employees have 12 months after the plan opens enrollment to create a payroll-deposit system for non-covered employees. The minimum contribution level is three percent of wages in the Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust, and like employersponsored plans the participants can have more deducted as their incomes rise and they approach retirement age. There is no liability to employers or the state, and the monies in the plan will be invested for long-term growth in a diversified, managed portfolio. Nearly 50 percent of middle-income workers are at risk of entering poverty when they retire, according to statistics. The average American’s Social Security payment is $1,341 per month. Affecting Your Ride While some people will be making more in 2017, California drivers will be paying $10 more in vehicle registration fees in the new year. The Department of Motor Vehicles also received the okday to collect $5 more to renew, transfer or duplicate a personalized license plate, and $10 more for a newly issued one. The state is requiring the ridesharing companies, including Uber and Lyft, to conduct more thorough background checks on its drivers starting Sunday. While the enhanced passenger protection for riders won’t be in place before New Year’s Eve, every ridesharing business in the state will face penalties of up to $5,000 for hiring or contracting with drivers who are registered sex offenders or have been convicted of committing dangerous crimes--including assault and battery, domestic violence or driving under the influence--within the past seven years. Taxi services are not covered by the stricter background checks. Ridesharing is a popular option for people who don’t want to drive themselves and need to get somewhere quickly. While Uber is the name most people know, Lyft is the other big player in this alt-driving industry. Passengers arrange for rides on short distance using a smartphone app to hail a driver to a pickup location. The ridesharing companies have insisted they are a ride-matching service- -not a transportation company to shield themselves from liability in case of a crash or act of violence. California lawmakers have made it clear through this new law that the responsibility for protecting passengers lies with Uber and Lyft even if their drivers are classified as independent contractors. Attacks on passengers by drivers are infrequent, and everyone seems to agree the majority of drivers are competent and professional. This new bill aims to keep it that way. A few other driving-related changes in the law that South Bay residents should know about going into the new year include more restrictions on cellphones. No longer can drivers hold their cellphones while driving for any reason other than to call 911. The new restrictions also include tablets, laptops and any wireless device. This loophole-closing law was detailed in the Herald in a December 8 See Change page 8 Inglewood architect Christopher Mercier hard at work at Rogers Park on his mural entitled “Wiggle Walls”. Photo and Information Courtesy of De Waal & Associates
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