The Weekly Newspaper of Torrance Herald Publications - Torrance, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 6, No. 54 - December 29, 2016 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................6 Crossword/Sudoku.............6 Film Review..........................2 Food.......................................5 Legals....................................7 Real Estate...........................8 Sports....................................3 TerriAnn in Torrance..........4 Weekend Forecast Friday AM Showers 59˚/53˚ Saturday AM Showers 57˚/47˚ Sunday Mostly Sunny 57˚/48˚ 2017: Happy New Year Zoe Leonie Stowischek, Daughter of Daniel and Lauren Stowischek; Granddaughter of Chuck and Linda Nicoli. Photo by Marcy Dugan. • New Year Means Changes for Hourly Workers, Drivers By Rob McCarthy won’t begin for another year. When the $15 The state’s lowest-paid workers will get a hourly minimum takes effect sometime next raise on Sunday when the minimum wage decade, full-time workers will earn $31,200 moves to $10.50 per hour, and it won’t per year and have three paid sick days. stop there. Governor Jerry Brown signed Filling the Retirement Gap a bill in March making California the first Take-home pay isn’t the only employment state to commit to a $15 minimum wage. issue for hourly workers in the state. An The first 50-cent jump kicks in on January estimated seven million people don’t have a 1 and affects businesses with 26 or more workplace retirement savings plan because employees. Smaller businesses are being their non-covered employers don’t offer given additional time, though all businesses one. A voluntary program for non-covered eventually will pay the same rate. employers who want to save for retirement The law calls for another 50-cent raise starts in 2017. in 2018, followed by a $1 per hour jump The bill’s author, Senate President Pro annually until 2022. Once the minimum Tem Kevin de Leon, said he pushed for wage reaches $15 for small business, the creation of the California Secure Choice rate will rise annually with inflation. Retirement Savings Trust to provide retirees The Governor has the power to suspend the same opportunity for financial security an annual increase if the state is projected at retirement that millions of Californians to run a deficit or the economy sputters. enjoy as a job perk. Brown called the gradual increase in the “Nearly seven million of our workers, minimum wage a “careful and responsible” who help make California the sixth largest approach that leaves the Governor flexibility economy in the world do not have access to to ease the burden on employers should a retirement savings plan at their place of the economy slow unexpectedly over the employment, and after a career of working next five years. tirelessly they are forced to retire into poverty This is the third consecutive year that when their bodies give out,” Leon said. California has raised the minimum wage. It Much like the minimum wage law, the increased to $9 in 2015 and $10 this year. retirement-saving program would be phased A full-time worker making minimum wage in to give smaller employers more time will earn $21,840 this year. to set up automatic payroll deductions The federal poverty level for a family of for employees who choose to participate. four is $24,300, and the federal minimum Businesses with 100 employees have 12 wage is $7.25--though a federally contracted months after the plan opens enrollment to worker in California would make the higher create a payroll-deposit system for noncovered $10.50 per hour under the law. employees. Along with the higher hourly rate, minimum wage earners are awarded paid sick days--though that provision of the law sponsored 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 The minimum contribution level is three percent of wages in the Secure Choice Retirement Savings Trust, and like employer- See Changes, page 6
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