News

OC OKs Commuter Jet Operations at John Wayne Airport

Saturday, January 23, 2021

While the long-term future of commuter flights at John Wayne Airport is unclear, they’re no longer banned in contracts with companies that serve small planes and private jets. Commuter carrier JSX (formerly Jet Suite X) has developed a following in the two and a half years it’s flown out of JWA, but some airport activists and residents have complained about noise and air pollution from a service that isn’t covered by the legal agreement that governs commercial airlines using the airport. Residents and hobby pilots lobbied for several years to ensure more profitable commuter jets wouldn’t squeeze Cessnas and other personal aircraf...

California’s New Series of COVID-19 Reporting Requirements

Monday, December 21, 2020

(CalChamber) During the 2020 California legislative session, COVID-19 forced lawmakers to pivot from their routine business to addressing the growing pandemic, and answering the question: "One of my employees just reported that they tested positive for COVID-19. Do I have to report this positive case?" In response, the Legislature enacted SB 1159 and AB 685 that created certain reporting requirements for employers when learning of a positive case. Following up, Cal/OSHA recently approved and implemented COVID-19 emergency regulations that also create a set of reporting requirements. Outline of Requirements To help readers sort out these varied requirements, we have created the table below outlining th...

New Labor Laws Will Affect California Businesses Big and Small

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

(Turlock Journal) A number of new California laws set to hit the books Jan. 1 will impact business owners both large and small, from increased minimum wage to COVID-related requirements. First, most employees must be paid the minimum wage of $14 an hour come Jan. 1 under state law signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015. The legislation launched a wage progression each year starting in 2017, adding 50 cents annually to the former $10-per-hour standard. From the beginning of 2019, the wage has gone up by a dollar and currently stands at $13. More than 20 new labor and employment bills wer...

Greater Irvine Chamber CEO Bryan Starr and Member Company Executives Among Orange County’s 500 Most Influential People

Wednesday, December 02, 2020

Bryan Starr, president and CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber, and more than 50 executives from Greater Irvine Chamber member companies were featured in Orange County Business Journal’s fourth annual OC 500 Directory of Influence. This is Starr’s second consequent year on the list. The directory includes an impressive list of influential business and community leaders from a variety of Orange County companies, ranging from nonprofits to large corporations. As its President and CEO, Starr has raised the profile of the Greater Irvine Chamber and empowered its economic development work and impact for the City of Irvine and its business community. He has successfull...

What California Exodus? Exits Fell 5.4% Last Year

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

(Orange County Register: Jonathan Lansner) Despite all the talk about a California exodus, 5.4% fewer people left last year for other states — the first decline in eight years, new census stats show. The annual state-to-state migration report shows 653,551 people left the state, the largest exit count among the states in 2019. But my trusty spreadsheet tells me this is a 37,594 drop from 691,145 in 2018. It’s the first decline in eight years and the fewest exits since 2015. Only Missouri had a bigger dip last year. I say this each year this migration data is published: Scale matters when yo...

California’s Initial Pay Data Reporting Guidance Released

Monday, November 09, 2020

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) released some initial, helpful guidance on one of California’s new laws taking effect next year — certain employers will be required to report demographic and pay data by March 31, 2021. As previously reported, SB 973 requires employers with 100 or more employees, that are also required to file the federal EEO-1 report with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), to report the following demographic and pay data information to the DFEH: The number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex in 10 different job title categories (Component 1); and The number of employees by race...

Unemployment Drops to 6.9% and US Adds a Solid 638,000 Jobs

Monday, November 09, 2020

Defying fears of another slowdown, U.S. businesses kept hiring at a solid pace in October, yet there are signs they remain cautious about the economy’s future as the pandemic worsens. The Labor Department said that employers added 638,000 jobs and the unemployment rate tumbled a full percentage point to 6.9%, extending what has been a faster recovery than many economists expected in the spring. But the pace of hiring isn’t robust enough to rapidly soak up the millions of Americans who were thrown out of work by the pandemic recession. The job gains were little changed from September’s 672,000 and less than half August’s 1....

New California Employment Laws Effective Now and Coming January 1, 2021

Monday, October 19, 2020

September 30, 2020, was the last day of this year’s legislative session, which ended with California Governor Gavin Newsom signing a flurry of bills — and vetoing a few as well. New California employment laws cover: COVID-19: Workers’ Compensation, Paid Sick Leave, and Workplace Safety. Leaves of Absence. Worker Classification. Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Protections. Privacy. Wage and Hour. Unless otherwise stated, the new laws take effect on Jan. 1, 2021.

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