On this episode of The Workplace, CalChamber President Allan Zaremberg talks with Loren Kaye, President of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education about the private sector’s role in creating a record state budget surplus. On the heels of the Governor’s May Budget Revision, the two provide in depth perspective on the wisdom of California’s spending priorities, especially given the state’s volatile tax system. Zaremberg and Kaye provide recommendations on how the state can protect both its economy and job creation well into the future.

Employment Law and HR Snafus In the News
On this episode of The Workplace, CalChamber General Counsel and Executive Vice President Erika Frank is joined by Jennifer Shaw, Founding Partner of the Shaw Law Group to discuss recent employment law snafus making headlines. Frank and Shaw discuss the implications of events highlighted in three recent news stories: The first recounts a company’s job announcement seeking “preferably Caucasian” candidates; the second involves an employer’s attempt to establish a no-touching workplace; and the third describes problems that can be created in the workplace due to texting mishaps.

In this episode of The Workplace, CalChamber General Counsel and Executive Vice President Erika Frank is joined by employment law attorney Jennifer Shaw to discuss how legalization of marijuana is impacting both workers and business owners in California. The two employment law experts dive into details about the profound impact that legalization of recreational pot is having on both recruitment and retention of employees. They further discuss the parameters of both pre-employment and reasonable suspicion drug testing and provide perspective on an employer’s ability to maintain a drug free workplace.

California often is recognized as one of the most family-friendly states given its myriad of employment leaves of absence and protections. Despite the state already being a leader on this issue, however, expanding or creating more leave policies continues to be an active area of legislation. Erika Frank, CalChamber Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, and Jennifer Barrera, CalChamber Executive Vice President review and discuss three bills seeking to expand protected leaves of absence in California.

California’s complex employment laws prompted 22,000 calls to the CalChamber Labor Law Helpline in 2018. On the latest episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber President Allan Zaremberg and Erika Frank, CalChamber Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, discuss the most frequently asked questions—a good indicator of the compliance issues that are the most challenging for California businesses.

The latest episode of CalChamber’s The Workplace podcast focuses on men and the #MeToo movement. As more publicity is being given to instances of sexual harassment around the country, men have responded to news stories and other developments in a variety of ways. Some will no longer meet with female colleagues or socialize with women coworkers to protect themselves from the possibility of being wrongfully accused of harassment. Erika Frank, CalChamber Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel, is joined by Jennifer Shaw, President of the Shaw Law Group, to shed light on these issues and provide perspective on the #MeToo movement.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a sweeping privacy law that applies to businesses of all sizes across almost every industry. In this episode of The Workplace, CalChamber President Allan Zaremberg is joined by CalChamber Executive Vice President Jennifer Barrera and Policy Advocate Sarah Boot to talk about the challenges of implementing the CCPA. The trio digs deep into the potential costs to both business and consumers posed by the CCPA as they discuss the many unworkable provisions of the law. They conclude the conversation with a discussion of needed legislative fixes before the CCPA goes into effect on January 1, 2020.

This episode of The Workplace explores new areas of concern and issues generated for employers by the prevalence of technology on the job site or in the office. Erika Frank, CalChamber executive vice president, legal affairs and general counsel, and Ellen Savage, HR adviser with CalChamber’s Labor Law Helpline, talk about what is private – and what is not – at work. The conversation provides both entertaining and helpful insight into the issue, particularly given the multitude of federal and state constitutional guarantees, limitations imposed by federal and state statutes, and case law.

California voters have achieved a new milestone: the distinction of being an early presidential primary state due to the Legislature moving the date up three months from June to March 2020. Martin R. Wilson, CalChamber executive vice president, public affairs, is joined by Andrew Acosta, Acosta Consulting, and Steve Maviglio, principal of Forza Communications. The trio discusses how the early presidential primary will have a major impact on the California election cycle, accelerating all the traditional deadlines, such as candidate filings and contribution disclosures, as well as the imperative of building out the necessary infrastructure to wage a successful and expensive race for office.