Employees California

There's a new state law that went into effect July 1 that impacts virtually all employers in California. But many local companies don't want to talk about it and some are so afraid of the measure that they're paying thousands of dollars to consultants for advice on how to comply with it. The law, Senate Bill 198, requires any business with at least one employee to have a comprehensive injury and illness prevention program.

Residents of other states who work for California companies are protected by the state's overtime laws during business trips here, the California Supreme Court decided unanimously Thursday. Employment lawyers predicted that the ruling would reduce business travel to the state and trigger hundreds of lawsuits against California companies in the coming days. Firms now typically pay employees in accordance with the labor laws of the states in which they live. The court said the ruling would protect Californians from being replaced by less-expensive temporary workers from out of state.

A top financial executive at a Santa Fe Springs meat-processing firm managed to embezzle up to $95 million over seven years and invest it in stocks, citrus groves and real estate, the company's Japanese parent alleged in court Monday. The case again calls into question the oversight of remote subsidiaries of Japanese firms, reviving memories of the 1995 Daiwa Bank debacle in which $1.1 billion was lost through the machinations of a star bond trader in its U.S. operation. Day-Lee Foods, the U.S.

This state doesn't fly Re "Boeing to lay off 900 at C-17 plant," Jan. 20 I found myself sad and angry reading the article concerning layoffs at Boeing's Long Beach factory. I remember that when I entered the Southern California aerospace industry in 1952, business was booming and jobs were plentiful. When I retired in 2005, aerospace was virtually dead in the region. The main reason for the decline relative to other states is the cost of doing business in California.

SACRAMENTO - California lawmakers passed a budget Friday that lays the groundwork for the largest expansion of public healthcare in the country, placing the state at the leading edge of President Obama's federal overhaul. The budget, which the governor has until June 30 to sign, will also increase funding for schools, public universities and social services - a dramatic turnaround after years of deficits and cuts. The Legislature approved the $96.3-billion spending plan after a relatively smooth series of negotiations between Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders that maintained much of the fiscal restraint urged by the governor.

VACAVILLE, Calif. - His jaw clenched beneath a blue surgeon's mask, Opanin Gyaami jerks his right arm and pulls out a prize: the decayed tooth of patient Larry Butler, also known as state prison inmate J22312. By the time he is done, Gyaami's smock and mask are spotted with the inmate's blood. He gently pats Butler on the shoulder and wishes him well. The 71-year-old dentist reports to the state prison in Vacaville day after day, long past retirement age. He wishes he could have hung up his drill and forceps years ago, but he's still paying off a student loan.

The patient was drunk, naked and covered in blood when he burst out of his emergency room cubicle around 2 a.m., brandishing scissors. He lunged at two nurses and began chasing them. It took two police officers and three zaps from a Taser to subdue him. Rattled by this attempted stabbing in 2009 and other attacks at Ventura County Medical Center, emergency room nurse Lorraine Sandoval began keeping count of every time a colleague was assaulted or threatened by patients. On average, she found, it was once or twice a day. "We should not have to wait until a nurse, doctor or EMT or patient is seriously injured or killed before something is done," Sandoval recalled telling her bosses, who later installed an armed officer in the emergency room.

At the end of a long day working the Strawberry Festival in the 1991 Louisiana governor's race, Edwin W. Edwards paused outside the little house he shared with his girlfriend and reflected on his political destiny: "Probably the best thing that can happen to me is to get elected and to die the next day." It took a bit longer, but that's about what happened as, last week, Edwards told a shocked Legislature he would not seek a fifth term.

Unions representing about 2,400 employees of Zodys discount department stores were notified Thursday by HRT Industries, the chain's parent, that it intends to close its 32 outlets in California and Nevada. In addition, Three D Departments, an East Hartford, Conn.

As few as 10% of California families fit the old traditional pattern of a father who goes to work and a mother who stays at home. What happens when mother is no longer "on call" to care for a child or relative stricken with serious illness? A family leave bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles), would allow workers to take up to four months of unpaid leave--to care for a seriously ill child, a spouse or an elderly parent--and return to the job.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown has launched an investigation into the brouhaha over videotapes of a conservative group's sting operation against ACORN, the community organizing group credited with helping push Barack Obama to the presidency. Brown's office plans to look into circumstances surrounding both the making of the videos and any possible misdeeds by ACORN employees in California caught on tape. In what has become a staple of TV and radio talk shows in recent weeks, ACORN workers in several states were shown allegedly offering advice on tax evasion, human smuggling and child prostitution.

Disneyland maintenance workers this week approved a new contract proposal, averting a potential labor strife as Walt Disney Co. gets ready to open its California Adventure theme park in Anaheim. The proposal, which establishes working conditions at the new park slated to open in February, affects more than 800 painters, electricians, carpenters, machinists and others who perform routine maintenance and building jobs at Disneyland.

A top financial executive at a Santa Fe Springs meat-processing firm managed to embezzle up to $95 million over seven years and invest it in stocks, citrus groves and real estate, the company's Japanese parent alleged in court Monday. The case again calls into question the oversight of remote subsidiaries of Japanese firms, reviving memories of the 1995 Daiwa Bank debacle in which $1.1 billion was lost through the machinations of a star bond trader in its U.S. operation. Day-Lee Foods, the U.S.

There's a new state law that went into effect July 1 that impacts virtually all employers in California. But many local companies don't want to talk about it and some are so afraid of the measure that they're paying thousands of dollars to consultants for advice on how to comply with it. The law, Senate Bill 198, requires any business with at least one employee to have a comprehensive injury and illness prevention program.

As few as 10% of California families fit the old traditional pattern of a father who goes to work and a mother who stays at home. What happens when mother is no longer "on call" to care for a child or relative stricken with serious illness? A family leave bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles), would allow workers to take up to four months of unpaid leave--to care for a seriously ill child, a spouse or an elderly parent--and return to the job.

When he heard the news, Walter Smith, a 40-year-old, second-generation logger, stood with environmentalists and union leaders on the county courthouse steps to attack the major source of his livelihood, Louisiana-Pacific Corp. This "latest assault is the most painful," he said, "since it comes from the very people who should be most concerned for our welfare: our employers. The workers I've talked to feel betrayed."

This state doesn't fly Re "Boeing to lay off 900 at C-17 plant," Jan. 20 I found myself sad and angry reading the article concerning layoffs at Boeing's Long Beach factory. I remember that when I entered the Southern California aerospace industry in 1952, business was booming and jobs were plentiful. When I retired in 2005, aerospace was virtually dead in the region. The main reason for the decline relative to other states is the cost of doing business in California.

Disneyland maintenance workers this week approved a new contract proposal, averting a potential labor strife as Walt Disney Co. gets ready to open its California Adventure theme park in Anaheim. The proposal, which establishes working conditions at the new park slated to open in February, affects more than 800 painters, electricians, carpenters, machinists and others who perform routine maintenance and building jobs at Disneyland.

Unions representing about 2,400 employees of Zodys discount department stores were notified Thursday by HRT Industries, the chain's parent, that it intends to close its 32 outlets in California and Nevada. In addition, Three D Departments, an East Hartford, Conn.