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6/7/2013 New Requirements for Public Works
Senate Bill 39 - to implement Prop 39 - was recently amended. Two new provisions will potentially keep small contractors from working on some of these projects
This bill enacts the Clean Energy Employment and Student Advancement (CEESA) Act of 2013 and requires the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC), in coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (SERCDC), to develop the CEESA Program to award grants, based on the average daily attendance, to a school district, for energy efficiency upgrade projects pursuant to the California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Prop 39).
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6/7/2013 New OSHA Guidance Authorizes Union Participation During Inspections
In a departure from its previous guidance, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") recently released an interpretation letter that could potentially open the door to union organizing activity on employer property during OSHA inspections. The new guidance authorizes non-unionized employees to select union agents as representatives and has been widely interpreted by unions to facilitate the use of OSHA inspections as an organizing tool.
The interpretation letter, issued in February but released only recently, responds to a request for clarification from a safety specialist with the United Steelworkers union regarding whether individual workers may designate union representatives to act on their behalf for Occupational Safety and Health Act purposes even where there is no collective bargaining agreement in place and they have no official standing. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Richard Fairfax responded in the affirmative, stating that union agents may serve as both personal and "walkaround" representatives during on-site inspections.
Unionized employees have long been authorized to have a representative accompany an OSHA inspector on a workplace inspection. However, for businesses where there is no employee representative authorized by a collective bargaining agreement, the regulations only permit an OSHA inspector to be accompanied by a third party if "good cause" is shown as to why the party may be necessary to conduct an effective and thorough inspection. See 29 C.F.R.
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6/7/2013 Knock, Knock ... it's The FBI: How To Respond To An FBI Raid
With the widely covered FBI search of State Senator Ron Calderon's Capitol office, I thought this was timely.
It is 8:30 AM, and in the front door of your company's offices walks a team of FBI agents, with boxes and computer imaging equipment, and a search warrant in hand.
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6/7/2013 Opinions: Richard Markuson: A Correction - (Possibly More Interesting Than the Original Story)
I wouldn't normally take this space to correct a past story but in this case the "correction" is possibly more interesting than the original story.
Two weeks ago Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff and yours truly declared Andy Vidak as the winner in 16th Senate District special election.
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5/23/2013 More Changes in the Legislature
Well, it's May 2013 and we're not done with the elections yet. In fact the recent special elections and mid-term City races will mean yet another round of special elections.
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5/23/2013 Opinions: Richard Markuson: What to Remember This Weekend
When I was growing up, Memorial Day was always the "start" of summer. Sure, we had two more weeks of school, but Memorial Day - that first three-day weekend of summer meant the beach and the pools opening and barbeques and yes - Dodger season!
It was only later - particularly after the "fall" of South Vietnam (a topic for another day) that I began to reflect more on the origin of Memorial Day - apart from the obvious kickoff of baseball (is that a mixed metaphor or what?)
According to Wikipedia, Memorial Day (formerly known as Decoration Day) "originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the War.
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5/23/2013 OFCCP Posts Date Federal Contractors Must Use New Census Data for Adverse Impact Programs
The Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP") advised that contractors will be expected to use the new 2006-2010 Census EEO Tabulation ("2010 EEO Tab") in the development of their Affirmative Action Programs (AAP) by January, 1, 2014, at the latest. Click here for text of the Notice.
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5/23/2013 Strike Two for Obama NLRB
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals became the second appellate court to issue a ruling that President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were constitutionally invalid because they did not occur during an "intersession recess" of the United States Senate. The case comes a few months after the D.C Circuit's ruling in Noel Canning, which similarly held that the recess appointments were invalid.
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10/5/2011 Up-to-Date Resource for Information on Bills of Interest to WECA Currently in the Legislature
This resource provides information on bills of interest to WECA which are currently in the legislature, and is prepared specifically for the interests of WECA members. It's updated on a daily basis. Visit often to stay informed about the progress of bills of interest to you, and learn WECA's position on bills currently in the legislature.
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