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“Women throughout the state, from farmworkers to hotel housekeepers to restaurant line cooks, have shared with me their painful workplace experiences and feelings of powerlessness. Sexual harassment does not just happen in politics or Hollywood,” said Yee, the highest ranking female elected official in state government. “Stamping out this destructive culture starts with giving every person a voice and having all employees in the state’s public and private sectors fully understand what sexual harassment is, how to report it, and the employee’s rights under the law.”
Current law requires all employers with 50 or more employees to provide two hours of sexual harassment prevention training to supervisors.
Controller Yee’s proposal would extend this requirement to employers with five or more employees, and ensure similar training in multiple languages for all rank-and-file workers who could become victims of sexual harassment.
The controller’s proposal also would enhance the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing employee awareness outreach on harassment and discrimination in the workplace, requiring information be available in multiple languages and provided to all employees with a whistleblower hotline and link to a training video on recognizing and reporting harassment.
From 2005 to 2015, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received about 85,000 sexual harassment complaints.
Of the charges that specified jobs, 14.2 percent came from the accommodation and food service industry, 13.4 percent came from retail trade, and 11.7 percent came from manufacturing.
“The public has a right to transparency and accessibility to know how their tax dollars are spent. Sexual harassment settlements are no exception,” said Yee. “As the state’s chief fiscal officer paying government’s bills, I want to lift the veil of secrecy and level the imbalance of employee knowledge. Simply having information openly available is often the first step.
Currently, the legislature and state government departments, when submitting bills to the state controller for payment, do not key or code the request in a way that allows one to determine if the payment is to settle any lawsuit or harassment claim.
The controller’s legislation would require state government entities to code the request to clearly differentiate settlement claims.
Elected in 2014, Controller Yee is the 10th woman elected to a statewide office in California’s history. As the chief fiscal officer of California, Controller Yee is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources.
The controller also safeguards many types of property until claimed by the rightful owners, and has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds.
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"This morning I issued a cease and desist order requiring the California FAIR Plan to terminate immediately the moratorium it initiated on writing new fire insurance coverage in wildfire-impacted areas and ordering the FAIR Plan to make its fire insurance products available to all eligible Californians in keeping with its statutorily mandated purpose,” Jones said Thursday. “I've been advised the FAIR Plan, after being notified of the cease and desist, agreed to lift its moratorium on writing new policies.”
Jones said he originally took this action after receiving information that the FAIR Plan imposed a moratorium on writing new policies in current active fire zones across California.
The FAIR Plan was established as the fire insurer of last resort to make certain California property owners have access to fire insurance coverage, Jones said.
Jones said there is no statutory allowance for the FAIR Plan to discontinue writing fire insurance policies for applicants anywhere in the state who need fire insurance coverage to protect themselves from financial loss.
While the FAIR Plan is required to write coverage, Jones said any individuals or entities who attempt to commit insurance fraud by placing FAIR Plan or any other insurance coverage on damaged property to cover losses that already occurred will be investigated and prosecuted.
If anyone is denied the opportunity to purchase a FAIR plan policy, Jones said they should contact his agency’s consumer hotline at 800-927-4357.
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BAY AREA, Calif. – Californians will end 2017 with another busy travel holiday, and they're getting some much-needed relief at the pump as an early Christmas present.
According to a survey commissioned by AAA this month, more than one-third of Californians are planning to travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1, with most planning to drive to their destination.
The survey results:
– More than one-third (34%) of Californians say they will travel between Saturday, Dec. 23 and Monday, Jan. 1.
– Three-quarters (77%) of respondents said they will travel within the state of California, with the remainder traveling out of state.
– Of those traveling, 82 percent will drive to their destination, 16 percent are flying and 2 percent will take public transportation.
– One-quarter (27%) of respondents planned to travel solo, 43 percent will travel with one other person, and 30 percent planned to travel with family or friends.
– More than 80 percent of respondents say they will visit family, with about 11 percent of respondents saying they are planning to spend time outdoors (skiing, camping).
"The holiday season is all about spending time with family and friends. For those who aren't traveling this season, many will be hosting guests – including Santa Claus, of course," said Mike Blasky, a spokesman for AAA Northern California.
The good news: Gas prices have dropped an average of 12 cents across the state since November.
That's due to several factors, including decreased travel demand after the busiest Thanksgiving in a decade.
More gas stations are also selling the cheaper winter blend of gasoline, which is less refined and cheaper to produce.
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The tests continued to show that Dungeness crab are not yet ready for harvesting.
The delay affects Fish and Game Districts 6, 7, 8 and 9 (Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties). The season in these districts is now scheduled to open on 12:01 a.m. Dec. 31, 2017, to be preceded by a 64-hour gear setting period that would begin no earlier than 8:01 a.m. on Dec. 28, 2017.
Crab quality tests are conducted regularly to ensure that crab are filled out enough prior to harvesting. Tests follow guidelines established by the Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee, which is overseen by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Additional testing will be scheduled to occur by Dec. 22. If quality remains low, an additional delay until Jan. 15, 2018 will be issued by the director. This date is the latest the season can be delayed due to quality testing.
No vessel may take or land crab within Districts 6, 7, 8 and 9 during the closure period. In addition, any vessel that lands crab from ocean waters outside of Districts 6, 7, 8 and 9 is prohibited from participating in the crab fishery in Districts 6, 7, 8 and 9, or any other delayed opening areas in Oregon or Washington, for 30 days following the opening of those areas as outline in California's Fair Start Provision (Fish and Game Code, section 8279.1).
The updated Frequently Asked Questions for the current 2017-18 season addresses questions regarding the Fair Start provision.
For more information on health advisories related to fisheries, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Health-Advisories.
For more information about Dungeness crab fisheries in California, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/crab.