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WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA) joined Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and more than 180 Members of Congress on Wednesdday in reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation which would help close the wage gap between women and men working the same jobs.
“I’m a proud father to five daughters and grandfather to five granddaughters. I want them to inherit a country where everyone is treated equally under the law and in the workplace,” Garamendi said. “The Paycheck Fairness Act is important for women in America, but it’s also important for their families. In many households, women are the primary breadwinner, and their children deserve to be supported by paychecks that reflect the work ethic of their parents, not the bigotry of their parents’ employer.”
The Paycheck Fairness Act builds upon the landmark Equal Pay Act signed into law in 1963 by closing loopholes that have kept it from achieving its goal of equal pay.
The bill would require employers to show pay disparity is truly related to job performance, not gender.
The bill also prohibits employer retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers. Under current law, employers can sue and punish employees for sharing such information.
In addition, it strengthens remedies in pay discrimination cases by increasing the compensation women can seek, allowing them to seek both back pay and punitive damages for pay discrimination.
The bill empowers women in the workplace through a grant program to strengthen salary negotiation and other workplace skills, and requires the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to eliminate pay disparities.
Garamendi added, “In the great experiment that is America, equal treatment has long been a dream our foremothers and forefathers have aspired to, although we’ve often fallen short. This is about justice, fairness, and opportunity. Equal pay for equal work is an American value, and the time is long overdue to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.”
There have been extensive studies demonstrating that discrimination is pervasive; women are paid less than men for the same exact work. This is according to analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bloomberg News, the National Women’s Law Center, and other groups. Watch this video clip starting at the 14 minute 40 second mark to learn more: http://nbcnews.to/HvmSCg .
President Obama’s first bill, signed into law on January 29, 2009, was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which overturned the 180-day statute of limitations for women to contest pay discrimination.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would close the loopholes that allow pay discrimination to continue in the first place and, with Ledbetter, provide employees the rights they need to challenge and eliminate pay discrimination in the workplace.
The bill has been endorsed by President Obama, Lilly Ledbetter and a coalition of more than 300 advocacy groups.
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SACRAMENTO – Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) introduced legislation that provides a simple solution to one of California's growing challenges: Regulating Online Vacation Rental Businesses.
The premise of Senate Bill 593 (SB 593) is simple. Where vacation rentals are legal, the bill will assist local jurisdictions in their regulation and collection of transit occupancy taxes (TOT).
More than 400 California cities and 55 counties impose a TOT. Where vacation rentals are illegal by local ordinance, the bill will prohibit online vacation rental platforms from making a rental.
SB 593 – the Thriving Communities and Sharing Economy Act – will empower local control by providing the data needed to gather desperately needed funding for parks, road improvements, fire and police services and promote safe neighborhoods.
In addition, SB 593 will empower communities to protect the quality of life of their residents by upholding local ordinances that protect against the degradation of neighborhoods, or in some cases, not allowing vacation rentals based off of local Online Vacation Rental Businesses (OVRB) ordinances.
“This bill is simple – it makes online vacation rental businesses follow local laws, just like the rest of us. Where vacation rentals are legal, this legislation will provide cities and counties the tools they need to collect bed taxes which help build stronger neighborhoods. Where vacation rentals are illegal - the bill prohibits the online platforms from making the rental,” Senator McGuire said. “The Sharing Economy is all about sharing in our state’s prosperity and that means taking care of our roads, parks and making sure our communities are safe.”
SB 593 reinforces local ordinances by requiring online Vacation Rental Businesses to disclose information (address of host rental, amount of nights stayed, and amount paid by the visitor) to the cities and counties (similar to the way hotels – and some law abiding rental owners – currently report their TOT). This information will allow cities and counties to ensure their local laws are being followed.
Recent studies and news articles have shown that the largely unregulated OVRBs have not only impacted neighborhoods with rowdy late night parties, public intoxication and noise complaints, many owners do not pay required bed-taxes and business license taxes.
OVRBs have also shifted residential units into tourist units, rapidly increasing neighborhood rents especially in large cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The legislation already has broad support from local elected officials, members of public safety organizations, business leaders and neighbors.
“I want to thank Senator McGuire for proposing this legislation,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin. “He and I worked closely on this issue when we served as Supervisors together, and I am proud to continue to partner with him at the State level. SB 593 will help Sonoma County effectively regulate its vacation rentals, while respecting the individual preferences of local jurisdictions.”
“The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) greatly appreciates Senator McGuire’s leadership in making sure local communities have the ability to regulate on-line hosting platforms,” said CSAC Executive Director, Matt Cate. “In particular, we support the senator’s legislation to ensure cities and counties can collect transient occupancy taxes that fund critical services in our communities.”
Geyserville resident Victoria Heiges lives in a rural residential neighborhood and has dealt with the impacts of having several nearby homes turned into party-style vacation rentals every weekend.
“There are limos clogging our country roads, renters partying late into the night, and hiking through our private property. These strangers have changed our bucolic neighborhood into party central, all while the landlords have raked in more than $100,000 a year and not paid a dime to make our community a better place,” Heiges said.
“We as county tax collectors must treat all tax payers equally under the law, including all short term lodging providers with regard to their obligation to pay transient occupancy tax,” said Humboldt County Treasurer-Tax Collector John Bartholomew. “However the explosion of short term lodging enabled through sharing economy companies online, with their necessarily opaque location listings, has made it nearly impossible for us to collect TOT from those owner operators. Therefore I fully support legislation which would enable us to efficiently collect TOT from operators of Internet sites and/or the lodging owners they represent.”
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EMERYVILLE, Calif. – Even though U.S. production hits record levels and global supplies are strong, gasoline prices moved higher this past month.
Tuesday's state prices are registering at $3.43 on average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline – that’s $0.78 more than prices since AAA Northern California’s latest monthly gas survey of February 10, 2015.
Northern California’s average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.37 – that’s $0.75 more than last month’s AAA reported price on Feb. 10.
The least expensive average price in Northern California can be found in Marysville, where regular unleaded gasoline is $3.21 per gallon.
Of all metro areas tracked by AAA in Northern California, San Mateo registers the highest price at $3.47 per gallon of unleaded regular.
“Retail gas prices typically trend higher this time of year as suppliers undergo maintenance and plan to reduce winter grade fuel in preparation for the changeover to summer-grade gasoline, which is more costly to produce.” said Cynthia Harris, AAA Northern California spokesperson. “State and regional refinery maintenance issues have contributed to rising pump prices as well.”
West Coast markets have seen dramatic run-ups over the last several weeks due to a number of supply issues.
An explosion last month at ExxonMobil’s refinery in Torrance, Calif., has kept that facility running at severely reduced rates.
Production at Tesoro’s refinery in Martinez, Calif., also remains limited as it aims to restart after recent planned maintenance.
According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report, the national average price is $2.45. The current average is the same as yesterday, $0.01 higher than a week ago, an increase of $0.26 from a month ago and $1.04 lower than a year ago.
California has the highest price in the country at $3.43 due to refinery problems and supply issues. Hawaii, at $3.14, and California are the only states reporting average prices over the $3 mark.
The global price of crude oil remains volatile due to speculations about possible production cuts due to oversupply and news of rising global demand.
Absent any intervention from OPEC, global prices are expected to continue to fluctuate as markets attempt to self-regulate and find balance. U.S. production continues to hit record levels, and stockpiles have climbed to their highest weekly levels since the Energy Information agency, EIA, started collecting statistical data on the subject in 1982.
Abundant domestic supply has also kept the spread between WTI and Brent crude relatively wide. The gap in price currently stands at about $10 per barrel.
Historically, when the global market is balanced, the disparity in benchmark pricing is around plus or minus $2 per barrel; however the spread has varied widely over the past several years.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading on the NYMEX, WTI closed down $1.15 settling at $49.61 per barrel.
To get the best mileage possible, AAA recommends keeping tires at the recommended pressure suggested by the vehicle manufacturer, performing routine maintenance and making sure fluids are clean and belts and hoses are in good repair.
The way you drive can also impact fuel economy. Smooth driving to avoid sudden stops and starts, combining trips and lightening a vehicle’s load also help to conserve gasoline.
AAA Fuel Gauge Report is the most comprehensive retail gasoline survey available, with over 100,000 self-serve stations surveyed every day, nationwide. Data is provided in cooperation with OPIS Energy Group and Wright Express, LLC.
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SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California Benjamin B. Wagner on Thursday announced that Alan Tikal, the principal operator of a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme, was sentenced to 24 years in prison.
“Alan Tikal’s actions were illegal and will not be tolerated in California. He and his partners defrauded hundreds of hard-working Californians who were fighting to keep their homes during our state’s foreclosure crisis,” Attorney General Harris said. “This predatory scheme robbed families of their life savings and in many cases, their homes. I thank our California Mortgage Fraud Strike Force and the U.S. Department of Justice for their work to bring these individuals to justice.”
“The financial crisis that hit our communities so hard made it very difficult for a lot of people to make ends meet,“ said U.S. Attorney Wagner. “Alan Tikal cynically took advantage of the desperation those people felt for his own profit, stealing payments meant to preserve family homes. Although we cannot undo the harm Tikal inflicted, today’s sentence provides a measure of justice.”
In September 2014, Alan David Tikal, 46, was convicted of 11 counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering by United States District Judge Troy L. Nunley. The case was jointly prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and the California Attorney General’s Office.
Between Jan. 7, 2010, and Aug. 20, 2013, Tikal operated a business under the name KATN, which targeted vulnerable and non-English speaking homeowners looking for mortgage assistance in the wake of the financial meltdown.
According to evidence presented at trial, Tikal and his associates promised these homeowners that their outstanding mortgage debt would be reduced by 75 percent.
Tikal falsely claimed that he was a registered private banker with access to an enormous line of credit and was able to pay off homeowners’ debt in full.
In exchange for various fees and payments, the homeowners existing mortgages would be satisfied and replaced with new loans to Tikal at 25 percent of the original loan obligation.
There were no instances in which the homeowner’s mortgage was paid, forgiven, or extinguished. Instead Tikal pocketed the victim’s money and spent it on chartered airline travel, a $5,000 suit, new cars, and other extravagant living expenses.
Tikal and his associates convinced more than 1,000 homeowners in California and other states to participate in this fraudulent scam.
Homeowners collectively paid more than $5,800,000 in fees and monthly payments to Tikal and his associates.
The results were catastrophic for many families, the scam drained the victims’ bank accounts and ultimately led to the loss of their homes.
In February, co-defendant Ray Kornfeld was sentenced to five years for his role in the scheme and ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to the victims. Co-defendant Tamara Tikal previously entered a guilty plea and will be sentenced on April 23, 2015.
Tikal’s arrest arose from an investigation by Special Inspector General for the Trouble Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and Attorney General Harris’ Mortgage Fraud Strike Force with assistance from the Stanislaus and Alameda County District Attorney’s Offices.
The Mortgage Fraud Strike Force was formed in May 2011 to comprehensively investigate and prosecute misconduct in the mortgage industry.
The attorney general's efforts include securing approximately $20 billion for California in the National Mortgage Settlement and sponsoring the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, a package of laws instituting permanent mortgage-related reforms.