A gay Asian federal law clerk will be joining the Alameda County Superior Court, bringing the number of out judges on the East Bay bench to eight in early 2021.
Governor Gavin Newsom named Oakland resident Keith Kern Fong, 58, to a vacancy on the court December 8. Fong was one of three judicial appointments to the Alameda bench that Newsom announced earlier this month.
Fong, a Democrat, will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Ronni B. MacLauren. He has been a law clerk for Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong at the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California since 2009.
Stimulus Is Finally (Almost) Live. The House and Senate are scheduled to vote on a $900 billion pandemic relief package along with a $1.4 trillion measure to fund the government through September 30, 2021. But even if both houses are able to pass a relief bill, it still must be signed by the President. While there has been more movement than we have seen in months, and there is a tangible relief bill the major provisions of which the parties have agreed to, we remain in wait for finality.
So, what is there to report on the stimulus front? Well, starting last week,
agreeing to an approximately $900 Billion stimulus package. Indeed, while this newsletter typically goes live on Friday, since we here at PMN have rode the roller coaster that is the stimulus negotiations, and this is the most optimistic we have felt since the CARES Act passed back in March, we delayed publication to today. Thankfully, Congressional leaders, after much hand-wringing,
Businesses sue California over COVID-19 workplace rules that require testing, sick pay [The Sacramento Bee]
Dec. 17 Groups representing small businesses sued California’s workplace regulator Wednesday, saying the agency exceeded its authority and overburdened companies when it passed new COVID-19 rules a month ago.
California’sDivision of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly called Cal-OSHA, approved strict emergency regulations on Nov. 19. The regulations require companies to test employees at no cost during COVID-19 outbreaks, provide protective equipment and preserve workers’ pay and benefits when they miss work because of the virus.
Those rules, along with requirements to exclude employees from work after virus exposures, could cost California companies millions of dollars, according to the lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Retail Federation and three California businesses.
California sued over new coronavirus workplace rules
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General manager Den Stephens disinfects a booth at North Light, a restaurant in Oakland, in August.Ramin Rahimian / Special to The Chronicle
A group of small California businesses and national business groups sued California state agencies Wednesday, seeking to roll back broad workplace protections against the coronavirus implemented last month.
The National Retail Federation and the National Federation of Independent Businesses say rules adopted by the California Department of Industrial Relations to prevent virus infections in the workplace violate the state’s Administrative Procedure Act and weigh too heavily on businesses that have been pushed to the breaking point by the pandemic.
Packages move down a conveyor system were they are directed to the proper shipping area at the new Amazon Fulfillment Center in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
(CN) California wants a Sacramento County judge to order Amazon to divulge information as part of an ongoing investigation into the company’s Covid-19 policies and workplace conditions.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday the company has not responded to subpoenas about potential coronavirus outbreaks, deaths or any other health risks at its facilities and other raw data on worker safety.
“Amazon has made billions during this pandemic relying on the labor of essential workers. Their workers get the job done while putting themselves at risk,” Becerra said during a press briefing. “It’s critical to know if these workers are receiving the protections on the job that they are entitled to under the law.”