7a Cap Should be Hit Today

See article below that I wrote for Fox and Hounds on the 7a cap issue. Note in the article I say that the cap will be hit in early August. I was wrong as there has been a run on 7a loans. Monday and Tuesday there was about $1 billion in loans. The authorization for the year is about $19 billion. I just got word this morning that it is expected the cap on 7a loans will be hit today. There are a lot of fixes that have been proposed but as of now none are in place.

This is a disgrace.. The 7a program is the most important loan program at the SBA. What is more amazing is that there is no cost to government to increase the authorization. It is politics at its worst.. The disruption this will create if this does not get fixed quickly is frightening.

 

Are any of you impacted by this?


 

Fox&Hounds discusses and explains the confluence of politics and business in California through our blog, featuring opinion pieces written by leaders from across the state published daily. Read below to see what's new on the site Small Business Loan Authorization Program Could Close Down by Scott Hauge I have seen first-hand the kind of struggle that today’s small businesses face in order to survive in this economy, especially here in California. When looking for capital, many small businesses hear “no” and many banks run from small businesses as one of the riskiest investments in the market. That is why the survival of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) loan program is critical as a job-creating access to capital program. However, the program is about to reach its authorized lending cap annually set by Congress and as a result, will most likely shut down sometime in early August, possibly sooner. Before Congress goes back to the districts over August recess, I ask you to join me in encouraging them to keep this important lifeline open to Main Street America. Click link for full article:    http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/page/2/

Copyright ©California Main LLC. 925 University Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95825.

 

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188 

90 Day delay of payments on workers' compensation/Sick Leave amendments

Have you ever said to yourself why do insurance companies on workers compensation  claims automatically pay when an employee claims a workers compensation injury? Well, part of the reason is because it is very difficult to prove the injury is not work related but you do have the ability when filing a claim to request a 90 day delay of payment. If you do this the  company is obligated to investigate the claim. They will be required to pay up to  $10000 of medical expenses but do not have to pay temporary disability until after the investigation. The key here is you have to ask the insurance company to do this and you need to file claim as soon as possible as the 90 days is from date of injury. On July 13th the legislature passed and the Governor signed amendments to the sick leave law. Our friends at the California Employers Association have outlined below the changes that have been made.   The Employer's Update A Weekly Update For California Employers Paid Sick Leave - AB304 Update! Read Time: Less Than 2 Minutes The rules for California's mandatory Paid Sick Leave (PSL) Law have been amended! The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, which went into full effect on July 1, 2015, was amended on July 13, 2015. AB 304 is intended to clarify this confusing new Law. Employers who have been struggling with understanding the original statue may find some guidance here, but may also need to revise their policies and procedures again. CEA will host a Paid Sick Leave Webinar UPDATED with AB304 on 9/2/15. Area of Clarification: Eligibility Accrual Rate Options Accrual Rates for Exempt Employees Lump Sum Employers who offer "Unlimited Leave" Reinstatement of PSL Rates of Pay Paystub Notification Notification of PSL by Employee New Provisions: Employees must work in California for the same employer for 30 or more days to be entitled to paid sick leave. Allows employers additional options for accrual (other than 1 hour for each 30 hours worked) provided that the accrual is on a regular basis and the employee will have 24 hours of accrued sick leave available by the 120th calendar day of employment, or each 12 month period. Exempt employees are deemed to work 40 hours/workweek unless the employee's normal workweek is less than 40 hours, in which case the employee will accrue based on normal hours. An employer may also provide no less than 24 hours or three days of PSL which is available to use by the 120th calendar day of employment. The bill would permit an employer who provides unlimited sick leave to its employees to satisfy notice requirement by indicating "Unlimited" on the employee's itemized wage statement. Employers are not required to reinstate accrued PSL to an employee rehired within one year of separation from employment if they were paid out at the time of termination, resignation or separation. Nonexempt employees (2 options): 1) Calculate paid sick time rate in same manner as the regular rate of pay for the workweek (i.e. the rate used to calculate overtime), regardless of whether the employee works overtime, or 2) Divide the total wage by total hours worked in the full pay period of the prior 90 days of employment. Exempt employees: Calculate rate of pay in the same manner as the employer calculates wages for other forms of paid leave time. Employers must provide an employee with written notice showing the amount of PSL, or paid time off (PTO) in lieu of sick leave, available for use on the employee's itemized wage statement or in a separate writing with each payment of wages. Employers do not have to show time used. An employer is not obligated to inquire into or record the purposes for which an employee uses paid leave or paid time off. (DLSE actually takes the position that employers MAY NOT inquire about this.) The new law, is available at: California Legislative Information Register Here for September 2nd Webinar COPYRIGHT. © 2015 California Employers Association. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise copied (except members of the California Employers Association may copy all or part of this publication exclusively for personal use or use in the operation of that member's industry business other than a publication) without prior written permission from the publisher. For permission to make photocopies, contact CEA at 800.399.5331. DISCLAIMER. The Employer's Report is educational and information in nature, and not intended as legal, expert or other professional advice, or as any form of recommended minimum standard or best practice. The accuracy and appropriateness of the information presented herein is dependent upon the actual facts and circumstances in each particular situation, all (facts and circumstances) of which are unknown to CEA. As such, CEA DOES NOT CERTIFY OR GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OR APPROPRIATENESS OF THE INFORMATION OR IDEAS PRESENTED HEREIN, AND DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  CEA does not endorse, nor has it accredited, certified or approved any of the persons or entities providing materials herein. Users are advised to carefully review the ideas and information presented herein with qualified human resources and legal advisors prior to acting upon or implementing said ideas and information. Website: www.employers.org | Phone: 800 399-5331 To ensure delivery of CEA Employer's Update, please add 'ceainfo@employers.org' to your email address book or Safe Sender List. To safely unsubscribe, click here. Supporting Employers with Human Resource Solutions Since 1937 1451 River Park Drive, Suite 116 , Sacramento, CA 95815 Scott Hauge President Small Business California 2311 Taraval Street San Francisco, CA  94116 shauge@cal-insure.com 415-680-2188

SBA 7a Loans/Penalties for Paying Health Expenses/Taxing Health Benefits/Labor Enforcement Task Force

Not a lot of good news for small business last week. First - on Friday I received an email from Tony Wilkinson, the head of the National Association of Government Lenders,  about the status of 7a SBA loans. 7a loans are the largest source of government loans to small business. The authorization level for this fiscal year is 2014 to 2015 is  $19.875 billion. It is now being estimated that around July 31 the loan program will exceed that level and therefore loans to small business will be cut off. Keep in  mind there is no cost to the government to increase this authorization level. What needs to be done is an increase in authorization. The Office of Management and Budget has sent a letter asking that the authorization be increased to $22.5 billion. To increase the authorization an Appropriations Committee must approve and be passed by the House and the Senate. The conventional wisdom is that the  Highway bill or the Customs bill be amended to do this.  It is believed that a stand alone bill would not pass. This is particularly  important to California small businesses, as California businesses receive about 20% of these loans. A  key player in these discussions is Kevin Mc Carthy. He is in the 23rd Distract, which is in the Bakersfield area. If you are in his District call his office at 202 225-2913. You can also email him at Kevin.McCarthy@mail.house.gov Second - if you are not providing health insurance to your employees but are contributing pre-tax dollars to their health insurance or health expenses, beware. As of July 1,  2015 the IRS will start enforcing this and a   a $100 dollar a day penalty can be assessed  for non compliance. And last - Assemblyman  Marc Levine has introduced legislation  to tax health insurance that an employer provides to employees. This would raise $2 billion for the state. There are some that are looking at also taxing these benefits at the Federal levels. As of 2012, it is estimated that this would raise $250 billion for  the Federal government. Remember this would mean an employer would have to pay additional FICA taxes and Medicare,  and your employees would also have to pay income tax on this money. Please see below information  sent by Dominic Forrest Chief of the Labor Enforcement Task Force:  I wanted to let you know that the Labor Enforcement Task Force (LETF) has produced new educational materials to help employers understand their responsibilities and inform workers of their rights. All of the materials are available on our website: http://www.dir.ca.gov/letf/Information_for_workers_and_employers.html We have designed fact sheets specifically for construction and restaurants to help those businesses understand and follow labor, licensing and payroll tax laws. We are also working on employer fact sheets for other industries, including agriculture, automotive repair and garment. We have worker booklets available in various languages including Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Here is a news release with more information. http://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2015/2015-55.pdf Please let me know if you have any questions Sincerely, Dominic Forrest Chief, Labor Enforcement Task Force Department of Industrial Relations 1515 Clay Street, 17th Floor Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 622-3969 dforrest@dir.ca.gov www.dir.ca.gov/letf Scott Hauge President Small Business California 2311 Taraval Street San Francisco, CA  94116 shauge@cal-insure.com 415-680-2188

Go Biz Launches New California Business Portal (EMBARGOED)

Today is the first day of the new sick leave law. Hopefully you are all up to speed. Small Business California has done a couple of webinars  on this.  If you want to get a copy of the webinar done by Payality go to www.cal-insure.com. Click on resources.

On Tuesday, Lori and I were in Sacramento on AB 525. The bill came up before Business and Professions and Economic Development. It passed 6 to 1. This is the bill that levels the playing field for Franchisees on Franchise contracts. It now goes to Judiciary.

 Go Biz has now unveiled its business portal for California businesses. Please see below press release and link to site. Comments?

EMBARGOED UNTIL
Wednesday, July 1, 2015 @ 6:00 a.m.
Brook.Taylor@gov.ca.gov 
(916) 322-0667
 

GO-Biz Launches New California Business Portal: A One-Stop-Shop Website for Business Owners

 State Website Consolidates Information on Starting a Business, State Permits and Regulations, Incentives and More
 
Sacramento, Calif. – As part of an ongoing effort to provide more on-line tools to businesses, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today announced the launch of the California Business Portal, a one-stop-shop website for business owners looking for information and assistance. (www.BusinessPortal.ca.gov) 
 
“The California Business Portal is a response to the needs of the business community and their request for better on-line tools,” said GO-Biz Chief Deputy Director Panorea Avdis. “California business owners now have a resource to make it easier to do business in the state and GO-Biz will continually update the portal to ensure it keeps up with the demands of business owners and entrepreneurs.” 
 
The California Business Portal provides information to business owners on starting a new business, permits and licenses, incentives, local resources and more. The portal is available on the business owner’s schedule and has a number of key features, including:

Quick Start Guides: Short guides that contain the essential information for starting, and growing specific types of businesses in the State of California.

California Business Navigator: Not sure where to start? The Business Navigator provides custom information for your business including permits, licenses and incentives.

Service Desk: Get answers to commonly asked questions with the California Business Portal Service Desk. If the information for your situation is not here yet, submit your question and GO-Biz will provide a customized answer.

“As the global hub of innovation, California is often the first to meet challenges with novel solutions," said Robert Callahan, California Executive Director for The Internet Association. "This portal is a great example of how government can harness the power of the Internet and empower citizens through the use of technology.”
 
In May 2015, GO-Biz debuted the California Business Portal at the Trends in Technology conference in Sacramento. Prior to the conference, GO-Biz convened a group of small business owners and entrepreneurs to test the website and provide feedback. (VIDEO: GO-Biz Debuts ‘California Business Portal’ for Small Business Owners)
 
GO-Biz began building the framework for the business portal in the fall of 2014. Using existing resources, including staff from the Department of Technology IT Leadership Academy, it took GO-Biz IT Chief Thomas Boon and his team six months to build the website infrastructure which is also mobile friendly and can be accessed on iOS and Android devices.
 
“It was a top priority of GO-Biz to get people from the business community involved in the development of the California Business Portal,” said GO-Biz IT Chief Thomas Boon “As a result, the ease of use and content are reflective of the type of information and assistance business owners need.”
 
In addition to the business portal, GO-Biz has delivered a number of web based tools for business owners including easy to use on-line applications for the California Competes tax credit and the California Film Commission film tax credit. 
 
 About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as California’s single point of contact for economic development and job creation efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit: www.business.ca.gov. 


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188 

AB 525 Small Business Investment Protection Act

SB 525 is a bill that protects Franchisees from unfair business practices of Franchisers. It has passed the Senate and will go before the Assembly Business and Professions Committee. Currently there are 83000 franchised establishments in California employing 925700 workers.  Last years bill SB 610 was vetoed by the Governor because of questions the Governor had about the “substantial and Material breach”  in last years bill.If you want a sample letter please let me know.This bill bars franchisers from termination of a franchise- putting them out of business- without a reason. The standard proposed has been tested in numerous states:” failure to substantially comply” with the Franchise agreement. Gives franchisees rights to renew their franchise-to keep their business- if they comply with the franchiser's standards. Protects franchisees ability to monetize their equity and investment in their business before it is terminated or not renewed. Creates a more stable,sustainable ,and balanced relationship, which will allow workers more room to negotiate for improved working conditions. Keep in mind that franchisers will still be allowed to terminate or not renew franchises who violate important rules . Franchisees will merely be protected from losing their businesses for minor violations of thousands of pages of detailed requirements. Small Business California strongly supports this bill and will be looking to get support from the small business community around the state. What are your thoughts? Will you send a letter supporting? If you are a franchisee will you help us . Tell us your stories. Most of the people receiving this email are not impacted by this but we need to stick together to help our fellow small businesses owners.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188 

Workers' Compensation/Sick Leave/SB Cal Legislation

Most of you do not have an experience modification on your workers compensation policy but for those of you that do you know the impact of a good or bad modification. The Workers Compensation Bureau is looking to change the calculation formula. Currently claims up to $7000 are charged dollar for dollar in the calculation. The bureau is looking to change this. On the lower end if you’re paying $10000 the charge may be reduced from $7000 to $6000. On the higher end if you are paying $100000 it could go from  up from $7000 to around  $23000. I don’t know the time line on this but the Bureau will be doing a webinar and Small Business California will be on it.

Thank you to all that were on the webinar yesterday on the sick leave law that is going into effect July 1. Hopefully you all  know there are no exemptions for small employers. If you would like a copy of the presentation let me know and I will send to you.

As I said last week all bills had to get out of their house of origin by the end of the week. If you would like a list of bills Small Business California is tracking let me know.

Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188 

Legislation SB 406/AB67CASp

All bills in the Senate and Assembly must pass their house of origin this week. A couple of bills you might be interested in:

SB 406 Based on comments many of you provided me Small Business California opposed this bill. Under the  current Family Medical Leave  Act  businesses with 50 or more employees are required to provide unpaid job protected leave  for 12 weeks to employees and specified family members. SB 406 reduces the threshold to 25 employees. It also expands the family members to include grandparents grandchildren and siblings. In the expansion it now becomes possible for an employee to take 24 weeks. The bill passed the Senate 23 to 16.

AB 67 was an interesting bill requiring employers to pay double time  on Thanksgiving. It was amended so that the requirement  applied to businesses with 25 or more employees. It failed but not sure of vote.

I am on the California Commission on Disabled Access. Laws have been passed giving businesses some protection for ADA lawsuits if they  engage the services of a Certified Access Specialist CASp. How many of you have ever heard of CASp.If you are concerned about ADA lawsuits I suggest you find out about CASp. Go to www.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/Programs/programCert/casp.aspx


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188 

SB 406

Please find arguments below  for and against SB 406.  The Family Medical Leave Act provides 12 weeks for employers with 50 or more employees. This bill will reduce that to 25 employees. It should be noted that the author originally had 5 employees and has amended to 25. This is on the Senate Floor so I need to know as soon as possible what you think of bill. 


ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to proponents, the restrictions on family caregiving under CFRA fail to account for  the diversity of California households and the importance of caregiving by extended family members.

Proponents bring attention to various study findings including: a study of Alzheimer's patients which found that 40% of caregivers were not covered under the narrow definition of family in CFRA, one study that found that nearly 20% of primary caregivers for chronically disabled individuals are neither the spouse nor the child of the person receiving care, and another finding that one in twelve caregivers provides care to a parent-in-law, grandparent, or grandparent-in-law.
Proponents also note that California's PFL insurance program provides an important partial wage replacement when an employee takes time off work to care for a seriously ill family member. However, according to proponents because PFL does not provide any job protection some workers who pay into this fund never access its benefits because they would risk losing their job if they took any leave.

Proponents point to a 2011 study which found that among those who were aware of PFL and needed leave but did not apply for benefits, 38% said they did not apply because they feared they would be fired or face other negative consequences at work. Proponents argue that to make sure the state's PFL program ensures family members are cared for employees need to be able to take leave without risking their jobs. Proponents contend that SB 406 will provide the critical job protection for workers who want to take paid family leave by amending CFRA to expand the definition of family to match PFL and to lower the employer threshold so that more workers are covered.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Opponents argue that SB 406 will overwhelm small businesses by mandating businesses with 25 or more employees to provide a 12-week protected leave of absence. Opponents contend that this will put a greater burden on both small and large businesses while creating an even further disconnect from the FMLA. Opponents argue that this creates a burden for the employer especially if he or she has multiple employees already out of work on protected leaves and because the employer must hire and train a temporary employee to cover the employees' duties, pay an existing employee a higher wage or overtime to take on the duties, or suffer decreased productivity until the existing employee out on leave is ready to return to work.
Additionally, opponents argue that expanding the family members for whom an employee may take a 12-week protected leave of absence to care for to include a grandparent, a grandchild, and siblings will negatively impact California employers. Opponents argue that as these family members in SB 406 are not covered under the FMLA, this bill will potentially provide a California employer with an obligation to provide up to 24 weeks of protected leave.

Specifically,opponents argue that under SB 406 an employee could utilize his or her 12 weeks of CFRA to care for the serious medical condition of a grandparent as well as still be entitled to another 12-week protected leave of absence under FMLA for his or her own medical condition or the medical condition of his or her spouse, child or parent.


Scott Hauge
President
Small Business California
2311 Taraval Street
San Francisco, CA  94116
shauge@cal-insure.com
415-680-2188