AB 1897 (Hernandez) Contractor Liability

On Sunday, Governor Brown signed AB 1897, the controversial contractor liability bill that was heavily opposed by business, despite the bill being significantly amended in the Senate and Assembly during the closing days of Session.  As amended, AB 1897 will do the following:  Defines "client employer" to mean a business entity with a workforce of 25 or more workers and at least 5 contract workers.  The term "individual" liability in the definition of "client employer" is deleted and replaced with the term "business entity."  The bill does not impose individual liability on a homeowner for labor or services received at the home or on the owner of a home-based business for labor or services received at the home.

The bill does not impose liability on a client employer for the use of a bona fide independent contractor and does not change the definition of independent contractor.

Employer opposition was concerned about the required disclosure of employer information as employers do not maintain personnel records of individuals that are not its employees and cannot force the "actual employer" to comply with an agency request.  The bill was amended to clarify that a client employer or labor contractor is only required to provide information within its possession, custody or control.  The bill does not require the disclosure of information that is not otherwise required to be disclosed by employers upon request by a state enforcement agency or department.

The amendments also added a narrowing definition of "usual course of business."  The bill imposes liability on a client employer for workers provided to perform labor or services within its "usual course of business" which is defined as "the regular and customary work of a business, performed within or upon the premises or worksite of the client employer."

It is interesting to note that the American Staffing Association and the California Staffing Professionals, the trade associations that represent the temporary staffing industry, removed their opposition to the bill with the inclusion of the amendments noted above.

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Lori C. Kammerer

Kammerer & Company

1215 K Street, 17^th Floor

Sacramento, CA 95814

Office: (916) 441-5674

Cell: (916) 716-5674

LCK@midtown.net

 

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

Underground Economy GO-Biz Workshops: How to Apply for CA Competes Tax Credit

On Friday  I will be talking to the Little Hoover Commission [ LHC] about the impact of the Underground Economy on small businesses.  The LHC is doing a study on this.
I have heard from many of you that you are put at a competitive disadvantage because underground payments to employees are made in cash thereby avoiding taxes and workers compensation coverage.  I have also heard that payments made to the businesses are in cash as well, thereby avoiding taxes.  Lastly, I've heard of abuse in the form of classifying employees as independent contractors  to avoid taxes and workers compensation.  I hear this issue frequently and these cases are most frequently brought up in my discussions with contractors, retailers and sometimes in the service industry like cosmetology.
Is this impacting you?  What industry are you in?
Are there other aspects of the underground economy that impact you?
What ideas do you have to solve the problem?

Please see list of meetings Go-Biz is having on the California Competes Tax Credit below.
 
GO-Biz to Host Regional Workshops on How Businesses Can Apply for the California Competes Tax Credit

You are invited to join the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) for a free workshop on how to apply for the California Competes Tax Credit. Starting Monday, September 29^th, GO-Biz will open the California Competes program and begin accepting applications for businesses that want to add jobs in California.  The state will provide $151 million in tax credits this fiscal year to small, medium and large companies across the state. Last fiscal year, GO-Biz awarded $28.9 million to 29 companies that are planning to create 6,000 jobs and invest more than $2 billion in the state. Register today for a webinar or a free workshop in your area.

Online Webinar
Monday September 29, 2014
Details and Registration

Eureka, CA
Tuesday September 30, 2014
Details and Registration

Sacramento, CA
Monday October 6, 2014
Details and Registration

Stockton, CA
Wednesday October 8, 2014
Details and Registration

Fresno, CA
Wednesday October 8, 2014
Details and Registration

Visalia, CA
Thursday October 9, 2014
Details and Registration

San Jose, CA
Thursday October 9, 2014
Details and Registration

San Diego, CA
Monday October 13, 2014
Details and Registration

El Centro, CA
Tuesday October 14, 2014
Details and Registration

Carson, CA
Wednesday October 15, 2014
Details and Registration

Fontana, CA
Wednesday October 15, 2014
Details and Registration

Palmdale, CA
Thursday Oct 16, 2014
Details and Registration

Online Webinar
Monday October 20, 2014
Details and Registration

For more infomation about the California Competes tax credit visit the GO-Biz website here.

GO-Biz serves as California’s office for economic development and offers a range of services to business owners. Those services include attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, important informational briefings and much more. For more information visit: www.business.ca.gov or contact Jorge.Jaramillo@gov.ca.gov.




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

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 118

Interesting legislation from Assemblyman Dan Logue.  Small Business Owners Highway. What do you think?

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 118
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 174

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 118—Relative to the California Small Business Owners’ Highway.
[Filed with Secretary of State September 11, 2014.]

legislative counsel’s digest
ACR 118, Logue. California Small Business Owners’ Highway.
This measure would designate a specified portion of State Highway Route 99 in Sutter County as the California Small Business Owners’ Highway. The measure would also request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

WHEREAS, The month of June is celebrated as California Small Business Month, in recognition of the tremendous contributions that small businesses make to the economic strength of our nation and state; and
WHEREAS, The nation’s 28 million small businesses are the job creation engine of the American economy, responsible for one-half of all private sector jobs, and are the source of roughly 70 percent of all new jobs in the last decade; and
WHEREAS, California is home to three and one-half million of these small businesses, accounting for 99 percent of the state’s employers and 52 percent of the state’s workforce, and producing more than one-half of California’s gross domestic product; and
WHEREAS, California is home to the most innovative and competitive businesses in the world, placing the state consistently among the top 10 economies in the world; and
WHEREAS, California’s small businesses are critical to the economic health of the state because small businesses are innovative forces in the marketplace and are among the most likely to take risks to create new technologies and industries; and
WHEREAS, A commitment to small businesses and support for small-scale private-sector job creators are among the most promising strategies to enhance California’s human capital, expand job opportunities, and increase the state’s competitive advantage in the global marketplace; and
WHEREAS, It is appropriate to recognize the important role of small businesses in California’s economy by dedicating a portion of State Route Highway 99 as the California Small Business Owners’ Highway; now, therefore, be it
94

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the portion of State Highway Route 99 between Hull Road and Stewart Road in Sutter County as the California Small Business Owners’ Highway; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover that cost, to erect those signs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.

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

SB 1034/ SB 610/AB 1399

Some good news for California employers that are providing group health insurance for their employees. On August 15^th the Governor signed SB1034 which will allow employers to have a 90 day waiting period for new employees. The waiting period under previous law was 60 days. The 90 day waiting period conforms with the Affordable Care Act.

The usual effective date for legislation is the first  of the following year after passage  or in this case 2015, but it was the intent to be effective immediately. Insurance companies are handling this differently so check with your broker to see how this will work for you.

Small Business California continues to push for the Governor’s signature of SB 610. This will level the playing field between Franchisors and Franchisee on contracts. We met last week with Mike Rossi in the Governor’s office on this . We are very hopeful the Governor will sign this.

Small Business California is strongly  supporting AB 1399 which will establish a California New Markets Tax Credit. This legislation was put forth by the Committee on Jobs and Economic Development. We are working closely with our good friend Toni Symonds consultant to the Committee.

The Governor has until the end of the month to sign or veto legislation for this session. For more detailed information on these bills go to www.leginfo.ca.gov

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

Kiva Zip Program

Small Business California is always looking for ways to help small businesses access capital.  Kiva Zip is a great program. See information below about what they have to offer to both people looking for money and to people looking to help small businesses

You may have heard of the non-profit Kiva.org, as a crowdfunding platform that has supported over a million entrepreneurs all around the world with microloans over the last decade. But with Kiva Zip, Kiva.org is looking to support small business owners and entrepreneurs here in California.

Kiva Zip's microloans, which can be up to $10,000 paid back over 1 to 3 years, are made at 0% interest (with no hidden fees), and they are crowdfunded by Kiva's community of over a million individual lenders, who lend in increments as small as $5! Kiva's lenders are not looking for a financial return, but they lend to support the creation and growth of small businesses in their neighborhoods, or because they empathize with the story or cause of the borrower they're supporting. What's more, many of these lenders might become customers or brand ambassadors for the businesses they are lending to.

Unlike other small business lenders, Kiva Zip focuses a lot less on conventional financial metrics to assess loans -- credit score, cashflow, collateral, etc. Instead, Kiva Zip makes lending decisions based on the character and trust network of the borrower. In this way, they are looking to revolutionize the way that small business owners in America access the capital they need to invest in their businesses.

Kiva Zip lenders just funded their 250th small business here in California, and they have now supported over 800 throughout the United States. 

Jonny Price | Senior Director, Kiva Zip
415-297-4763 | jonny@kiva.org


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

Make Your Voice Heard by the CPUC! SB-Cal Safe Contractor Survey

Please see email from SB Cal Board member Hank Ryan. For contractors out there, could you please get back to Hank. If you know contractors please forward.


Greetings!

SB-Cal has developed a mechanism California energy efficiency contractors can now use to provide constructive feedback safely to the CPUC and to utilities in the state.  You do not need to identify yourself unless you wish to.

Use the link to the SB-Cal Contractor Survey below and respond!
 
Some history...  

A few months ago, SB-Cal was given the opportunity to participate in a CPUC sanctioned “Rolling Portfolio” working group representing stakeholders involved in California energy efficiency programs. Recent comments occurred regarding how the “start/stop” situation cutting off programs has been one significant burden on contractors that depend on energy efficiency programs.

SB-Cal then volunteered to field a survey from SB-Cal so that contractors could safely suggest constructive improvements to the utility program process. The CPUC Energy Division and Office of Ratepayer Advocates provided questions they thought were fair and that they would like contractor input on.  Now the survey is ready for contractors to finally have a direct voice in this process.

We hope that you will feel this effort is worth a few minutes for you to offer constructive responses.  This has never been done before so we hope contractors do indeed want to have their voice heard.
 
Please log in below to the actual questionnaire.  ( To receive a PDF of the survey, email your request to hryan@smallbusinesscalifornia.org by replying to this message.)

I hope all is well and thanks for your input!  Please share this email with others!
 
Survey Link below...
 
Contractor Feedback Survey - Offered by Small Business California

Hank Ryan
Efficiency Data & Development
Also representing:
SB California  (www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org)
750 47th Ave.  #56  Capitola, CA 95010
T: 510-459-9683  F: 831-476-1248 



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

Letter supporting SB 610

This is one response I received on my email asking for support  of SB 610. I have taken the name off because the business owner was afraid of retribution. It is really important that I get your letters.
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Thank you for sending this.  I added a small paragraph telling only a bit from our long  nightmare with our franchisor.  We recently got out of that  franchise contract as we filed suit for several of the same exact abuses you describe in this bill.  We were lucky but it was terribly costly.  Others in our franchise will not be so lucky as they will bear the brunt of the vindictive nature of that franchisor.  This is an important bill to protect the franchisees who really have no voice.  The contracts are so one-sided that you feel like you have become an "indentured slave" to the whims of the franchisor. 
 
"I was a franchisee for over 14 years and had to deal with numerous threats from the franchisor even though we operated in the terms of our agreement. The franchise retaliated by leaving us out of important emails and just plan ignoring us as we were vocal about questionable legal and ethical business practices we observed. We filed suit and were able to get out of the contract but this would not have happened had they been fair and ethical in their dealings. We sold one franchise unit where they used underhanded tactics costing us over $40,000 in the final sale but could have resulted in a lawsuit by the seller with claims of up to $250,000. This bill is important to protect franchisees from unscrupulous franchisors."

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

SB 610 - SB Urgent Letters of support

Please see request by Lori Kammerer for letters supporting SB 610 below.  You can also download the letter by clicking this link.  Please print the letter using your own letterhead and sign and email me your letters of support at  shauge@cal-insure.com.  Call me with any questions. Thank you.
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Hi Scott,

Attached is a sample letter urging the Governor to sign SB 610, authored by Senator Hanna-Beth Jackson, that would help franchisee owners protect their business and more fairly negotiate with the franchisor in cases where there may be a dispute or that the franchisor chooses to shut the business down on their term.

Please have your members cut/paste the attached letter onto their letterhead, sign and scan a copy to you.  I will take the letters to the Governor’s office on a daily basis.  The Governor is expected to sign or veto this legislation any day now, so the sooner we can deliver letters to his office, the better!

Thank You,

Lori
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Lori C. Kammerer
Kammerer & Company
1215 K Street, 17^th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Office: (916) 441-5674
Cell: (916) 716-5674
LCK@midtown.net

 

                                                                          September 3, 2014
 

The Honorable Edmund G. Brown, Jr.
Governor, State of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA  95814 

RE:  SB 610 (Jackson) Respectfully Request Your Signature

Dear Governor Brown:

As a small business owner in California, I am writing to respectfully request that you sign Senate Bill 610 (Jackson) that would protect small-business owners by bringing some balance to the franchisor-franchisee relationship. Current California law allows franchisors to terminate franchise agreements for “good cause,” which includes a failure to comply with a requirement of the contract. But franchise contracts often specify dozens—or even hundreds— of requirements. Franchise agreements often allow the franchisor to terminate the agreement for minor violations of the contract or of thousands of pages of manuals and other rules. And these are rules that the franchisor can often change unilaterally.

Senate Bill 610 will also prohibit franchisors from unreasonably denying the sale of the business to a qualified third party by providing franchisees with the same transfer rights afforded to auto-dealers.   SB 610 was amended to model the sale and transfer of a franchise after the California Automobile Dealers’ Franchise Law, “the Gonsalves Act” of 1973 that has protected auto dealer franchisees from abusive franchisor auto manufacturers since 1973.  Unfortunately, the rest of the franchisee business community has suffered at the hands of some franchisors when it comes to abusive terminations and the simple right to sell or transfer their franchise business to a qualified person.

Additionally, Senate Bill 610 will offer protections to small businesses who are franchisees to fast-food restaurants, retail stores, tax-preparation services, auto-repair shops and other businesses bearing major brand names.  The franchisees often put their life savings at risk to start their businesses.  Senate Bill 610 gives franchisees’ rights to renew their franchise, if they comply with the franchisor’s standards. California law now allows franchisors to decide not to renew a franchisee’s contract for any reason or no reason at all.  Franchisee associations provide franchisees with a forum for discussing common problems and issues and with a collective voice for raising these issues with the franchisor.  Some franchisees have reported that franchisors have retaliated against franchisees who join these associations.  The bill would protect franchisees from retaliation for joining an association, thus ensuring that franchisees can continue to work together to improve conditions for their business.

For these reasons and more, I respectfully request that you sign Senate Bill 610.  If you or your staff have any questions, please contact me at (phone number) or email (email address).

Respectfully,

Your Name
Your Company Name

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

Experience Modifications/ Medi-Cal

One of the most confusing things for some small businesses is understanding how the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau calculates a business’ experience modification.  First of all, not all businesses generate enough premium to have one.  You must be paying in the neighborhood of $30,000 over a three year period which eliminates most small businesses in the state.

But if you do have an experience modification you should always ask your broker for a copy of your Experience Modification work sheet.  Most small businesses have never seen this. You will quickly see that claims are very expensive.  On smaller claims you will usually pay more over three years than the claim costs the Insurance company.
 
Do you have an experience modification?  Would you be interested in knowing how your modification is calculated?

SB1124 appears to be going to the Governor’s desk.  Currently someone 55 or older who dies and has been insured by Medi-Cal can have their assets seized by the state upon their death for medical expense paid by Medi-Cal. SB1124 would change this and prevent the state from going after these assets. It is estimated that the state receives about $15 million a year in recovered assets. Should the state be allowed to seize these assets? Thoughts?


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