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Written by: GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

Published: 04 October 2023

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed SB 616 by Sen. Lena Gonzales (D-Long Beach), a bill guaranteeing workers at least five paid sick days per year, up from the current three days, while also increasing the accrual and carry-over amounts.

Working sick costs the national economy $273 billion annually in lost productivity.

Two days of unpaid sick time is nearly the equivalent of a month’s worth of groceries.

Newsom’s office said offering sick days helps save employers money through improved productivity and morale, as well as reduced presenteeism and turnover.

Increasing access to paid sick days also reduces health care costs, with evidence showing that when workers have paid sick days such costs go down and workers’ health benefits, Newsom’s office reported.

“Too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a day's pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick,” said Newsom. “We’re making it known that the health and well-being of workers and their families is of the utmost importance for California’s future.”

“Women and mothers are the default caregivers of sick family members. As such, they are more likely to be harmed by disrupted or lost wages when they need to take time off work,” said First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. “More paid sick days for ALL California workers will help ease this distinct burden on women, and bolster their economic security.”

“Today marks an exciting moment as our Golden State enacts SB 616, which gives five guaranteed paid sick leave days to California's workers,” said Gonzalez. “This reinforces our state’s values and commitment to protecting the health and well-being of our workers. As workers and families face illnesses that can disrupt their wages and livelihoods, California has delivered and stepped up to protect and expand paid sick leave, providing a critical safety net to all working Californians. I extend my gratitude to Gov. Newsom for signing this bill into law, and to my colleagues in the Legislature, and all the labor supporters, small businesses, and community members who united to advocate for this critical legislation.”

“This is a huge win for workers who have struggled to access adequate paid sick time. We never know what can come up in our lives. A sick child. Emergency surgery. Serious illness. Going from 3 to 5 paid sick days is a very important lifeline for working families across the state,” said Ingrid Vilorio, Jack in the Box worker from Castro Valley. “Now, workers will no longer have to worry about how to make the month’s rent or how to keep food on the table while recovering from illness or caring for a loved one. We thank Gov. Newsom for standing up for workers and signing SB 616.”

In addition to signing this measure on Wednesday, the governor also announced that he has signed the following bills:

AB 256 by Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) — Vehicles: registration.

AB 268 by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber (D-San Diego) — Board of State and Community Corrections.

AB 298 by Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Porterville) — Honoring Our Blind Veterans Act.

AB 969 by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) — Elections: voting systems.

AB 1270 by Assemblymember Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach) — Redevelopment: successor agency: City of Lake Forest.

AB 1271 by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Carson) — Gambling Control Act: licenses.

AB 1458 by Assemblymember Tri Ta (R-Westminster) — Common interest developments: association governance: member election.

AB 1471 by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) — Hospitals: seismic compliance: O’Connor Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

SB 256 by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) — Parklands: City of Davis.

SB 519 by Sen. Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) — Corrections.

SB 548 by Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) — Public employees’ retirement: joint county and trial court contracts.

SB 568 by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) — Electronic waste: export.

SB 617 by Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) — Public contracts: progressive design-build: local and regional agencies: transit.

SB 883 by the Committee on Public Safety — Public Safety Omnibus.

SB 890 by the Committee on Governance and Finance — Property taxation: change of ownership and base year value transfers.

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Written by: Nathan Cheek, Purdue University

Published: 04 October 2023

 

People think sexual harassment and domestic abuse are less harmful for women in poverty than for higher-income women, according to four studies involving 3,052 Americans conducted by my colleagues and me. We also found that people believe women in poverty require less help and support when experiencing these kinds of sexual misconduct.

My research partners and I recruited participants of different ages, genders and incomes. We asked them to read about either a low-income woman or a high-income woman who was dealing with workplace sexual harassment or intimate partner abuse. Then we had participants rate how distressing these instances would be for the woman.

The harassment events described inappropriate behavior from a co-worker, such as sexual comments and unwanted advances, while domestic abuse events included threats, demeaning comments and physical violence from the woman’s partner. In some of the studies, participants also rated how much social support or bystander intervention would be necessary for these events.

Our participants rated the harassment and abuse events as less upsetting for the lower-income woman than for the higher-income woman. They also thought the lower-income woman would need less emotional support from friends and family and less help from bystanders than the higher-income woman. On average, participants thought she needed only 85% as much help as her higher-income counterpart.

The result was the same whether the woman was white, Black, East Asian or Latina. Both low- and high-income study participants shared this pattern of judgment – as did male and female participants.

Why it matters

There is no data that shows lower-income women are less affected by gender-based violence – in fact, there is evidence they are often more affected.

Women in poverty are more likely to experience sexual harassment and domestic abuse – and have more difficulty finding support after experiencing sexual misconduct. Our research suggests that stereotypes about toughness may contribute to the neglect low-income women encounter when they seek help after violence.

It isn’t that study participants didn’t like the low-income woman. In fact, in our studies, participants rated the low-income woman as friendlier and warmer than the higher-income woman. But liking the low-income woman didn’t prevent participants from thinking the harassment and abuse would be less harmful for her.

Such perceptions may have wide-ranging consequences. For example, low-income women may not receive the care they need from those around them. They also may be disproportionately neglected by those in powerful positions, such as human resources managers and police investigating domestic abuse.

Biased perceptions may help explain why lower-income women encounter more barriers in the legal system.

Already, the neglect of low-income women has been effectively part of U.S. federal workplace law based on several rulings from courts hearing sexual harassment claims. For example, in the 1995 case Gross v. Burggraf, the court ruled that sexually harassing behaviors in a “white collar” workplace do not necessarily qualify as harassment in “blue collar” contexts like construction sites.

This logic echoes our study participants’ judgments – and also partially explains why low-income women have spoken out about being sidelined by the #MeToo movement.

What other research is being done

Our research fits with a growing body of work examining beliefs around experiencing adversity. People seem to widely endorse the idea “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Individuals who have experienced past hardship, such as women experiencing financial difficulties, are perceived by others to have grown a “thicker skin,” making them less affected by new negative events.

Our findings show this kind of bias exists for low-income women – and highlight the need for strategies to counteract this biased belief.

The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

Nathan Cheek, Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 04 October 2023

LAKEPORT, Calif. — Community members and neighbors came out on Tuesday to take part in Lakeport’s National Night Out event.

Library Park was filled with activities, colorful bicycles and booths from many nonprofit organizations and agencies during the event, which began Tuesday afternoon and continued into the evening.

The Lakeport City Council had canceled its regular Tuesday night meeting so council members and staff could participate in the event.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and his staff were on hand — along with K9 Officer Olin — to meet with community members.

There were opportunities to learn about agencies and organizations that serve the community, with booths lined up around the park offering information and swag.

There also were plenty of raffle tickets and prizes.

It was topped off by a bike parade of children who had decorated their bikes for a circuit around the park.

This was the event’s second year back since the COVID-19 pandemic had caused it to be canceled.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.