Good morning, and Happy Monday.   I hope you are all hunkered down someplace safe with good AC this week, that is most certainly where I plan to stay.   I am going to try to keep this week’s Briefing brief, and I actually have some rare good news!

CONGRATS TO OUR TRIAL TEAM!

So before I get into any real Labor and Employment news, I want to share some news closer to home.  Our own Labor and Employment trial team, consisting of our partners Lauren Katunich and Leticia Kimble, backed up by Matthew Pate, just received a defense verdict following a three-week jury trial in Downtown Los Angeles’ Stanley Mosk Superior Court.   The case involved our favorite issues of wage and hour and harassment, and opposing counsel had completely refused to be reasonable in settlement negotiations.   I have to take a minute to gloat – our department has won its last several trials.   I keep reminding our opposing counsel this – I know it is very expensive to try cases, which is why we do not like to do if we do not have to.  It is still usually far cheaper to settle cases, and not all cases have the kind of facts where we can win.  But on the other hand, there are times when it makes sense to take a case all the way when the facts are in our favor, and we know how to do it. 

MORE GOOD NEWS – CALIFORNIA IS GIVING MONEY TO SMALL EMPLOYERS UNDER THE PAID FAMILY LEAVE GRANT!  WHO KNEW?

This was a new one to me, and I learned about it from my associate Matthew, who learned about it from a client.  Why it was being kept such a secret I can only imagine is because California doesn’t want to tell people it’s giving away money.   But then, why do it? 

Anyway, here is how it works.  If you are a small business in California (under 100 employees), and you have an employee who is going out on Paid Family Leave on or after June 1, 2022, you get to apply for this Paid Family Leave Grant to help you hire and train temp workers while your employee is out on leave.  The grant is for $1000 if you have between 51 – 100 employees, and $2000 if you have 1 – 50 employees.  And the grant is PER EMPLOYEE, so you can keep getting money every time one of your employees goes on this leave.  Your business must have an active California Employer Account Number (CEAN) and cannot utilize the payroll services of a PEO. 

Now remember,  the employee has to be receiving Paid Family Leave from the state, NOT SDI payments.  So this would be for baby bonding or to care for another family member, not for an employee’s own disability or pregnancy. 

For more information, check the FAQs, here. 

BEWARE OF EMPLOYEE MELTDOWNS, RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE, AND ERRANT DRIVERS

Okay, I did say last week that I wanted to touch on the issue of mental health, and I know I circle back to it a lot in these briefings, but that is because it’s a recurring theme in 2022.  It’s the explanation for so much of what has been happening this year.  Employees still showing up to work and then “ghosting.”  Or, employees suddenly quitting jobs they have had for 20 years.  Or the Will Smith syndrome – people just acting out, snapping.  People becoming unglued on airplanes or in Walmart stores.  All the gun violence, the school shootings, heck, someone made a gun and shot the former President of Japan – and they don’t even have guns in Japan!  It’s not just our country.  We have worldwide PTSD from this pandemic.  And it manifests itself in depression, anxiety, increases in suicide, gun violence, substance abuse, domestic violence, you name it.  This past weekend, we had not one but two issues with people racing down the street at midday at high speeds and harming or killing people.  One involved an ICU Kaiser nurse who drove drunk at 1p down a West LA side street at 100 mph and killed six people.  And then there was Ann Heche, who got drunk on her podcast, got into her car after, sped down the street intoxicated and slammed into someone’s house.  Her car burst into flames, and she is apparently lucky to be alive.

And why do I keep talking about this here?  Because it impacts our workplace, too.  Two weeks ago I had three calls about employees who either threatened or carried out self-harm.  Last week, I had several calls involving employees with substance abuse issues.  Yes, I used to get those calls from time to time.  But now they are constant.  So we need to be watching for these issues and prepared to handle them.  Maybe it’s time to look into EAPs if we do not have them.   Or at least talk to your managers about the possibility that these issues may arise, because they may seem them, too.  We need to be talking about these issues, and not in a way that pokes fun of people like Will Smith and Ann Heche (because celebrities will always become the villains).  The point is, many people  are struggling with something right now.  Which is why when I talk to so many of you, I keep asking how you are doing.  And it’s okay if you’re not okay. 

But the good news is, I do see clearer skies ahead.  COVID numbers are coming back down again.   I actually got out of the house and spent time at the beach with some old friends and met new people.   I felt . . . social again.  And almost normal.    Each time when the aftershocks subside, we step down on the ground and start trusting the earth beneath us again.  

Keep breathing and stay cool, all.

#StandWithUkraine