California

Want to help California gig workers? Protect undocumented immigrants

Published

2 years ago

March 22, 2023

Want to help California gig workers? Protect undocumented immigrants

Final week, a California appellate court docket upheld Proposition 22 — a 2020 state poll initiative that defines app-based rideshare and supply drivers as unbiased contractors slightly than workers — reversing a lower-court choice from final 12 months. The ruling was a serious victory for gig corporations similar to Uber, Lyft and Doordash, which spent over $200 million to move the measure. Although the case might go to the California Supreme Courtroom for assessment, Prop. 22 stays the legislation of the land and lots of gig economic system employees are shut out from office protections.

Even with Prop. 22 in place, nevertheless, California employees nonetheless have AB5, handed in 2019, to guard them. The legislation defines employment broadly, granting a broad swath of employees entry to fundamental protections, together with a minimal wage, employees’ compensation and unemployment insurance coverage. AB5 stays probably the most vital current reform effort to fight employers who “misclassify” their employees as unbiased contractors to disclaim them authorized rights. States searching for to enhance office protections are more likely to observe California’s lead on this regard, whereas gig corporations have already begun trying into passing copycat variations of Prop. 22 elsewhere.

With this in thoughts, California lawmakers ought to think about taking all steps obtainable to strengthen AB5. A method they’ll do that is to bolster the legislation’s protections for undocumented employees.

Undocumented immigrants with out federal work authorization are disproportionately more likely to be wrongfully labeled as unbiased contractors. This “misclassification” impacts not solely immigrant taxi and rideshare drivers but additionally numerous employees in closely immigrant occupations similar to residential development and janitorial work.

That is no accident.

Because the labor sociologist Ruth Milkman has written, companies have developed methods over the previous half-century to weaken the ability of organized labor and create extra precarious types of work, together with the usage of unbiased contractor standing to keep away from authorized and monetary obligations. Over time, as situations worsened in quite a few industries, U.S.-born employees left for higher prospects if they may, and undocumented immigrants — barred from formal employment by federal legislation — incessantly took their locations. Because of this, Milkman writes, jobs that after paid an honest union wage have been “reworked into ‘jobs Individuals don’t need.’ ”

Given the prevalence of misclassification in closely immigrant occupations, undocumented employees are more likely to be overrepresented among the many estimated 1 million employees who’ve been reclassified as workers statewide.

AB5 applies to undocumented employees a minimum of to U.S. residents or immigrants with authorized standing. Underneath California’s new authorized customary, most employers ought to presume that their employees are workers, no matter immigration standing. And due to an earlier California legislation, all workers are entitled to the complete safety of the state’s labor code.

Implementation of AB5, nevertheless, poses distinctive challenges for undocumented employees.

Most necessary, many employers might assume that if state legislation requires them to deal with their employees as workers, federal legislation does as nicely — together with the duty to confirm that each one workers are legally licensed to work, utilizing the I-9 kind that’s acquainted to new hires. This assumption may lead many immigrant employees to lose their jobs or encourage them to supply false paperwork, which might expose them to felony or civil immigration penalties. Luckily, a state legislation that defines a given employee as an worker doesn’t essentially set off the I-9 requirement. Federal legislation applies a narrower definition of employment than AB5, which means that this identical employee may nonetheless be thought-about an unbiased contractor for immigration functions, exempt from immigration verification.

In different phrases, states like California can present their undocumented residents all the protections of worker standing with out triggering any federal immigration penalties — however to take action, they should make clear employers’ tasks. Reform payments constructing on AB5 ought to embody unambiguous language explaining that California deliberately defines employment extra broadly than federal immigration legislation. Crucially, each the legislative textual content and outreach efforts to companies ought to clarify that AB5 doesn’t require employers to confirm employees’ immigration standing. Within the industries the place many undocumented employees earn their livelihoods, these clarifications might not solely assist to maintain folks of their jobs, however higher protected on the job as nicely.

On a associated observe, like many different states, California has a legislation on the books that criminalizes immigrants who use false paperwork to safe a job, which basically duplicates penalties on the federal stage. This legislation is a holdover of the notorious nativist 1994 poll initiative, Proposition 187. Lawmakers ought to repeal this relic from a time earlier than California turned the progressive, pro-immigrant state it’s immediately. Decriminalizing immigrant work would serve the goal of AB5 to empower employees by bringing them beneath the safety of the formal economic system.

AB5 will not be an ideal answer to the issue of worker misclassification. Irrespective of how the legislation defines employment, companies will deliberately design their workplaces to supply the fewest rights to their employees. And for the numerous undocumented immigrants who depend on freelance or unbiased work, it could be tougher to seek out alternatives to assist themselves because the state implements the brand new legislation. Labor code enforcement have to be attentive to each of those issues. However AB5 and payments prefer it are a step in the suitable route for employees. Even because the courts give their blessing to Prop. 22, lawmakers can and may start to consider taking the following step — guaranteeing that the protections of California’s labor code apply to as many employees as attainable, no matter immigration standing.

Jacob Hamburger is a postdoctoral affiliate with Cornell College Regulation College’s Immigration Regulation and Coverage Analysis Program.

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California

What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz

Published

7 hours ago

November 29, 2024

Press Room

What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz

California has plenty of options when it comes to finding a place with your preferred weather. If you like cool weather, some cities spend nearly the entire year below 70 degrees. If you hate the rain, there are locations that average just a few inches per year.

The Chronicle gathered data about temperature, precipitation, air quality and extreme weather for 61 places across California, including the 20 most populous cities with data available. In total, 53 of the state’s 58 counties are represented in the analysis.

While there may not be a perfect match with everything you’re looking for, this quiz will help pinpoint a place that gets close.

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California

California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years

Published

15 hours ago

November 29, 2024

Press Room

California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years

A California woman died of rabies after allegedly being bitten by a bat in her classroom, according to Fresno County health officials.

The woman, later identified as Leah Seneng, 60, marks the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992.

“In general, rabies is a disease that affects the brain, and it is very rare. But when it develops, it can cause very serious consequences,” said Dr. Trnidad Solis, Fresno County Health Department’s deputy health officer. “It’s transmitted through saliva; it is not airborne.”

RABIES PATIENT BECOMES FIRST FATAL CASE IN US AFTER POST-EXPOSURE TREATMENT, REPORT SAYS

Leah Seneng, 60, was the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992, according to county health officials. (GoFundMe)

Seneng, who was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, was bitten by the bat when she was attempting to rescue it in her classroom, local outlet ABC30 reported.

She first came into contact with the bat in October, but did not display symptoms until approximately a month later, according to Fresno County health officials. She was admitted to the hospital and died four days later.

Leah Seneng was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, California. (Map Quest)

PEANUT THE SQUIRREL EARMARKED FOR EUTHANASIA BEFORE BEING CONFISCATED AND WAS RABIES-FREE: REPORT

“The most frequent route of transmission is through the bite of an animal that has rabies. With rabies, unfortunately, there is no cure. So, when symptoms develop, there is no treatment, and often when it develops, it is often fatal. So we want the public to know that prevention is key to preventing rabies infection,” Solis said.

Fresno County officials do not believe there is a threat to public health at this time, but are working with the Merced County Health Department to identify any other possible exposures and administer vaccines.

Rabies vaccination syringe held in gloved hand.

Health experts recommend people and pets get vaccinated for rabies. (iStock)

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Seneng’s coworkers have set up a GoFundMe account to assist her family during this time.

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California

Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu

Published

22 hours ago

November 28, 2024

Press Room

Two batches of raw milk from a trendy California brand have tested positive for bird flu this week.
Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among cattle in the US.
Experts say drinking raw milk is dangerous, and can cause food poisoning.

Another batch of raw milk just tested positive for bird flu in California.

Last Sunday, Fresno-based Raw Farm voluntarily recalled a first batch of cream top whole raw milk with a “best by” date of November 27. By Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that a second batch of Raw Farm cream top, with a “best by” date of December 7 had also tested positive for bird flu, based on retail sampling.

“We’re not making a big deal about it, because it’s not a big deal,” Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm’s vice president of marketing, said in a short video posted on YouTube after the farm’s first voluntary recall was announced earlier this week.

She said there had only been an indication that there might be a “trace element of something possible,” emphasizing that there had been no reported illnesses of Raw Farms cows or positive tests from the cattle.

Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee later told the LA Times that the California Department of Food and Agriculture had requested that his company “hold delivery of further products” until Friday, after conducting thorough testing of two Raw Farms and one creamery on Wednesday. (McAfee could not immediately be reached for comment by Business Insider during the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Raw milk may be helping bird flu spread — but not in the way you might think

Containers of Raw Farm raw milk on a shelf at Berkeley Bowl on November 25, 2024 in Berkeley, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Scientists suspect that cross-contamination of raw milk between animals may be one reason the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among cows in the US — and could even contribute to the human spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dairy workers might be able to contract bird flu by infected raw milk splashed into their eyes.

There is no definitive evidence yet that humans can get bird flu from drinking contaminated raw milk. Instead, health authorities generally recommend avoiding raw milk because of other serious health risks, including food poisoning with bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli, or Listeria.

There are no known health benefits of drinking raw milk. Instead, all evidence suggests that pasteurized milk is just as nutritious, and is safer to consume.

Still, raw milk has become a trendy product among some influencers. Gwenyth Paltrow says she has it in her coffee in the morning.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, says he wants the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its “war” against raw milk.

Over the summer, “Carnivore MD” Paul Saladino released a raw milk smoothie in partnership with the elite Los Angeles health foods store Erewhon featuring unpasteurized (raw) kefir from Raw Farms, and powdered beef organs.

California has some of the loosest rules around raw milk in the country; it’s generally fine for California retailers like health foods stores and grocers to sell it, raw milk products just can’t be transported across state lines, per FDA rules.

Dr. Paul’s Raw Animal-Based Smoothie includes Raw Farm kefir milk, beef organ powder, as well as blueberries, honey, bananas and other ingredients. It’s $19.

Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Michael Payne, a researcher at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security, told The Guardian that people consuming Dr. Paul’s $19 smoothie were “playing Russian roulette with their health,” and ignoring pasteurization, “the single most important food safety firewall in history.”

California dairy farms have been seeing an uptick in bird flu cases since August. The state has reported 29 confirmed human cases of bird flu, and all but one of those was sourced back to cows.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed case of bird flu in a California child from Alameda County. The child had no known contact with infected farm animals, but may have been exposed to wild birds, the California health department said in a statement.

The child had mild symptoms and is recovering well after receiving antiviral drugs.

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