California Family Rights Act

AB 1033 cleans up and builds upon last year’s SB 1383, which dramatically expanded the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to cover small employers and expanded the definition of family member for whom leave could be taken. This new bill clarifies that employees can take family and medical leave to care for a parent-in-law with a serious health condition.

AB 1033 also revises and adds more detailed provisions to the small employer (five to 19 employees) mediation program originally created in 2020 by AB 1867, including making participation in the mediation program a prerequisite to the employee filing a civil action. The revisions to the program should help more small businesses become aware of their ability to resolve CFRA disputes through mediation rather than costly civil litigation.

Safety and Wage Enforcement and Penalties

SB 606 expands the enforcement authority of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) by creating two new violations categories for which Cal/OSHA can issue citations — “enterprise-wide” violations and “egregious” violations.

This bill creates a rebuttable presumption that a violation committed by an employer with multiple worksites is “enterprise-wide” if the employer has a written policy or procedure that violates certain safety rules or Cal/OSHA has evidence of a pattern or practice. Cal/OSHA may issue an enterprise-wide citation requiring abatement if employer fails to rebut presumption. Enterprise-wide citations will carry the same penalties as repeated or willful citations, up to $134,334 per violation.

Cal/OSHA also must issue a citation for an “egregious violation” if the division believes that an employer has willfully and egregiously violated an occupational safety or health standard, order, special order or regulation based on several factors listed in the statute. The bill requires each instance of an employee exposed to that violation to be considered a separate violation for the issuance of fines and penalties.

AB 1003 makes the intentional theft of wages, benefits or compensation in the amount greater than $950 for one employee or more than $2,350 for two or more employees in a consecutive 12-month period punishable as grand theft under the California Penal Code, which prosecutors may charge as a misdemeanor or felony.

SB 572 deals with enforcement of wage liens against employers by adding a provision to the Labor Code allowing the California Labor Commissioner to create, as an alternative to a judgment lien, a lien on real property to secure amounts due to the Commissioner under any final citation, findings or decision.

Settlement Agreements

SB 331 significantly expands on laws passed over the past few of years limiting the ability to use confidentiality clauses in severance and settlement agreements. Prior to SB 331, any settlement agreement in a case where sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination based on sex has been alleged couldn’t include a confidentiality provision prohibiting disclosure of information regarding the claim.

SB 331 expands the prohibition to include acts of workplace harassment or discrimination based on any characteristic protected under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, not just those based on sex. While employees cannot be prohibited from discussing underlying facts of the case, employers can still use clauses that prevent the disclosure of the amount paid to settle the claim. SB 331 will apply to agreements entered on or after January 1, 2022.

Industry-Specific Measures

AB 701 specifically targets warehouse distribution centers. The new law applies to certain larger employers meeting industry definitions for General Warehousing and Storage, Merchant Wholesalers (Durable and Non-Durable Goods), and Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses. The law requires covered employers to provide each nonexempt employee working at a warehouse distribution center a written description of each quota to which they are subject, including tasks to be performed, materials produced or handled, time periods and any potential adverse employment actions that may result from failure to meet quotas.

Under AB 701, employees cannot be required to meet quotas that prevent compliance with meal or rest periods, use of bathroom facilities, or health and safety laws. If employees feel that quotas are interfering with these things, they can request a copy of applicable quotas and the last 90 days of their personal work speed performance, which the employer must produce within three weeks. The law also creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the employer takes adverse action against an employee within 90 days of the employees request for their quota and personal work speed performance or an employee’s complaint about a quota.

SB 62 requires garment manufacturers and “brand guarantors” who contract with another person for the performance of garment manufacturing to be jointly and severally liable with manufacturers or contractors for wage violations of employees in the supply chain. For purposes of expanding the shared liability under this law, the bill expands the definition of garment manufacturing. SB 62 also prohibits the practice of piece-rate compensation for garment manufacturing, except in cases of worksites covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement. The bill imposes statutory damages of $200 per employee against a garment manufacturer or contractor, payable to the employee, for each pay period in which each employee is paid by piece rate.

AB 73 expands on one of last year’s personal protective equipment (PPE) bills, SB 275, which established a state stockpile of PPE in the event of a pandemic. AB 73 broadens the scope of the law to include wildfire smoke events as a health emergency under the law and includes agricultural workers in the definition of essential workers. The bill also requires Cal/OSHA to review and update wildfire smoke training, which employers must follow.

COVID-19

The Governor signed AB 654, which clarifies and cleans up last year’s COVID-19 notice and reporting bill, AB 685. As previously reported, the bill revises the language 685 used to describe COVID-19 notice requirements to make it more consistent throughout. This was an urgency measure that took effect immediately upon signing.

Under SB 336, when the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) or a local health officer issues an order or mandatory COVID-19-related guidance, they must publish the order or guidance on their website along with the date that the order or guidance takes effect. The CDPH or local health officer must also create an opportunity to sign up for an email distribution list to receive updates on the order or guidance. This measure will hopefully make it easier for businesses to track and implement the most current COVID-19 orders and guidance. SB 336 also went into effect immediately upon signing.

In addition to the new laws, employers should continue to monitor additional COVID-19 regulatory developments. As previously reported, the Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard may be re-adopted with amendments this winter. Additionally, a federal emergency regulation related to vaccines is on its way, after which Cal/OSHA will be required to adopt an equivalent or more stringent standard within 30 days.

—

James W. Ward, J.D., Employment Law Subject Matter Expert/Legal Writer and Editor, CalChamber

James W. Ward | CalChamber

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“Bullying is something we worry about, especially with the beginning of each new school year,” said Zury Bourque of her family of four in Cypress, Texas.

Now 15 years after the inception of National Bullying Prevention Month in October, technology’s ever-greater presence in children’s lives has given bullying a new outlet. With just a click, cyberbullies can taunt, harass and threaten relentlessly, even reaching into the home via cellphone or computer. As a result, victims report feeling hopeless, isolated and even suicidal.

What can parents do to protect their kids? Taking an interest in their children’s online world can make a difference, says the National Parent Teacher Association.

This interest does not necessarily require parents to become tech experts. Instead, the federal stopbullying.gov site advises parents to watch for subtle clues that something is wrong, such as their child becoming withdrawn, hiding their screen when others are nearby or reacting emotionally to what is happening on their device.

For Zury Bourque and her husband Chris, that has meant being keenly aware of what “normal” looks like for their two boys, ages 12 and 10.

“Knowing my children’s moods is very important because I can then detect shifts or changes in their personalities that might signal something is going on,” Chris said. Talking with kids openly — and often — helps too. “The more you talk to your children about bullying, the more comfortable they will be telling you if they see or experience it,” UNICEF says in its online tips for parents. As their two daughters enter their teens, Houston parents Thiago and Auboni Cordolino have found that talking less and listening more works best. “We try to focus on being approachable and listening actively without reaction,” Thiago said.

Beyond talking, listening and observing their kids, parents should not be afraid to make and enforce rules for online activities, experts say.

The Cordolinos’ girls are allowed to play online games, but they are expected to turn off the live chat feature to limit interactions with strangers. “We reassure the girls that we trust them and respect their privacy, but they have to stay within the boundaries we’ve set,” Auboni said.

The Bourques have taken a similar approach. “We aren’t constantly over the boys’ shoulders, watching their every move, but we use a family app that lets us know how much time they’re spending on their tablets,” Zury said. Both families cited the tips and reminders they have considered together with their kids from free resources available on jw.org, the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

One of the Bourques’ sons especially recommended one of the site’s short animated videos, “Beat a Bully Without Using Your Fists.”

“I learned that if you’re being bullied, you should call someone you can trust, like parents, principals or counselors,” he said. “They can get in between the situation and make it stop.”

jw.org | Contributed

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The State says 1-in-3 high school students felt sad or hopeless nearly every day and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital says they saw double the amount of suicide attempts in children.

On Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed two new senate bills aimed to help those students in need.

Lockdowns, loss of social interaction and the fear of the unknown, the effects from what we all had to live through in 2020 still impact us mentally every day. This is especially true for children.

“None of our kids are immune to this and as a parent it’s scary,” Elementary school parent Monica Gonzalez said. The state recognized the need and a senate bill was drafted.

State Sen. Anthony Portantino authored the bill. He remains a mental health advocate after losing his brother to suicide.

In a statement, Sen. Portantino said, “I am very thankful to the Governor for signing SB 14 and 224 into law and recognizing the urgency of implementing policies that give our kids the help they need. California is in the midst of a youth behavioral health crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the bills don’t nearly go as far as they should, this is an important step forward. We need to keep these critical policies moving forward and end the stigma surrounding the discussion of mental health. Mental health education and training is one of the best ways to increase awareness and empower students to seek help.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic raging and the current political climate, Americans feel stressed.

Senate Bills 14 and 224 are a way to destigmatize mental health and provide aid to students who are struggling. “There’s been a lot of trauma and it’s important that we recognize that and this bill goes a long way to accepting that, recognizing it and helping them get the right treatment,” Child Mind Institute San Francisco Bay Area Clinical Director Dr. Michael Enenbach said.

The bill calls for mental health days to be counted as sick days and mandates mental health education as part of the curriculum by 2024.

Mental health professionals see it as a major win.

“It’s going to set these kids up for success in recognizing symptoms, getting the appropriate treatment and then they’ll pay that forward to their children,” Dr. Enenbach said. “Hopefully, moving forward, this is going to be a lot better than it was 30 years ago.”

After 18 months away from school campuses, children missed critical development in social skills, experts say. And for some it’s causing anxiety.

San Jose Unified School Board President Brian Wheatley says this addresses a major need in school. While he cannot get into too many specifics of what the programs will offer quite yet, he is most excited about the grant opportunities that will help train and fill so many empty mental health positions in schools. “I’m thrilled that there’s a recognition in Sacramento that part of this money is going to go towards training people to join the profession, because it’s so important,” Wheatley said.

School will always be a place for learning and parents say these lessons will make a major impact. “Life is going to continue to happen and so, it’s important that kids get these resources, services and this knowledge early on,” Gonzalez said.

“It’s just as important as math and reading.” “It is like hundreds of years of the same routine and the same curriculum and same process,” Elementary school parent Tanvi Agarwal said. “Nobody thinks that way, so it’s a good start.”

It may be seen as just a start, but a step in the right direction.

Dustin Dorsey | abc7

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On Monday, 24,000 Kaiser Permanente nurses and health care workers in the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals (UNAC/UHCP) voted by 96 percent to authorize strike action. Voter turnout was high at 86 percent, an indication of the determination of health care professionals to fight against dangerously low staffing ratios.

The UNAC/UHCP membership includes a significant part of Kaiser’s Southern California workforce, including physician assistants, pharmacists, midwives, physical and occupational therapists, optometrists, as well as the vast majority of Kaiser’s registered nurses. With 24,000 workers, this would be the largest strike of the year in the United States and the largest health care strike in US history.

Workers are fighting against wage increases below the rate of inflation, chronic understaffing and the threat of a two-tier wage system, which Kaiser Permanente is keen on imposing, which many nurses fear will further exacerbate the staffing problem by amounting to significant pay cuts for future nurses. While COVID-19 cases have been slowly declining in California in recent weeks, the hospital system faces the likely prospect of being overwhelmed in a winter surge predicted by pandemic modeling and made all the more inevitable by the reopening of schools and the elimination of all remaining restrictions by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.

The vote took place October 1-10, after the UNAC/UHC and Kaiser Permanente failed to announce a new contract proposal before the expiration date of the former contracts last month. However, according to the terms agreed to by the unions, the earliest date the strike would occur is October 21. This reactionary pro-company provision, which keeps nurses on the job for three weeks with no contract, makes a mockery of the credo “no contract, no work” and serves no purpose other than allowing management ample time to hire strikebreakers, reducing the effectiveness of the strike.

Nevertheless, the strike vote at Kaiser is a major development in the growing push by workers for nationwide strike action in the United States against unbearable working hours, the erosion of wages by high inflation and against the continued spread of COVID-19 in workplaces. It follows a strike authorization vote by a similar margin by 60,000 TV and movie production workers, an overwhelming rejection by 10,000 John Deere workers of a concessions contract backed by the United Auto Workers, a nationwide strike of 1,400 Kellogg’s cereal workers and others. Thousands of nurses and health care workers are already on strike throughout the country, including 2,000 in Buffalo, New York and hundreds of Kaiser workers in Oregon.

This is part of a wave building across the world. More than 155,000 metalworkers are currently on strike in South Africa to demand wage increases above inflation. In Warsaw, Poland last month, between 30,000 and 40,000 doctors, nurses, caregivers, pharmacists, physiotherapists, hospital technicians, paramedics and many other professional groups held a massive protest in front of the Ministry of Health and the Polish Sejm (parliament) demanding better working conditions and wages for health care workers.

The World Socialist Web Site spoke to Kaiser Permanente workers in San Diego. One nurse said, “The strike is all about patient safety. We need a higher staffing-to-patient ratio for better patient care.” Another anonymous nurse explained, “Kaiser is putting profits over people. We were last year’s heroes, and now they want to divide us with a two-tier wage system!”

The contract being offered by Kaiser Permanente includes only a 1 percent annual wage increase for three years, while the current inflation rate is currently 5.25 percent, making these pay “raises” significant pay cuts. Another anonymous nurse told the WSWS, “A 1 percent raise is a slap in the face after saving so many lives last year, after we put ourselves and our families at risk.”

The same nurse added that the UNAC/UHC is also “demanding” wage increases below inflation, at 4 percent. “Kaiser is offering 1 percent; the union is offering 4 percent. We want 10 percent,” she said. She also expressed her support for other strikes taking place throughout the country, including by 700 nurses at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts and the strike by Kellogg’s cereal workers.

Despite the high demand for nurses during the pandemic, a labor shortage which has been exacerbated by the exodus of nurses from the profession due to unbearable levels of stress, the ruling class is working hand in glove with the union bureaucracy to lower real wages, attempting to ram through contracts at one company after another with wage increases below inflation. In spite of disruptions to the global economy caused by the pandemic, US corporations continue to make billions of dollars in profit. Kaiser Permanente, for its part, reported a revenue increase of 5 percent to $46.87 billion in the first six months of the year. Net revenue went up a whopping 47 percent to $5 billion in the first six months of 2021. While Kaiser Permanente is technically a “non-profit,” the average salary of its executives is $230,162 a year, with some salaries as high as $652,000.

Since the start of the pandemic, the UNAC/UHCP has done nothing to defend workers against the intolerable conditions in the hospitals. Instead, they, along with other large unions such as the AFT, have sought to deflect workers’ anger into toothless appeals to the corporate political establishment by carrying out a public relations campaign to sue the federal Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for failing to protect health care workers during the pandemic.

The UNAC/UHCP is deeply integrated organizationally and financially into Kaiser Permanente management. It is part of an organization called Labor Management Partnership (LMP), a formal corporatist partnership between the executives and the workers’ unions formed in the aftermath of a 1997 strike by 7,500 nurses in California. According to LMP’s website, this corrupt arrangement was originally proposed by the unions themselves:

The Labor Management Partnership started in 1997, emerging from mounting strife between Kaiser Permanente and its unions that threatened to derail the organization. Instead of continuing a traditional approach and launching a campaign against KP that ultimately could damage the organization—and the workers it employed—the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions (link is external) approached KP leaders with an idea for how to do things differently.

LMP’s website could have been produced by any major management consulting firm and is mostly devoted to providing management with techniques to improve workers’ performance. One prominent video on the website provides tips to managers for how to improve attendance. This is what the official unions have functioned as for decades, little more than adjuncts of management and an industrial police force. In order to win their demands, the struggles emerging in the working class around the world must be unified, through the development of the organized initiative of workers independent of the unions, which have enforced decades of attacks on working conditions by management. Kaiser workers must move now to form rank-and-file committees that are democratically controlled by the workers.

Max Jones | Contributed

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COVID-19 is moving to the country. While cases were highest in urban areas as the pandemic began, the pattern flipped as summer drew to a close, according to a new report from the Rural Policy Research Institute. Now rural case rates outnumber those in cities, and rural dwellers are at more than twice the risk of death as urbanites.

Experts predict the gap will widen, reports Lauren Weber at Kaiser Health News. “We’ve turned many rural communities into kill boxes,” said the head of the National Rural Health Association, Alan Morgan. “And there’s no movement towards addressing what we’re seeing in many of these communities, either among the public or among governing officials.”

Lower vaccination rates are a key contributor, with a variety of underlying causes. Researchers from Syracuse University point to more Trump voters and fewer people achieving academic degrees. At Healthline, Moira McCarthy cites a “perfect storm of personal freedom beliefs, mistrust of the government, a culture that tends toward taking care of things on their own, highly shared misinformation, and, yes, faith.” Dr. Scott J. Anzalone of Logan, Ohio, told her that since rural COVID-19 rates were low early in the pandemic, it created a “false sense of security” among many residents. People in rural areas are particularly vulnerable to misinformation due to the twin decline of rural health care systems and local news outlets, leaving them no obvious source for accurate health advice, opines Kerry Thomson, executive director of the Center for Rural Engagement at Indiana University, at NBC News.

Lack of access to health care or emergency treatment is also a factor. Writes KHN’s Weber, “The pressures of the pandemic have compounded the problem by deepening staffing shortages at hospitals, creating a cycle of worsening access to care.” When the virus infiltrates rural regions, telehealth can come to the rescue, writes Katie Palmer at STAT. “When we think about diversity, equity, and inclusion, for me it’s not only necessarily race and ethnicity, but it’s geography as well,” Roxie Wells, president of Hoke Hospital in Raeford, North Carolina, tells Palmer. “I truly believe that people who live in rural communities should expect outstanding high-quality care in their communities, and now that telehealth is such a huge part of what we do, I think that it is highly plausible.” But the telehealth revolution has yet to reach many rural areas, reports Erin Brodwin, also at STAT.

A COVID pill so good, they stopped the trial early

The phrase “game changer” appeared in many news stories last week trumpeting the announcement that pharmaceutical maker Merck’s experimental medication halved risk of hospitalization or death in people with mild or moderate COVID. Dr. Anthony Fauci, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” called the company’s results “really quite impressive.” So impressive, in fact, that an independent review board recommended the company cut its trial short to seek emergency authorization as soon as possible. The twice-a-day, easy-to-swallow pill could be a big deal, writes Umair Irfan at Vox, because the COVID-specific treatments already available are “expensive, difficult to administer, not widely available, or only marginally effective.” Antibody treatments and remdesivir, the only antiviral drug with FDA approval, require infusion into the bloodstream by medical providers. In contrast, a pill would require only a prescription and a glass of water.

However, Reuters reports that a pair of Indian drug makers trialing Merck’s formula are seeking to halt their studies in moderate cases for the opposite reason, because the results were lackluster. “It was not immediately clear whether the Indian drug makers and Merck used identical criteria to define moderate COVID-19 cases,” Reuters notes.

Antivirals have been slow in coming compared to antibodies or vaccines; in part that’s because they’re trickier to make. Viruses live inside our own cells and use many of our proteins, so scientists must design molecules that can prevent the viruses from functioning without hurting us, too. (I delved deeper into the difficulties of antiviral research here.) Merck’s drug, molnupiravir (named after Thor’s hammer) works by mimicking a building block for the virus’s genome. When the virus goes to copy its genes, the decoy is incorporated and gums up the works. In addition to Merck’s drug, there are two other main contenders in the race for oral antivirals, as Ed Cara lays out at Gizmodo: Pfizer recently announced progress with a drug that interferes with one of the virus’s enzymes, so it can’t mature and copy itself. And Atea Pharmaceuticals and Roche are jointly developing another decoy drug, like molnupiravir.

The U.S. government has promised to purchase 1.7 million treatment courses of Merck’s drug if it’s authorized, and the meds could be available within months, reports JoNel Aleccia at Kaiser Health News. But many experts hurried to point out that pills are no substitute for vaccines; much better, Fauci said, to avoid the disease altogether.

Workplace vaccine mandates work on many, but not all

“We all respond to deadlines,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told CNN recently. “We all respond to rules.” That certainly seems to be the case for the majority of the Big Apple’s health care workers and educators — well over 90% are now vaccinated, after state and city mandates went into effect on Oct. 4. A similar pattern is playing out in health systems across the country, writes Adeel Hassan at The New York Times. United Airlines recently reported that 96% of employees had gotten a vaccine as required; there were only 232 holdouts left out of 67,000 employees as of October 5. “Relatively few employees flat out resist vaccination,” writes Philip Bump at The Washington Post. Bump suggests that many people who once told pollsters they’d never take the vaccine changed their tune once their job was on the line. However, the mandates have not been without consequences, notes CNN’s Eric Levenson. Some health care systems have had to suspend many noncompliant employees; one in Buffalo, New York had to delay certain elective surgeries and close its doors to new ICU patients as a result.

More at-home tests to come

At-home COVID tests can tell you if you’ve contracted the virus for the cost of $7 to $50, in half an hour or less. That is, if you can find a test to buy — no easy task in the U.S., as The New York Times’ David Leonhardt discovered recently. The FDA has been slow to authorize the tests, leading to a shortage here while citizens of other countries have easy access to plenty of tests, often provided for free. “Knowing your COVID status in real time, on a frequent basis, is more important than ever,” write Dr. Michael J. Mina, an epidemiologist at Harvard, and Dr. Steven Phillips, vice president of science and strategy at the expert advocacy COVID Collaborative, in a recent The New York Times op-ed. “To end the coronavirus’ grip on American society, the United States must embrace rapid testing in a more substantial way.” Two recent moves by the government are poised to help: The FDA authorized a new test that is expected to double availability; and the White House is spending $1 billion on at-home rapid tests in hopes of quadrupling the supply by December.

This holiday season’s hottest item: a window fan?

While it’s tempting to see delta’s demise in ebbing national case rates, hospitalizations and deaths, we are still in the throes of a nasty pandemic. More than 700,000 people have died in the United States alone, and many regions remain in serious trouble. A majority of Alaska hospitals are rationing care. Even well-vaccinated New England is facing a surge that’s filling ICUs. And the California National Guard has been activated to help hospitals in the central and northern parts of the state. “This isn’t the first time a shift in numbers has lulled leaders into a false sense of safety,” writes Sophie Putka at Medpage Today. “It’s impossible to predict what will happen in the coming months — particularly with the potential for new variants, lackluster vaccination rates, and colder weather on the way.”

Nonetheless, as the seasons turn many Americans are looking ahead to the holiday season. So is the CDC, which recently released preliminary guidelines for 2021 holiday festivities — “sort of an epidemiologist’s take on Martha Stewart’s ‘Home for the Holidays’,” quips Bill Chappell at NPR. Key recommendations include holding celebrations out of doors, or if the party must move indoors, keeping doors and windows open with a fan pulling air out through one window so fresh air comes in through the others. For those considering air travel, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, recently took a cross-country redeye with a barely masked seatmate that led him to conclude it’s time for vaccine mandates for domestic air travel. California Sen. Dianne Feinstein is thinking along similar lines, proposing a bill to require proof of vaccination — or a negative COVID test — before boarding.

Amber Dance | Columnist

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From noon to 8 p.m. on Nov. 9, 16, 23 and 30 plus Dec. 7, a toy valued at $20 with a receipt can be taken to the Soboba Casino Resort Event Center to be exchanged for a $40 Free Slot Play voucher.

Despite the pandemic shutdowns and slowdowns of 2020, Soboba Foundation members hosted its signature event but didn’t receive nearly as many toys as it had in the previous 10 years. Organizers are hoping this year will be bigger and brighter than it has been in the past. And deserving recipients are hopeful as well.

Last year’s drive collected 4,100 toys, the lowest amount in the history of the event. Planning early, expectations are high to exceed 5,000 this year, enough to provide for the groups that depend on this assistance each holiday season. The toy drive has allowed as many as 50 nonprofits and child-based groups to present toys to young families each year.

Soboba Foundation President Dondi Silvas acknowledges that these past few years have been very difficult for everyone, especially the little ones. She enjoys collecting the toys from the patrons of the casino.

“I’m always eager to hear how much fun they had picking out the toys, because some of them don’t have little ones at home to shop for, or they do and they say they got the same toy for a grandchild,” Silvas said. “Now that I’m a Glamma, I need to see what the latest and greatest toys are on the market.”

Silvas also appreciates attending any events when she can watch the families come in to pick up the toys. “Just the look on their faces knowing that they have been blessed during the holidays, that’s what Christmas is all about,” she said.

Soboba Casino Resort Assistant General Manager Jason Cozart said the toy drive is always a special event. He said, “Together, the Soboba Foundation, our team at SCR and our wonderful guests are able to collect and distribute thousands of toys to children at Christmas. The joy this Toy Drive brings to not only those kids, but to those who participate in it, is immeasurable.”

Catie Stanley, who was recently promoted to Director of Marketing at SCR, said partnering with the Soboba Foundation for the annual Soboba Gives Back! Toy Drive is something the staff looks forward to all year long. “As a Team Member, we are fortunate enough to touch each part of the donation process, from the charitable spirit of those who come out each week to donate, to the gratitude of charity organizers and children who are receiving these wonderful gifts,” Stanley said. “It is truly heartwarming from start to finish and we couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to give back to the local community. This event reminds me of how fortunate I am to live in a community that prioritizes serving those in need. I am grateful to the Soboba Foundation and Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians for making this annual event possible. It is amazing to see all of the wonderful Tribal Members and Tribal employees who take time out to serve our community each and every year. We truly do rise by lifting others, and that philosophy can be seen in action right here at Soboba Casino Resort every November at the Soboba Gives Back Toy Drive.”

Longtime volunteers include Soboba Tribal Members Joey Placencia, his mom Doris and his aunt Tara, among others.

“It’s always been in my nature to give back. My family has always taught me to do so,” Joey Placencia said. “We enjoy helping out with the toy drive; it is one of the highlights of our year and so much fun! The faces of everyone involved really give a sense of community and the giving of the season.”

He said he’s been volunteering for about seven years now and said it’s a good feeling to put in the work. He primarily works the check-in area, which he prefers.

Tara Placencia said she loves volunteering for the toy drive and looks forward to it every year.

“I get to know the employees on a different level, and I also get to know the guests who are so generous,” she said. “My husband Patrick Placencia is an employee and tribal member, so he is the one that got me involved. It is so much fun to do this and it is such a positive event.”

Doris Placencia has spent eight years as a volunteer and sometimes gets to attend the events where the organizations distribute the toys.

“It makes me feel so good to see the little kids smile,” she said. “One thing I like most about helping out is collecting the toys and seeing how those who donate, many of whom are regulars, light up in the spirit of giving and providing toys for children who might otherwise go without.”

Ginger Bejar, who works at Tribal Administration as a Benefits Coordinator, said she volunteers because it is so rewarding to see how many participants there are each year and also because she likes to provide support for the Soboba Foundation.

Laura Hernandez, a Tribal Member Benefits Coordinator, said, “I have never worked in a company that gives so much in return, especially during the holidays in which it is a blessing to have.”

Staff Accountant Anna Moses said what she loves most about helping out with the toy drive is being able to help put a smile on someone else’s face. “Giving back was something that was ingrained in me as I grew up. My parents always told me, if you can make a difference, then do it!” Moses said. “I have been blessed throughout my life and I strongly believe that to whom much is given, much is required. If you have a chance to do more and create change, then take every opportunity to do it. Sometimes the smallest things can change a life.”

New this year will be the utilization of volunteers from the organizations that directly benefit from the toy drive. About 6-8 are needed in front at the check-in area and 3-5 to work in the back of the house, sorting and counting during each weekly eight-hour shift.

Along with smaller nonprofit groups that benefit from the donation of toys, local school districts have been able to count on Soboba for support for its neediest students to ensure they have a happy holiday season as well. Alexandrea Sponheim, Public Information Officer for Hemet Unified School District, said this will be the third year their students will be recipients of Soboba’s generous toy giveaway. Last year the district received 1,000 toys to distribute to children that are identified by parent liaisons who work with families every day and are able to identify those that would benefit the most from this event.

Without the Soboba Gives Back! Toy Drive, Sponheim said there would be less of our youth in the valley that would receive a gift over the winter break. “Our community always finds a way to rally around our youth, but it would not be done to the extent we are able to do it with the support we get from Soboba,” she said.

San Jacinto Unified School District does more than distribute the toys to students who have been identified as needing a little extra help with toys during the Christmas season. For many years, with the exception of 2020, it has hosted an “Unstuff the Bus” community event where volunteers from all over the San Jacinto Valley come to unstuff a Soboba bus full of toys to be stored inside the district’s warehouse. It is a time for everyone to come together to celebrate the season of giving with Christmas lights, hot chocolate, holiday music and other festive things. Gale Hill, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent and Board of Trustees, said they missed not being able to host the event last year and are hoping it can be held in 2021.

“The Unstuff the bus event is a great joy, knowing that those toys are going to some needy children who will have some happiness puts a smile on all our faces,” Joey Placencia said.

About 300 families are served through SJUSD’s program, that provides more than 1,000 toys to the students and helps with gifts for younger siblings as well. SJUSD’s Family & Community Engagement Specialist Carla Adame said the district currently has about 80 identified students who are living in a qualified homeless situation and they are still working to identify others.

“We have many more in a needy situation during this time where rental moratorium and additional unemployment benefits have recently ended. Our district teams are continuing to identify the needs and make sure to place students who need the holiday help and cheer on our special lists,” Adame said. “Soboba Foundation has been generous enough to increase the amount of toys most of the years. Last year we received about 1,600 toys; Soboba is amazing!”

Tara Placencia said she was “so moved and so proud to see the community come together to unstuff the bus in the past. I can’t wait to see how we do in 2021 as 2020 was a little slower. I hope we as a community will receive many toys to help make many children happy.”

Valle Vista Assembly of God has been a grateful recipient of toy drive collections for more than six years. They receive about 100 toys each year to distribute to the San Jacinto community where it is located.

“Nominations are taken from members in the community and then considered based on need (financial, living situation, grandparents caring for grandkids, single parents, tragedy (death/fire) and how many toys are available),” congregation member Andrea Helms said. “Each year we adopt a few families from local schools who are in need. The toys are wrapped and delivered to families along with a food basket, typically the week before Christmas.”

She said each basket includes a thank you card that lists all the community supporters who contributed to the baskets. Helms said without the toy drive the church would most likely provide food baskets only or give much smaller, less quality gifts for the children from places like the dollar stores.

My City Youth in Hemet has been a recipient of about 150 toys each year for the past three years. The toys are distributed at two separate Christmas parties; one it hosts for its after school program kids and one for its teen parents and their little ones. The mission of My City Youth is “to be the best examples that guide our youth towards reaching their full potential as productive, caring, kind and responsible citizens.”

Christopher Oliver with the County of Riverside Public Defender’s Office said he can’t even begin to express his gratitude for the hundreds of toys that have been donated to the children of parents involved with the courts. “In our local judicial system, we have specialty courts that are collaborative in nature. We have substance abuse courts, veterans court and mental health courts. Each of these courts have impeded teams from five different departments (district attorney, probation, behavioral health, defense bar and the courts themselves). In these specialty courts we work together to treat the consumers for ailments they may have that caused them to be in the system. It is the children of these consumers that benefit from the amazing donations,” Oliver explained. “The programs are very intense and depending upon where they are in their treatment, they may not have the time to work nor provide for a Christmas for their families. Also, most of these families have suffered greatly due to their family member’s struggles,” Oliver said. “The parents and families know that Soboba made this happen, but the children think the toys are from Santa. Prior to meeting Soboba, many people would dive into their own pockets to make (toy purchases) possible but with changing times and financial struggles it would get more and more challenging. Honestly, when you see the look in these consumers faces that their children are enjoying this celebration it is very humbling.”

Dolores Odom from the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians said they are grateful to be recipients of toys since the Soboba Gives Back! Program began. They usually receive about 250 toys for Tribal children and reservation community children.

“Everybody gets something,” Odom said. “We usually distribute the toys to the children at our Tribal Christmas Party but because of COVID-19, we are not able to hold large gatherings.”

She said with the help of eight Community Events Committee members, Tribal parents can choose up to four presents per child and pick them up from the Tribal building while observing safety protocols.

“We have so much love and appreciation for Soboba and want to thank the Tribe and the Soboba Foundation for always caring for our children in such a generous way,” Odom said. “We also wish to thank Andrew Vallejos for being so helpful to us with this process each year.”

Jared Dobbins, Executive Director of VIP Tots in Hemet, said the school receives about 175 toys each year for families that are identified by teachers and the administration. Parents can “shop” at the center for their child the week after the toys arrive. He said without Soboba’s generosity, things would be completely different.

“As a nonprofit, we would be unable to provide toys to families due to budget constraints. The partnership with Soboba is vital in our being able to make our families’ holiday more special,” Dobbins said.

Silvas wants to remind everyone to, “Bring in one toy worth $20 to bless one child in your community on Christmas day and you will receive $40 in free slot play, giving Soboba a chance to bless you with some winnings as well.”

Toy drive dates are Nov. 9, 16, 23 and 30 and Dec. 7 from noon to 8 p.m. at Soboba Casino Resort’s Event Center, 22777 Soboba Road in San Jacinto.

For more information, www.soboba.com.

Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians | Contributed

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The legislation was signed into law less than a month after after Newsom beat back a recall attempt in which those seeking to remove him from office cited problems that included long waits for unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of jobless Californians.

Leaders of the state Employment Development Department admitted they were overwhelmed by the flood of nearly 24 million claims for benefits since the pandemic began early last year. Although the agency paid out more than $175 billion in benefits, it acknowledged that it discovered later that at least $11 billion in payments went to fraudulent claims.

On Tuesday, Newsom signed five EDD-related bills, including Assembly Bill 56, which requires the agency to implement recommendations of recent state audits that include creation of a plan to speed up payment of benefits.

The bill by Assemblyman Rudy Salas (D-Bakersfield) also requires the EDD to assist claimants who are victims of identity theft and set up a new office to coordinate anti-fraud efforts.

Salas said that the new law sends a clear message to EDD that “reforms are needed right now. We are stepping up to protect taxpayers, stop fraud, improve the claims process and bring accountability to EDD.”

Newsom had previously taken steps to modernize the EDD and speed up claims, including the appointment last year of a strike team of government efficiency experts who recommended sweeping changes. Still, lawmakers said more needed to be done.

The governor also signed Assembly Bill 110, which requires the state prison agency to provide the EDD with personal identifying information on inmates so it can be matched against claims for unemployment.

Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) said her measure is needed to put the requirement into law after the EDD paid some $810 million in benefits on tens of thousands of claims filed in the names of prison inmates, including convicted murderers on Death Row.

The new law, she said, “will enable EDD to implement basic business processes so that unemployment funds go to those who desperately need them, not to fraudsters trying to make an extra buck.”

Newsom also signed legislation Senate Bill 390, which mandates that the EDD develop and update plans to respond quickly to future economic recessions like the one brought on by the pandemic.

Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) said the new law he wrote will make sure EDD has a recession plan “that will serve as a road map of what to do in times of great need.”

The governor also signed Assembly Bill 397, which requires EDD to give applicants for unemployment advanced notice when they are denying a claim, including the reason for the rejection, and allow the person involved to contest the decision.

“With increased clarity and a right to cure we can prevent Californians from being locked out of benefits when they need them most,” said Assemblyman Chad Mayes (I-Rancho Mirage), who authored the measure. Newsom also signed Assembly Bill 12, which requires the EDD no later than 2023 to halt its practice of sending Social Security numbers to claimants and others in the mail where they can be intercepted by criminals that commit identity theft.

Assemblyman Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta) said the law he wrote is needed to “protect Californians from all departments and agencies that may be following the same practices and endangering the identities of millions of Californians.”

Patrick McGreevy | Contributed

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The result was not just a rapid answer to the viral strain question, but an ongoing partnership that continues to build infectious disease surveillance capacity in the West African nation, as part of a larger CII-led Global Alliance for Pandemic Prevention (GAPP). This week, a contingent from NPHIL and NIH met with Columbia Mailman leaders and scientists to discuss next steps.

Going back to the early summer, as COVID cases in Liberia swelled, NPHIL Deputy Director for Research Bode Ireti Shobayo traveled to New York to work alongside Nischay Mishra, assistant professor of epidemiology, and other CII scientists to analyze nasopharyngeal swab samples collected in Liberia. Previously, it had taken as long as eight weeks to analyze samples through labs in Nigeria and Ghana; through CII it took days. Uniquely, the visit also gave Shobayo hands-on training in DNA and RNA sequencing and bioinformatics which will be useful as NPHIL builds technical capacity.

Their analysis at CII confirmed suspicions: the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was the dominant strain during the surge in Liberia. It also provided evidence that the highly transmissible variant was imported at multiple sites over a period of only a few weeks. In early August, the findings were announced in a national address by the country’s Minister of Health, Wilhemina S. Jallah—a message that helped tamp down the spread of the virus. A publication describing their findings is in press at the Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

“That information encouraged a lot of people to get vaccinated,” said Jane MaCauley, director-general of NPHIL, who led the Liberian contingent visiting the School this week. “After the ED [Ebola] outbreak, when people don’t see severe symptoms, they see it as a common cold. But understanding it is the Delta variant boosted everyone’s willingness to get vaccinated.”

During their visit to CII, NPHIL scientific staff met with CII scientists to review a curriculum for sequencing, bioinformatics, and serology. The group, which days prior also met with officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and USAID, also discussed next steps, including plans to bring sequencing technology online in the NPHIL lab, train additional scientists at CII, and publish new research. Looking ahead, MaCauley would like Shobayo and other members of her scientific staff to develop training courses in Liberia to further build capacity and better position the country to respond to infectious outbreaks like COVID, Ebola, and Lassa Fever, as well as future, as-yet-undiscovered pathogenic threats.

“There is a saying in Liberia, ‘a friend in need is a friend in deed.’ Columbia came to us right in time when we needed to know what virus was circulating. We look forward to continuing to build capacity and conducting research together,” said MaCauley.

Meanwhile, CII is looking to replicate the Liberian partnership in other countries, as part of efforts to build GAPP with the broad goal of developing scientific capacity and technology to support the early detection of infectious disease threats worldwide, including those with pandemic potential. GAPP is funded, in part, through a grant by the Skoll Foundation.

Since 2001, CII has trained researchers from more than 30 countries on how to identify and respond to infectious threats—including those that affect humans, as well as the livestock and fish that feed them—wherever they occur. As COVID has made painfully clear, an infectious threat that emerges in one country can quickly spread around the world.

“It is a privilege to work with our colleagues in Liberia, as we build partnerships to strengthen infectious disease surveillance in the region and beyond,” said CII Director Ian Lipkin, the John Snow Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. “When it comes to outbreaks, there is no such thing as ‘here’ and ‘there.’ Everything is everywhere. International air travel means a pathogen can spread from one part of the world to another in 24 hours or less. Global scientific partnerships and capacity-building are critical to preventing the next pandemic well before it crosses the jet bridge.”

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While theater sales are still not close to prepandemic levels, movie houses are recovering. “No Time to Die” opens in Britain this week and in the United States on Oct. 8. And next month is analog’s best hope at a full recovery, with a series of tentpole movies that could stanch the loss of consumers to streaming. They include “The Many Saints of Newark (Oct. 1), “The Addams Family 2” (Oct. 1), “Halloween Kills” (Oct. 15) and, perhaps most anticipated of all, “Dune” (Oct. 22).

Those all look like pretty decent movies. But I will not see any of them in the theater, as I would have two years ago — except one. That would be Bond.

I am a crazy fan, and it’s hard to imagine seeing it first on a small screen, even knowing I will later watch it over and over on a small screen, as I still do with all of them. Thus a trip to the theater for Bond is, as I like to say now, Covid-worthy.

While I am vaccinated, wear masks and get tested regularly, my new way of thinking about a trip to the theater — is the film Covid-worthy or not? — takes its cue from “sponge-worthy,” an old “Seinfeld” trope. (To put it briefly: Elaine had a limited supply of birth-control sponges, and choices had to be made.)

Is the movie good enough that I want to take the very small risk of getting a breakthrough infection? Many other consumers are making a similar calculation as more entertainment becomes available to stream at home — and as we get more comfortable watching in our living rooms.

In an interview with me this week, the Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos gave a flat “no” when I asked whether he was interested in buying a movie theater chain to help with distribution.

Actually, Netflix already has two theaters — one in New York and one in Los Angeles — that the company uses mostly for premieres and showcases. And to Sarandos, theater releases are all for marketing. Moviegoing “will be less frequent, maybe more expensive,” he said. “Using it as an event to get out of the house — people are still going to be looking for that.”

He added that some movies will be hard to book in theaters; for the most part, only franchise movies will be able to sustain the ever-smaller industry. “There’s less room for character-driven drama at the theater,” Sarandos said. I could not agree more, even though Hollywood still seems to be resisting the trend toward digital, just as it once resisted Netflix itself. (Jeff Bewkes of Time Warner famously once called Netflix — in an inexplicable metaphor — the “Albanian Army.” )

Well, now that the big studios and entertainment companies have embraced most of the economics and practices of Netflix, I suppose they are all Albanian.

Kara Swisher is the host of “Sway,” an Opinion podcast, and a contributing writer. She has reported on technology and technology companies since the early days of the internet.

KARA SWISHER | Guest Columnist

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Biden is convening a virtual vaccine summit on Wednesday, timed to coincide with this week’s U.N. General Assembly, to prod more nations to follow the lead of the U.S., which has donated more doses than any other. According to a person familiar with the matter, Biden was set to announce a significant new purchase of vaccines to share with the world, and to set targets for other nations to hit. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview Biden’s remarks.

But even the American response has come under criticism for being too modest, particularly as the Biden administration advocates for providing booster shots to tens of millions of Americans before vulnerable people in poorer nations have received even a first dose.

“We have observed failures of multilateralism to respond in an equitable, coordinated way to the most acute moments. The existing gaps between nations with regard to the vaccination process are unheard of,” Colombian President Iván Duque said.

In his own remarks at the U.N., Biden took credit on Tuesday for sharing more than 160 million COVID-19 vaccine doses with other countries, including 130 million surplus doses and the first installments of more than 500 million shots the U.S. is purchasing for the rest of the world.

“Planes carrying vaccines from the United States have already landed in 100 countries, bringing people all over the world a little dose of hope, as one American nurse termed it to me,” Biden said. “A dose of hope direct from the American people — and importantly, no strings attached.”

Biden planned to announce additional American commitments on Wednesday and was set to call on the rest of the world to “commit to of a higher level of ambition” as well.

But world leaders made clear in advance it was not enough. Chilean President Sebastian Piñera said the “triumph” of speedy vaccine development was offset by political “failure” that produced inequitable distribution. “In science, cooperation prevailed; in politics, individualism. In science, shared information reigned; in politics, reserve. In science, teamwork predominated; in politics, isolated effort,” Piñera said.

The World Health Organization has long decried vaccine inequity between rich and poor countries. It says only 15% of promised donations of vaccines — from rich countries that have access to large quantities of them — have been delivered. In a statement last week looking ahead to the General Assembly, the U.N. health agency said it wants countries to fulfill their dose-sharing pledges “immediately” and make shots available for vaccine deployment programs that benefit poor countries and Africa in particular.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted Monday that his agency wants the U.N. meeting to help ensure vaccine equity and equal access to COVID-19 tools, improved preparedness for pandemics, and renewed efforts to achieve U.N. goals more broadly.

“We want to see greater action on access to the doses for the countries that really need them,” said Dr. Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman, at a U.N. briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.

COVAX, the U.N.-backed program to ship vaccines to all countries, whether rich or poor, has been struggling with production hiccups, supply shortages, and a near-cornering of the market for vaccines by wealthy nations that have struck — and continue to strike — bilateral deals to buy doses from big pharmaceutical manufacturers.

WHO has repeatedly called for “solidarity,” urged Big Pharma companies that make vaccines to prioritize COVAX and make public their supply schedules, and appealed to wealthy countries to avoid broad rollouts of booster shots so that doses can be made available to healthcare workers and vulnerable people in the developing world. Such calls have largely gone ignored.

COVAX has missed nearly all of its vaccine-sharing targets. Its managers also have repeatedly downsized their ambitions to ship vaccines by the end of this year — from an original target of some 2 billion doses worldwide to hopes for 1.4 billion now — and even that mark could be missed.

At a news conference last week, Dr. Seth Berkley, the CEO of Gavi, a private-public partnership that runs COVAX, called the program “the largest and most complex vaccine rollout in history” and acknowledged: “I think we all know that the global response has not been good enough.”

As of Tuesday, COVAX had shipped more than 296 million doses to 141 countries, with its busiest days ahead.

“I think we’ve demonstrated that COVAX can work in scale, but it’s really time for the world to get behind it,” Berkley said.

“The longer the world is divided into COVID-19 haves and have-nots, the longer the pandemic will drag on, the more variants can develop, and the more deaths and suffering will occur,” said Dr. Maria Guevara of Doctors Without Borders.

“A year and a half into the pandemic, we are barely closer to securing the global response plan,” said Tom Hart, acting CEO of the ONE Campaign. “G-7 countries have shown limited political will to address vaccine inequities, despite having it in their power to do so. The White House summit is a welcome sign of the kind of leadership we need and offers world leaders an opportunity to step up and deliver.”

Keaten reported from Geneva and Miller from Washington. Associated Press writers Josh Boak at the United Nations and David Biller in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

ZEKE MILLER and JAMEY KEATEN | AP News

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