Employment Advisory Committee Meetings
Draft EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE
MINUTES
May 4, 2006
1. Call to Order/ Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 1:35p.m. A quorum was present.
Members Present
Commissioner Faye Woo Lee, Commissioner Carlota del Portillo, Molly Baier, Rich Bondoc, Jerry Jones, Patrick Regan, Ronnie Rhoe, Ken Stram, Norma Tecson, Adrian Trujillo, John Weber
Members Absent
Bridgett N. Brown, Suzanne Korey, John Crowley,
Staff Present
Linda Chin, Kabir Hypolite, and Mary Gin Starkweather
Guests
Anya Lakner, Project Attorney, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
2. Adoption of Agenda
Mr. Bondoc moved to adopt the May 4, 2006 agenda. Mr. Regan seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.
3. Adoption of April 6, 2006 Minutes
Mr. Bondoc moved to adopt the minutes. Ms. Tecson seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.
4. Public Comment for items not on the Agenda
None
5. Commissioner Report
Commissioner Faye Woo Lee invited members of the Employment Committee to attend the Asian Pacific Heritage Month celebration on Monday, May 8, 2006. Commissioner Carlota del Portillo announced that City College’s On-Ramp to Biotech program is actively recruiting applicants for its summer and fall program can also lead to paid internships. Commissioner del Portillo stated that the biggest problem was recruitment.
6. Staff Report
Ms. Chin noted that each agenda item is allotted a time limit. Discussion of proposed topics for 2006-2007 term was carried over to this meeting because of insufficient time. Staff met with Youth Commission Director Rachel Antrobus who will present to the Employment Committee on June 1, 2006. Mr. Hypolite shared a list of foster care and youth related activities and statistics regarding former foster youth, homelessness, poverty, and low high school graduation rates. He distributed the Department of Children Youth and Their Families Resource Guide “How to Find A Job in San Francisco’. Mr. Jones commented that Big Brothers Big Sisters administered by San Francisco Casa needs minority volunteers. Contact Carolyn Fisher at (415) 398-8001. For some youth volunteers are the only role models. Bank of the West and Wells Fargo support these programs. Mayor Newsom’s Transitional Youth Task Force focuses on comprehensive needs of young San Franciscans aged 17-24 including employment.
New Business
Anya Lakner-Project Attorney, Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center presented State and Federal Employment Rights of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking survivors. The domestic violence program is an employment project that helps survivors keep their jobs and economic autonomy. Domestic violence crosses race, gender, sexual orientation, religious, and economic classes. A third of all women and one fifth of all men will be victims of intimate partner physical violence or emotional abuse in their lives. A third of all same-sex partners experience domestic violence. Employment law is important to survivors because the way out of an abusive relationship is economic autonomy. For example, if a survivor needs to leave and go into a shelter temporarily, it is absolutely necessary to keep one’s job in order to have a source of income. If not, one may eventually lose their home.
Under the “Survivors of Domestic Violence Employment Leave Act” (Cal. Labor Cd. 230) survivors are entitled to job-guaranteed time off from work to testify or to get a restraining order ensure the health and safety of themselves and their children. To obtain the legal protections Employees must identify themselves as domestic violence survivors to their employer. Written documentation which the employer must keep confidential can be:
- a police report indicating that the employee is a domestic violence survivor
- a court order protecting or separating the employee and the batterer, or a court or prosecuting attorney document showing that the employee appeared in court
- medical professional, domestic violence advocate, health care provider, or counselor documentation that the employee was undergoing treatment for physical or mental injury or abuse caused by domestic violence
Labor Code section 230 authorizes the use of paid vacation, personal leave or compensatory time off for this leave while section 230.1 entitles domestic violence survivors to job guaranteed leave to obtain medical attention, domestic violence shelters or programs assistance, counseling, or workplace safety planning.
The law covers employers with 25 or more employees and provides job protection of up to twelve weeks unpaid leave annually. Employees who are fired, threatened with termination, demoted, suspended, or in any other way retaliated or discriminated against by his or her employer because he or she has exercised their rights may file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner at the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Federal and state laws provide certain employees with the right to take an unpaid leave from work to care for a family member who has a serious health condition. The federal law is the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); the state law is the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). Mr. Bondoc asked in what languages is the information available? Ms. Lakner stated Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin. She also distributed fact sheets to all the members.
8) Old Business
1) Discussion of proposed topics for 2006-2007 term
a) Proposition I – Special emphasis on the career paths for youth. The City recently hired two economists to generate reports regarding the economic impact on legislation in the City. Committee focus will be on how youth will be impacted.
b) CityBuild – Review contractor requirements, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. CityBuild last updated the Committee in October 2005. Commissioner del Portillo requested a written CityBuild program and training academy report. How and where did the training academy recruit applicants? Include statistics on race, gender, age, disadvantaged status, and local residence information. As well as on hours worked per employee, hourly wage, local residence, and layoff information. Include also the reason for an employee’s layoff, and the sex and race of their replacement. The Committee invited Chris Iglesias to present in August. Mr. Rhoe noted the first training academy class will graduate on May 12, 2006.
c) Youth Employment Opportunities – Youth Commission Director Rachel Antrobus and Youth Employment Program Coordinator Kevin Liao will report on the state of San Francisco’s youth employment on June 1, 2006. Mr. Weber questioned Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and the Private Industry Council (PIC) effectiveness and why no youth serve on the Youth Council. Mr. Trujillo, PIC’s Chief Financial Officer said that PIC implements WIB’s policy decisions. He said the difficulty in maintaining a youth presence on the Youth Council is due to time conflicts, school, etc. Ms. Baier asked about Youth employment opportunities and accountability. Mr. Weber volunteered to serve on a working group to prepare a “youth agency map” of all the Youth programs and identify what they do for purposes of discussing accountability. He will report back on June 1, 2006.
d) Impact of Limited Language Access to the GED on Test Outcomes
The American Council on Education (ACE), in Washington, D.C. developed the General Educational Development (GED) test in English, French and Spanish. ACE is a network of 1,800 accredited higher education associations, institutions, and corporations. Each state’s Department of Education determines the score required for their state’s diploma. Mr. Rhoe asked what it would take to establish the GED in Chinese. According to ACE the initial cost of developing the GED in another language is $750,000. Add $500,000 to $750,000 annually to develop and print new forms and questions for the five different test areas. Commissioner del Portillo noted that for security reasons, the GED test translation cannot go to the Department of Education. Translated GED versions are perceived to be of lower value than the English version so many of those who pass the translated GED go back to pass the English version. Low demand and high costs make GED translation unfeasible.
9) Announcements/Calendar Matters –
Ms. Starkweather announced the HRC the 16th anniversary Giants game and tailgate barbeque on Sunday, May 14, 2006.
The next meeting will be held:
Date: Thursday, June 1, 2006
Time: 1:30 to 3:30 PM
Place: HRC Offices
25 Van Ness Avenue, 8th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
10) Adjournment
Mr. Bondoc moved and Ms. Tecson seconded to adjourn at 3:35pm. It carried unanimously.