As the incoming Chair of CELA, I get to answer the question, “What have you done for me lately?” The answer is quite a lot. Part of the pleasure of being Chair is getting to thank each of you for serving CELA and to acknowledge CELA members who have gone the extra mile. This is an overview of just the last four months of CELA accomplishments.
I would first like to welcome Kirby Cañon, Melissa Johnson and Leonard Sansanowicz as new CELA Board members. Their CELA Board terms commenced in January 2018. The CELA Board selections were made after the CELA Nominations Committee, consisting of three Board members, three CELA members and the Chair (then Jean Hyams) went through the nominations and application process. This process included nominations, written applications, interviews and discussions regarding the present needs for CELA and on the CELA Board, followed by CELA Board discussion and approval. CELA was very lucky to have excellent candidates apply for the CELA Board and the decisions were not easy. CELA is incredibly lucky to have Kirby, Melissa and Lenny join the CELA Board and share their considerable talents and time on behalf of CELA.
The CELA Board also bid a reluctant farewell to Bernard Alexander and Jean Hyams, whose Board terms expired. Jean and Bernard are incredible advocates. In addition to serving on the Board, both Jean and Bernard served terms as Chairs and President of CELA. During each of their terms as Chair, CELA grew both in terms of membership and as an organization. This is directly related to their leadership, vision and strength. Next time you see Jean or Bernard, thank them for all they have done for CELA and continue to do.
This has been an unprecedented time for legislative activity on behalf of CELA. Policy Director Mariko Yoshihara and the entire Legislative Committee has been working tirelessly to ensure legislation supporting worker rights is introduced and passed into law.
CELA was honored to be called on by the California Legislature to share our expertise in employment law in order to ensure worker rights are protected. Many of the legislative initiatives this year address issues identified in CELA members’ testimony to the Legislature. CELA provided expert testimony before the California Senate and Assembly regarding sexual harassment and
discrimination law. Jean Hyams provided testimony before the California State Assembly Rules Committee on Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation Prevention and Response. Toni Jaramilla testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on legal tactics that enable sexual harassment to thrive. I provided testimony before the Joint Senate and Assembly Rules Committee regarding factors impacting the California Legislature’s responses to sexual harassment complaints. I also provided testimony to the Senate judiciary Committee regarding the “severe or pervasive” legal standard and potential changes to law to address sexual harassment.
A special thanks to Mariko Yoshihara for her incredible leadership as CELA Policy Director, and to Toni Jaramilla, Elizabeth Riles, Jean Hyams, and Barbara Figari for their extraordinary efforts in assisting the legislative agenda for CELA regarding sexual harassment.
CELA is sponsoring seven (7) bills this year and is supporting or tracking dozens more bills.
AB 1870, authored by Asm. Reyes, Friedman and Waldron, would extend the period to 3 years for complaints alleging unlawful employment or housing practices. CELA is co-sponsoring AB1870 with Consumer Attorneys of California and Equal Rights Advocates.
SB 1300, authored by Senator Jackson would codify legislative intent to provide guidance to the courts on the “severe or pervasive” standard under sexual harassment law. This bill would also toughen training requirements and prohibit release of claims that are required as a condition of employment. CELA is co-sponsoring SB 1300 with Equal Rights Advocates.
AB 2613, authored by Asm. Reyes would add a statutory penalty to Labor Code Sec. 204 when wages are not paid timely.
SB 1038, authored by Sen. Leyva, would clarify that individuals are personally liable for retaliation claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. CELA is co-sponsoring SB 1038 with Equal Rights Advocates.
SB 224, authored by Sen. Jackson, adds investor, elected official, lobbyist, director and producer listed among those persons who may be liable to a plaintiff for sexual harassment under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. CELA is co-sponsoring SB 224 with Equal Rights Advocates.
AB 2282, authored by Asm. Eggman would clarify that prior salary cannot be relied on at all to justify a gender wage differential.
SB 1284, authored by Senator Jackson, would require employers with 100 or more employees to submit pay data reports to the Department of Industrial Relations.
Lobby Day was held on March 13, 2018. 45 CELA members met with legislators to discuss CELA sponsored bills and worker rights. We received a warm reception and got the word out on CELA sponsored legislation. Thanks to every CELA member who came to Sacramento and made Lobby Day a success.
CELA co-sponsored a press conference on Lobby Day with the Legislative Women’s Caucus, CAOC, ERA and many other worker rights’ organizations to launch the Stronger California Advocates Network legislative agenda, which consists of four pillars: fair pay, affordable child-care, family-friendly workplaces and poverty reduction. CELA has been a leader regarding fair pay and family friendly workplaces.
The Amicus Committee has submitted a brief in the case of Broten v. Target, regarding the issue of whether Cal. Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 998 applies in the context of a Fair Employment and Housing Act case. A special thanks to Darci Burrell for her outstanding work in drafting the briefing on behalf of CELA.
CELA also submitted an Amicus letter in Kim v. Reins, urging the California Supreme Court to grant a Petition for Review regarding whether Private Attorney General Act claims may be pursued when a plaintiff’s individual claims for back wages have been resolved. The California Supreme Court granted review in March. Thank you to Aaron Kauffman and David Duchrow for their work as co-chairs of the Amicus Committee. Looking ahead, CELA will be providing members a library of Amicus briefs and letters for CELA members to access.
CELA also got the CELA wiki off the ground. We have approximately 400 members participating and/or accessing the wiki. We need “CELA Wiki Heroes” to take on areas of the wiki in their special expertise. If you have an interest, please contact Christina Krasomil. The CELA wiki was the brainchild of Laura Horton, and we have Laura to thank for the wiki’s fruition.
CELA has been busy with events to support our members. The Barristers Committee held a number of Trial Story Hours. Speakers Dustin Collier, Joshua Socks, Darci Burrell, and Leslie Levy have shared trial war stories, and lessons learned. Keep a look out for more Barristers Committee Story Hour events to come.
The Practice Management Committee presented Early Look at Taxing Settlements and Judgments Under the New Tax Law Webinar with Robert W. Wood providing expert tax information and moderated by Lauren Abrams. This webinar discussed the new federal tax law. If you missed this webinar (or any other CELA webinar), CELA members may obtain a downloadable video for MCLE credit.
The Practice Management Committee also presented a Suite Talk regarding useful applications and new software/practice management tools to streamline our practices. This webinar was moderated by Michael Flynn and Lindsey Wagner.
CELA’s 7th Annual Conclave was held in Sacramento on March 12, 2018. Each Committee shared with the CELA Board and each CELA committee and taskforce their activities over the last year, looked ahead to upcoming events this year and weighed in on CELA’s ongoing Strategic Plan.
The CELA Board met in Los Angeles for a Strategic Planning meeting, to follow up with our year-long strategic planning efforts. The Board distilled data obtained from all our members regarding all CELA activities and events, membership needs and expenditures of all resources. This information is allowing the CELA Board to identify areas of growth, make decisions regarding the direction of CELA in coming years and to ensure we are continuing to meet CELA members’ needs and expectations. The CELA Board Retreat in April will continue this important work and put the findings and recommendations into action. CELA’s strategic planning would not have been possible without the leadership and herculean efforts of Jean Hyams and Administrative Director Christina Krasomil. We will be making available the strategic planning data, as well as the changes ahead to all members.
Finally, I also wanted to take a moment to acknowledge CELA members Dolores Leal and Mika Spencer. Dolores retired from the Education Committee after serving for 25 years. Dolores joined CELA in 1991. Mika Spencer also stepped down from the Education Committee, after serving for 16 years, including many years serving as co-chair. Mika joined CELA in 1998. Between Dolores and Mika, literally thousands of hours were given to raise the plaintiff-side employment bar. Dolores and Mika embody the “CELA vibe” of selfless giving of their time in order to make sure we all get it right and worker rights are served. CELA is indebted and thankful to you both.