L.A. County Biz Buzz - June 2021 Business Resources

As your local workforce partner, we are here to help you reach your business goals step by step. Business Services Representatives are standing by to assist your business or non-profit with hiring and and recruiting needs, workforce tax credit applications, and employee training funds. Fill out our new online Employer Help Request Form. Once you submit an Employer Help Request Form, a Business Services Representative will connect you to our wide array of no-cost business services.

Would you like to give underserved youth ages 14-24 the opportunity to work and gain invaluable experience at your business or non-profit organization? You can do so by becoming a youth worksite today! Benefits of joining the Youth@Work program as an employer worksite include:  

• Subsidized wages up to 100 hours per youth employee 
• Increased labor force and productivity 
• Ability to positively impact a local youth’s future 

In May, Governor Newsom proposed the $100 Billion California Comeback Plan, which will fast forward California’s recovery. In the California Comeback Plan, Newsom expands small business grants to $4 billion and provides $6.2 billion in small business tax relief, making it the most extensive program for small businesses in the country. Our Business Services Representatives can help you tap into new and existing business resources. 

Additional investments for businesses include: 

• $895 million investment in the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), which strengthens programs that support the financing of small businesses. 

• $200 million to expand sales tax exclusions through the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority to promote, grow and incentivize green manufacturing in California. 

• $147 million for the Main Street Small Business Tax Credit to assist small businesses in hiring and retaining workers since the second quarter of 2020. 

• $95 million to jumpstart California’s tourism industry, one of the most significant economic drivers in the state that was particularly impacted by the pandemic. 

California is moving forward with reopening the economy on June 15th and will remove nearly all of the restrictions residents have been living with for more than a year. Even though CDC guidelines are changing, note that new Cal/OSHA guidelines still require businesses to provide face coverings and additional protections to employees.

Current CDC guidelines state: 

• Indoors, fully vaccinated workers without COVID-19 symptoms do not need to wear face coverings in a room where everyone else is fully vaccinated and not showing symptoms. However, where there is a mixture of vaccinated and unvaccinated persons in a room, all workers will continue to be required to wear a face covering.
• Employers are still required to maintain a written COVID-19 Prevention Program but there are some key changes to requirements: Employers must review the California Department of Public Health’s Interim guidance for Ventilation, Filtration, and Air Quality in Indoor Environments. 
• COVID-19 prevention training must now include information on how the vaccine is effective at preventing COVID-19 and protecting against both transmission and serious illness or death.
• When the revised standards take effect, employers can eliminate physical distancing and partitions/barriers for employees working indoors and at outdoor mega events if they provide respirators, such as N95s, to unvaccinated employees for voluntary use.

Get your 30 day supply of free Personal Protective Equipment to keep your workplace compliant and employees safe. Free PPE available June 10th in Gardena and June 18th in East LA while supplies last.