California Re-Opening: Governor Newsom continues to update California’s progress in balancing the re-opening of the economy while maintaining a manageable-level of COVID-19 cases.
Update to the COVID-19 Pandemic Resilience Roadmap: Attached
LGBTQ Fair Employment Protections: US Supreme Court issued a 6-to-3 decision that the Title VII Act barring sex discrimination in the workplace also protects LGBTQ workers from being fired on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The following are community voices responding to the decision.
“Nobody should ever have to fear losing their job simply because of who they are or whom they love. Today’s Supreme Court decision rights this injustice and brings the country in line with what has long been California law, ensuring that LGBTQ persons across our nation enjoy core civil rights legal protection at work. While the fight for equality continues, this ruling is a significant victory for the LGBTQ community, civil rights, and against discrimination.” California Governor Gavin Newsom
“The Supreme Court’s ruling on Title VII is momentous, and a long overdue step in advancing protections for LGBTQ employees in the workplace. In California, one of the first laws I wrote clarified the definition of gender in certain anti-discrimination laws so that ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender expression’ are included in references to gender. That law has provided additional protections for California’s LGBTQ workers since 2012. The Supreme Court’s holding affirms that protection throughout our country. When it comes to our workplaces and communities, discrimination need not apply.” Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins
Inclusive and Resilient Economy: Members of Governor Newsom’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery today issued an open letter calling out the insidious effects of structural racism across society, including the economy, and urging business and civic leaders to take a stand against injustice as the state and nation work to rebuild, for a more inclusive and resilient economy. The letter includes eight recommendations for moving forward.
Extension of EOs: Governor Newsom issued an executive order (N-69-20) extending a variety of prior executive orders related the COVID-19 pandemic, including, but not limited to, (1) the waiver to temporarily broaden the capability of counties to enroll persons into the CalWORKs program; the permission for commercially-licensed food trucks to operate in roadside rest areas to ensure essential infrastructure workers have access to food; and deadlines related to the payment of real estate license application and renewal fees and continuing education requirements for licensees.
Advocating for Business Grants: The Corona Chamber of Commerce, among others, is calling on the US Congress to support the establishment of “America’s Recovery Fund,” an online grant program for businesses to help cover the costs of essential operating expenses, including rent, utilities, payroll, and state and local taxes. Over 150 business groups representing over 45% of the US workforce are involved in the America’s Recovery Fund Coalition, including dozens from California. Several of the newest coalition members include the Chambers of Commerce of Carlsbad, Pleasanton, Rancho Mirage, Venice and Vista. https://americasrecoveryfund.org/resources/americas-recovery-fund-101/
BUDGET UPDATE
June 15 Budget Deadline: Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced that the Legislature passed its joint budget plan on Monday, which is consistent with the state’s constitutional deadline. One of the primary areas in which the two budgets differ is in the treatment of potential federal funding, such as that proposed in HR 6800 – The HEROS Act of 2020. Leadership will continue to negotiate with Governor Newsom to close the difference between the May Revision and Legislature’s adopted plan.
Advocating on the HEROS Act: PolicyLink and others are advocating for support of the federal HEROS Act. https://www.policylink.org/resources-tools/covid-federal-policy In a recent advocacy email, PolicyLink called on others to help fund the following priorities:
Another round of direct payments of $1,200 per person.
An extension of the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit.
$100 billion toward emergency rental relief.
$50 million in grants to address the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 in environmental justice communities.
$1.5 billion in grants to states and tribes to subsidize water costs for low-income households, and restore or keep water access for communities facing shut offs or toxic water.
There were a total of 305,799 initial UI claims filed in the week of May 24th – May 30th in California, a 15% decrease from the week May 10th – May 16th. These numbers include PUA claims, which the EDD began processing on April 28th. PUA claims made up 24% of total claims during the week ending May 30th, and 31% of total claims during each of the two weeks prior.
Accounting for both PUA and regular UI, almost 29% of the entire labor market in California has now filed for Unemployment Insurance benefits.
During the past four weeks, about 70% of initial UI claimants reported that they expected to be recalled. However, differences in recall expectations are growing, with 62% of Black workers who filed claims from May 17th to May 30th saying they expect to be recalled vs. 72% of White, 73% of Hispanic, and 74% of Asian workers.
The cumulative impact of the crisis is still substantially greater for less advantaged workers – over 1 in 4 women (as opposed to 1 in 5 men), more than 1 in 3 members of Generation Z, and more than 1 in 2 workers with a high school degree have filed for benefits.
Prior to the pandemic, more than 2.2. million (11.7%) workers in California were self-employed.
Between late April and mid-May 2020, self-employment in California fell by nearly a million and then rebounded by about half in the last week of May.
A majority of self-employed workers are in occupations which pay below average wages.
Self-employed workers are demographically different from the rest of the workforce.
US Consumption is Rebounding: US retail sales rebounded by a record 17.7% in May as states began re-opening following COVID-19 Stay-At-Home orders. This was the biggest monthly gain since 1992 and exceed US economists’ expectations for an 8.2% increase.
The COVID-19 crisis will cause a dramatic fall in foreign direct investment (FDI). Global FDI flows are forecast to decrease by up to 40% in 2020, from their 2019 value of $1.54 trillion. Should this occur, this would be the first time that the dollar value of global FDI was under $1 trillion since 2005.
Going forward there is an expectation of increased competition for FDI. However, there will be new opportunities arising from investors looking to diversify supply bases and build redundancy and resilience.
Investment funds driven by sustainability principles have grown rapidly in number, variety and size with total assets under management reaching $1.2-1.3 trillion today. A majority of these funds, however, are invested in developed countries for projects, such as renewable energy.
COVID-19 PROGRAM UPDATES
Small Business Disaster Loans Available Again: The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance application portal is now open to all eligible small businesses, non-profits, and agricultural businesses impacted by COVID-19. As of June 12, 2020, California businesses have had 230,447 EIDLs approved for a total of $17.2 billion.
Progress Report: According to the SBA, they have guaranteed 4,576,388 PPP loans for a total of $512.2 billion through June 12, 2020. Of this amount, 537,614 PPP loans totaling $66.6 billion have been entered into with California businesses. Nationally, 42.8% of the funds have gone to loans under $350,000. The average loan is $112,000. https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/PPP_Report_20200612-508.pdf
Non-Profits Under Main Street Program: The Federal Reserve Board announced it will be accepting public comment until June 22, 2020, on a proposal to expand its Main Street Lending Program to include nonprofit organizations. The proposal envisions that the nonprofits would meet similar requirements as the existing program, including having between 50 and 1,500 employees and being been in sound financial condition before the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20200615b.htm
COVID-19 Wage-Based Tax Credits: The IRS issued an infographic (Publication 5419) detailing the COVID-19-related tax credits, including the New Employer Tax Credit. The goal of the infographic is to help employers quickly determine whether they are eligible for one or more of the credits and, if so, the potential financial value of those credits. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5419.pdf
Great Plates Delivered: The Great Plates Delivered program provides three meals a day to qualifying seniors. FEMA just granted a 30-day extension to allow the program to continue to July 10. As shown in the chart below, the demand for meals far exceeds the number of businesses under contract. Interested restaurants and food providers are encouraged to fill out this form: https://state-of-california-agency.forms.fm/great-plates-delivered-food-provider-interest-form/forms/7917
Great Plates Delivered (as of 6/15)
Letters of Intent Received from Local Administrators
58
DEMAND: Estimated Weekly Individuals to be Served
1,026,553
Individuals Served This Week as of 6/11*
27,432
DEMAND: Estimated Food Providers Required to Meet Demand
1,624
Food Providers Contracted as of 6/11*
442
*Data received from Great Plates Data Portal updated twice per week.
