Bay Area

Five New California Laws Black People Should Care About in 2024

Among other important pieces of recently passed legislation, a new law ensures that California workers will accrue paid sick time earlier in their employment tenure after starting a new job. The law requires that employers give their employees no less than 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave within about four months of their start date and no less than 40 hours or five days within about seven months of their start date.

Published

1 year ago

December 10, 2023

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of California Black Media.

By Brandon Patterson

In 2024, a total of 16 new laws will go into effect in California – passed this year and in years past – with some taking effect on January 1 and others later in the year. Of those laws, namely dealing with employment and economic justice, housing, and guns – may have important implications for Black Californians. Here is a summary of five new laws that Black residents could pay attention to.

Minimum wages for fast food and healthcare workers: Hundreds of thousands of employees at all healthcare facilities across the state will start earning a minimum of $21/hour starting June 1, with employees at some facilities paid more depending on various factors. Large healthcare systems and dialysis clinics with more than 10,000 full-time employees will have to pay workers $23/hour, for example, with increases to $24 and $25 in 2025 and 2026. Meanwhile, the minimum wage for fast food workers will increase to $20/hour starting in April and increase by up to 3.5% annually through 2029.

More paid sick leave: A new law ensures that California workers will accrue paid sick time earlier in their employment tenure after starting a new job. The law requires that employers give their employees no less than 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave within about four months of their start date and no less than 40 hours or five days within about seven months of their start date.

Job protections for cannabis users: A law originally passed in 2022 and taking effect on January 1, 2024, will make it illegal for employers to discriminate against or penalize employees for legal cannabis use while off the job, though workers can still be penalized for coming to work high. That law also requires employers who choose to drug test only to use tests that detect THC – the active compound in cannabis — versus inactive compounds that can remain in one’s system for weeks or even months after use. A second law will prevent employers from asking job applicants about past cannabis use in most circumstances.

Cap on security deposits: Under AB12, which takes effect on July 1, 2024, property owners will only be allowed to charge tenants up to the equivalent of one month’s rent as a security deposit, reducing what can be a major obstacle for many renters. Security deposits can equal up to two months’ rent for unfurnished units and three months for furnished units.

Concealed carry: SB 42, set to take effect on January 1, 2024, would raise the age at which residents can carry a concealed weapon from 18 to 21 and prohibit their carry in “sensitive places” like schools, parks, playgrounds, and banks. The law was passed in response to a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a New York law that required people to show a particular need for self-defense to carry a concealed weapon. California previously enforced a similar law. A lawsuit challenging SB 42 and asking a court to block the law from taking effect is currently pending before a federal judge in Santa Ana. The lawsuit could impact the law’s implementation.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 21 – 27, 2025

Published

4 hours ago

May 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Chevron Richmond Installs Baker Hughes Flare.IQ, Real-time Flare Monitoring, Control and Reduction System

While the sight of flaring can cause concern in the community, flares are essential safety systems that burn pollutants to prevent them from being released directly into the atmosphere. They activate during startup and shut-down of facility units or during upsets or equipment malfunctions. The typical flare stack is about 200 feet high so that vapors are well above street levels.

Published

6 days ago

May 19, 2025

Oakland Post

Image courtesy The Richmond Standard.

The Richmond Standard

Chevron Richmond recently installed flare.IQ, a real-time, automated system that will improve the facility’s flaring performance.

The technology, developed by Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business, uses sensors to monitor, reduce and control flaring in real time. It collects and assesses data on refinery processes, such as temperature, pressure, gas flow and gas composition, and adjusts accordingly to ensure flares burn more efficiently and cleanly, leading to fewer emissions.

“The cleaner the flare, the brighter the flame can look,” said Duy Nguyen, a Chevron Richmond flaring specialist. “If you see a brighter flame than usual on a flare, that actually means flare.IQ is operating as intended.”

“A key element in Baker Hughes’ emissions abatement portfolio, flare.IQ has a proven track record in optimizing flare operations and significantly reducing emissions,” said Colin Hehir, vice president of Panametrics, a Baker Hughes business. “By partnering with Chevron Richmond, one of the first operators in North America to adopt flare.IQ, we are looking forward to enhancing the plant’s flaring operations.”

The installation of flare.IQ is part of a broader and ongoing effort by Chevron Richmond to improve flare performance, particularly in response to increased events after the new, more efficient hydrogen plant was brought online in 2019.

Since then, the company has invested $25 million — and counting — into flare minimization. As part of the effort, a multidisciplinary refinery team was formed to find and implement ways to improve operational reliability and ultimately reduce flaring. Operators and other employees involved in management of flares and flare gas recovery systems undergo new training.

“It is important to me that the community knows we are working hard to lower emissions and improve our flaring performance,” Nguyen said.

Also evolving is the process by which community members are notified of flaring incidents. The Community Warning System (CWS), operated by Contra Costa County is an “all-hazard” public warning system.

Residents can opt-in to receive alerts via text, e-mail and landline. The CWS was recently expanded to enable residents to receive notifications for “Level 1” incidents, which are considered informational as they do not require any community action.

For more information related to these topics, check out the resources included on the Chevron Richmond, CAER and Contra Costa Health websites. Residents are also encouraged to follow @chevronrichmond and @RFDCAOnline on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), where additional information may be posted during an incident.

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Oakland Hosts Town Hall Addressing Lead Hazards in City Housing

According to the city, there are 22,000 households in need of services for lead issues, most in predominantly low-income or Black and Latino neighborhoods, but only 550 to 600 homes are addressed every year. The city is hoping to use part of the multimillion-dollar settlement to increase the number of households served each year.

Published

7 days ago

May 18, 2025

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Magaly Muñoz

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department hosted a town hall in the Fruitvale to discuss the efforts being undertaken to remove lead primarily found in housing in East and West Oakland.

In 2021, the city was awarded $14 million out of a $24 million legal settlement from a lawsuit against paint distributors for selling lead-based paint that has affected hundreds of families in Oakland and Alameda County. The funding is intended to be used for lead poisoning reduction and prevention services in paint only, not water or other sources as has been found recently in schools across the city.

The settlement can be used for developing or enhancing programs that abate lead-based paint, providing services to individuals, particularly exposed children, educating the public about hazards caused by lead paint, and covering attorney’s fees incurred in pursuing litigation.

Most of the homes affected were built prior to 1978, and 12,000 of these homes are considered to be at high risk for lead poisoning.

City councilmember Noel Gallo, who represents a few of the lead-affected Census tracts, said the majority of the poisoned kids and families are coming directly from neighborhoods like the Fruitvale.

“When you look at the [kids being admitted] at the children’s hospital, they’re coming from this community,” Gallo said at the town hall.

In order to eventually rid the highest impacted homes of lead poisoning, the city intends to create programs and activities such as lead-based paint inspections and assessments, full abatement designed to permanently eliminate lead-based paint, or partial abatement for repairs, painting, and specialized cleaning meant for temporary reduction of hazards.

In feedback for what the city could implement in their programming, residents in attendance of the event said they want more accessibility to resources, like blood testing, and information from officials about lead poisoning symptoms, hotlines for assistance, and updates on the reduction of lead in their communities.

Attendees also asked how they’d know where they are on the prioritization list and what would be done to address lead in the water found at several school sites in Oakland last year.

City staff said there will be a follow-up event to gather more community input for programming in August, with finalizations happening in the fall and a pilot launch in early 2026.