California, where the inmates are now running the asylum in all branches of government now has a new law pending that will effectively curtail the hiring of babysitters. And no, I'm not kidding.
Under California Assembly Bill 889, babysitters will be reclassified as “domestic employees" along with nannies and caregivers. The bill will make "domestic employers" (AKA parents) legally obligated to pay at least minimum wage to any sitter over the age of 18 (unless it is a family member), provide a substitute caregiver every two hours to cover rest and meal breaks, provide workers' compensation coverage, overtime pay, and a meticulously calculated timecard/paycheck that includes all payroll deductions and taxes.
Failure to do so opens the employer to lawsuits and action by the California Labor Department,(CLD) The California Employment Development Department( EDD), the California State Board of Equalization including cumulative penalties, attorneys' fees, and legal costs.
The bill has already passed the Assembly and is a cinch to pass the state Senate with blanket support from the Democrats that control both houses of the Legislature – and without the support of a single Republican member. Barring something unforeseen happening, AB 889 will soon be on its way to Governor Jerry Brown's desk for his signature.
This bill won't affect the rich elites,who already have their nannies in place on or off the books.And it won't affect the poor or illegal aliens, who will simply ignore it because they likely have a teen-age relative or grandma to watch the kids and have nothing to lose if they get sued anyway. Who it's aimed at is a typical middle class couple who wants to hire a babysitter so they can enjoy a night out and have enough resources to make a juicy target for predatory lawyers and Big Government. After enough of them get hit so that the word gets around, they'll either have to pay a lot more to deal with agencies that do the paperwork for them at a much higher price (and will have workers that are another target for unionization) or simply do without that dinner and a movie. Or they'll hire babysitters who are under the age of 18 or to illegal aliens who are not eager to go to the authorities, turning normally law-abiding people into criminals with all that entails.
So this bill actually cuts tax revenues and doesn't even ultimately benefit labor, whom it was designed to pander to.
In DC-land, sensible people control at least one third of government. In California, even that meager protection doesn't exist, which is why businesses and its more productive citizens who can are leaving the state in droves.
The regulatory environment in CA may explain why many businesses seem to be leaving. It also explains why many businesses relocate their production to other countries. This is the type of action that is routinely demonized by the media as "offshoring."
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason for this. The regulatory environment makes it impossible for a commerical business interest, in many cases, to make a profit. Capital flows to places other countries and other less regulatory states like TX where it can achieve some type of return.
In the case of TX, it has been more successful than other states at creating jobs because the regulatory environment has been largely less oppressive than other states. Unfortunately the Texas lawmakers have looked at this and decided that the cure to what ails them is for them to become more like other states!! At the rate its going, TX where I live may become like your CA.
Until something is done about this out of control regulatory environment we cannot fix our economy. Any attempt to do so is a bit like "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic." Unfortunately as it stands right now any attempt to reign in the out of control government bureacracy is not being seriously considered by either major political party.
I think Dr. Ron Paul put it best to roughly paraphrase, "a government regulator cannot create jobs but they can sure prevent you from creating jobs." Until we get the government out of the way, I am unable to envision a scenario where we will be able to grow our economy.
You said it. I am a business owner who came to California 26 years ago. In 18 days, I will wake up early, and get on I-10 East to Texas. I am taking my job creating skills and mid six-figure income with me.
ReplyDeleteCalifornia is financially collapsing. I am getting out while I still can. Anyone with a good income would well be advised to do the same.