We examine a motion directing City Attorney Mike Feuer’s office to draft an ordinance that would govern paid parental leave in the City of Los Angeles. We also get an update on LAUSD's charter moratorium resolution; discuss how employers should talk to their older employees about cognitive decline; and more.
LAUSD update: contract approved, charter moratorium resolution passed. What’s next?
Los Angeles Unified School District board approved the new contract hammered out between the district and United Teachers Los Angeles, the teacher union, yesterday.
The board also endorsed a resolution that calls for a moratorium on the establishment of new charter schools within the district.
Despite its passage, the charter resolution is symbolic in nature. The power to regulate charter schools lies with the state legislature and the governor.
The new three-year contract for LAUSD teachers came about after a nine-day teacher walkout. Before the two sides came to an agreement, LAUSD was insistent that the district did not have the money to meet union demands. The deal that was eventually struck includes a 6 percent pay raise, the hiring of more nurses, librarians and counselors, and smaller class sizes.
Hours before the LAUSD board voted yesterday, county regulators released a statement questioning the financial sustainability of the new contract.
KPCC’s education reporter Kyle Stokes joins Larry to provide the latest updates.
Guest:
Kyle Stokes, education reporter at KPCC; he tweets
LA City Councilmembers sign motion directing city attorney to draft paid parental leave ordinance -- what might that look like?
As the state of California turns its focus to legislating more paid parental leave under newly-minted Governor Gavin Newsom, the city of L.A. is also setting its sights on an official paid parental leave policy.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles City Councilmembers David Ryu and Nury Martinez co-signed a motion directing City Attorney Mike Feuer’s office to draft an ordinance that would govern paid parental leave in the City of Los Angeles. The details are scarce, as the proposal is still in its infancy, but we do know that the proposal would carve out up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave for new parents, who would get paid at up to 100 percent of their usual wages.
The state of California already offers eligible employees 60 to 70 percent of their wages paid out of a state disability insurance pool to which employers and employees contribute, but this proposal would put employers on the hook for filling any gap between any state benefits they already get and their regular pay. What is not clear yet is whether there would be small businesses or nonprofit organizations that would be exempt and whether the city would help cover the cost to companies.
What should the city of Los Angeles’ paid parental leave ordinance look like? How will it improve on the state of California’s already existing paid parental leave policy? What are the main concerns of local businesses, both small and large?
Guests:
Councilman David Ryu, Los Angeles City Councilmember representing District 4, which stretches from Sherman Oaks through Griffith Park to Miracle Mile and includes Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Los Feliz and Koreatown; he co-signed the motion requesting the city attorney draft a paid parental leave ordinance; he tweets
Elizabeth Hawley, legislative affairs director for Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA), an organization advocating for small businesses in the San Fernando Valley
What’s the ideal amount of time for paid parental leave?
Paid parental leave is having a moment.
Two LA City Council members just proposed a plan that would provide 18 weeks of 100 percent paid family leave. Governor Newsom’s budget proposal included a plan for six months of paid parental leave. Meanwhile, the Gates Foundation garnered some attention earlier in the month for cutting down its year long paid leave to six months and adding a stipend that new parents can spend on childcare costs.
The U.S. is the only industrialized country that does not mandate paid parental leave, though in California, eligible employees can take six weeks off while receiving around 60 percent of their pay.
And while doctors usually recommend at least three months of parental leave to benefit the baby, the conversation is not just rooted in public health policy, but also in economics. What length of time allows parents, especially women, to successfully reintegrate into the workforce? What kind of policy won’t de-incentivize companies from hiring women in the first place? Is there such a thing as too long parental leave? If you’re a parent, what was your experience with parental leave?
Guests:
Aparna Mathur, economist at AEI where she directs the AEI-Brookings Project on Paid Family and Medical Leave
Will Dow, health economist and interim dean of the school of public health at UC Berkeley
As FBI report shows no motive for Las Vegas shooting, a look at conspiracy theories
It’s been 16 months since a 64-year-old man opened fire into a crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival concert grounds on the Las Vegas strip.
The shooter killed more than 50 people, and wounded nearly 900 others from his window at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino before fatally shooting himself. There was hope that the FBI investigation into the tragic events of October 2017 would reveal the shooter’s motive. But the bureau’s report, released Tuesday, didn’t shed light on any reasons why the Harvest Festival was targeted. But despite never knowing what could have gone on in the mind of the man who carried out the events of that day, numerous conspiracy theories have popped up, not just about the shooter, but speculation that there was more than one gunman.
Today on AirTalk, Larry finds out the latest in what was revealed during the FBI’s investigation, and consults with a historian for a deep dive of the psychology behind conspiracy theories.
Guests:
Joe Schoenmann, host and senior producer of State of Nevada, the daily talk show on KNPR, our sister affiliate in Las Vegas, Nev.; he tweets
Kathryn Olmsted, professor of history at UC Davis whose areas of expertise include the study of conspiracy theories; she is also author of the book, “Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11” (Oxford University Press, 2011)
Why Uncle Sam is worried about your sleep
As more Americans lose sleep each night, brain researchers are starting to call sleep deprivation a “public health crisis.”
It’s known that lack of sleep has been linked to anxiety, depression, and may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. But researchers are now examining how insufficient sleep may be the onset to some of these psychiatric and neurological disorders, as opposed to merely a symptom.
A 2016 report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than one-third of adults aged 18-60 slept less than seven hours. The report also found that sleeping less than the recommended time “is associated with increased risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, frequent mental distress, and all-cause mortality.”
So does lack of sleep qualify as a public health crisis? And if so, what kind of policy changes would be made to combat the crisis? What might a campaign for treating sleep deprivation look like? We discuss.
Guests:
Rebecca Spencer, neuroscientist and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Wendy M. Troxel, senior behavioral and social scientist at RAND and adjunct professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh
How should employers talk to their older employees about cognitive decline?
As the workforce in the US grows older, employers are increasingly faced with delicate situations in which they might have to discuss an employee’s cognitive decline.
For example, if someone is experiencing dementia, they might become slower at completing tasks or eventually be unable to do the job that they were hired for. Some employees are aware of their diagnosis, but others might need to have a very delicate meeting with their boss.
How should an employer navigate this difficult conversation? And if you’re an employer or employee who’s faced this situation, how have you handled it?
Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
Guest:
Kate Bischoff, owner of tHRive Law & Consulting, an employment law and HR consulting firm, based in Minneapolis; she tweets