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PACE
Feb. 25 in Long Beach or March 11 in Hayward from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Reserve your spot now space is limited!
CAPPA
All About the Governor's 2017-18 State Budget,
A Conversation on Trending Issues and California's
Economic and Political Future
Jan. 17
KVIE Building
2030 W El Camino Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95833
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Click here to register.
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CAPPA
Last week, California Legislators returned kicking off the 2017 legislative session. To date, the Assembly has introduced 87 Assembly bills and the Senate introduced 69 Senate Bills during the week that they were in the Capitol building.
Click here to see all of the legislation that has been identified to be of interest to our field. Also, to track and/or review legislation or to create your own tracking list, click here.
To access the Senate Daily Files, click here.
To access the Assembly Daily Files, click here.
To watch live coverage of the Assembly and Senate click here.
The legislature has begun work on framing the legislative and budgetary priorities for the upcoming 2017-2018 session. Click here to see the upcoming calendar. Please feel free to forward to us any upcoming trainings, conferences or meetings that you think would be beneficial to our field.
Although many bills will be introduced that will be of an interest to our field, the following bill thus far has been identified as a high priority:
- AB 60 (Santiago & Gonzalez) — Subsidized child care and development services: eligibility periods. This bill would establish an initial eligibility and redetermination periods of not less than 12 months. Additionally, this bill will establish ongoing income eligibility to mean that a family's adjusted monthly income is at or below 85 percent of the state median income, based on the most recent data on state median income published by the United States Census Bureau, for a family of the same size.
It is important that we as a field, are united and strong in our "asks". To that end, below are two considerations that we hope to see in all advocacy platforms that are put forth:
- All provider types and programs must be lifted together; not one part of the child care and early learning system at the expense of another.
- The mixed delivery system of public and private child care and early learning programs are jointly funded to ensure that absolutely all slots are filled and not one dollar is sent back to Sacramento at the end of the fiscal year.
Gov. Brown has announced release of the 2017-2018 State Budget today (Jan. 10) at 11:00 a.m.
Federal Funds Comprise Over One-Third of California's State Budget, Supporting a Broad Range of Public Services and Systems
The California Budget & Policy Center reports that:
"Federal Dollars support a wide array of public services and systems that touch the lives of all Californians- from Social Security and health care to highway construction and public schools. A large share, but less than a majority, of this federal funding flows through California's state budget. The current state budget includes nearly $96 billion in federal funds for 2016-17, the fiscal year that began last July 1. This is more than one-third (36 percent) of the total state budget, which also includes more than $170 billion in state funds for the current fiscal year.
More than 7 in 10 federal dollars that flow through California's state budget — $69.3 billion in 2016-2017 — support health and human services (HHS) for children, seniors, and many other Californians (see chart). Most of these federal dollars, roughly $58 billion, go to Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid program), which provides health care services to more than 13 million Californians with low incomes. The second-largest share of federal funding for HHS programs — $7.7 billion — goes to the state Department of Social Services. These funds support child welfare services, foster care, the CalWORKs welfare-to-work program, and other services that assist low-income and vulnerable Californians."
To read the fact sheet and learn more about how federal funding can potentially impact the state budget this year click here.
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Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
On the federal budget and taxes, we highlighted Robert Greenstein's Washington Post op-ed, in which he describes the grave threats programs that help low- and moderate-income people will face under GOP leaders' agenda this year. Chye-Ching Huang, Chuck Marr, and Emily Horton explained that eliminating two Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicare taxes would mean large tax cuts for high-income earners and the wealthy. We updated our backgrounder on the pay-as-you-go rule, also known as PAYGO, which is designed to encourage Congress to offset the cost of any legislation that increases spending on entitlement programs or reduces revenues so it doesn't expand the deficit.
On family income support, Liz Schott and Ife Floyd showed that states spend only half of their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars on core welfare reform areas, revealing fundamental flaws with the TANF block grant. Our new fact sheets detail how each state spent its TANF funds.
On food assistance, Dottie Rosenbaum and Brynne Keith-Jennings pointed to the widespread decline in SNAP (formerly food stamp) caseloads, which reflects an improving economy and the return of a three-month time limit for unemployed childless adults in many states.
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CCAoA
In California, single parents pay more than half of their income for infant center care. Married parents who live at the poverty line and have two children pay 111.8 percent of their income for center care. The cost of center care for 2 children in California is more than twice the annual cost of college tuition at a four year college.
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PACE
Click here to read the article.
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PACE
In support of our field, we want to know what your organizational priorities are. Does your organization have an approved set of public policy or budget priorities? Please share with us.
Also, we all know that the increase in the minimum wage will have ripple effects to all parts of the child care and early learning systems. If you can share with us the impact the minimum wage increase will have on you as a provider, a centers, or to your parents, let us know. Please share with us.
If there is information that you would like collected from the field, let us know.
PACE
Is your center looking for good, local employees? Develop your workforce with PACE! Members may post jobs at no charge. We invite you to see how easy it is to post jobs online today! Post a job, now! View resumes of job seekers! Important note: Members need their ID number and password to submit jobs to the Job Bank or to view resumes. If you have forgotten, click here to request your login and password.
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PACE
Join today and start receiving free Human Resources advice? Download the membership application to get started.
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PACE
As a membership benefit you now also receive a 20 percent discount on Exchange's new Turn-Key Online Learning! Watch comprehensive video-based training and earn CEUs from your home computer.
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PACE
All recommendations and opinions provided by the PACE HR Helpline are based on general human resource management fundamentals, practices, and principles, and are not legal opinions or guaranteed outcomes. In using the PACE HR Helpline, PACE member acknowledges that the advisors are not attorneys and accordingly any information provided written or verbally does not constitute legal advice.
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PACE
Kaplan Early Learning Company - 15% discount on all order & free shipping on order over $250 - Use code 2992
Lakeshore Learning Materials- Free Shipping over $250 on all shipments UPS or Truck and a 10% Merchandise Certificate that can be redeemed on a future order. Mention PACE in comment area for online orders
Discount School Supply 15% of all products and free shipping of $79 or more using key code PACE.
Click here to view a complete list.
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Department of Finance
California Child Care Programs Local Assistance — All Funds 2016-2017 Budget Act
Department of Education Child Development Programs 2016-2017 Budget Act
Arrow Benefits Group
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, individuals are required to have health insurance, while applicable large employers are required to offer health benefits to their full-time employees. In order for the Internal Revenue Service to verify that (1) individuals have the required minimum essential coverage, (2) individuals who request premium tax credits are entitled to them, and (3) ALEs are meeting their shared responsibility (play or pay) obligations, employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees and insurers will be required to report on the health coverage they offer. Final instructions for the 1094-B and 1095-B and the 1094-C and 1095-C forms were released in September 2016, as were the final forms for 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C. The reporting requirements are in Sections 6055 and 6056 of the ACA.
Reporting was first due in 2016, based on coverage in 2015. Reporting in 2017 will be based on coverage in 2016. All reporting will be for the calendar year, even for non-calendar year plans.
On Nov. 18, 2016, the IRS issued Notice 2016-70, delaying the reporting deadlines in 2017 for the 1095-B and 1095-C forms to individuals. There is no delay for the 1094-C and 1094-B forms, or for forms due to the IRS.
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California Department of Education
We are very pleased to share the final version of Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: Implementation Plan for the State of California, which is available at the following link: http://twb8-ca.net/files/CA_TWB8_Implementation_Plan.pdf.
The website for this project (http://twb8-ca.net) has been updated to include some overview and summary language; as well as links to download a two-page summary, full plan and appendices.
In addition, a number of resources for communicating this plan will be available at http://twb8-ca.net/communication-resources/, including:
- Talking points (including a one-minute overview and detailed talking points)
- A message template for sharing the plan with your colleagues and networks
Both First 5 California and CDE Early Education and Support Division will be making formal announcements about the release of this plan in the coming week. However, we wanted to share the plan and associated materials with you in advance.
We encourage you to use the information and resources at the links above to share this plan and associated materials with your colleagues and networks.
While the release of this plan is a key milestone, our collective work to achieve the objectives outlined in the plan and determine the specific actions necessary to do so, is ongoing. Moving forward, the Core Team (originally consisting of co-leads from the three work groups that worked to develop the plan content, and now with slightly modified membership) will continue to meet on a monthly basis to guide implementation of this plan.
We would like to reiterate our deep thanks for your participation and thought partnership throughout this planning process, and for your ongoing dedication to California's young children and the adult professionals supporting them. Thank you!
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HR Ideas
Click here to view California's local minimum wage.
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Early Education and Support Division
The California Code of Regulations, Title 5 (5 CCR), Chapters 19 and 19.5 will be current and aligned with California laws enacted over the past several years as well as the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Program Final Rule published Sept. 30, 2016.
This will be achieved by amending, adding, or deleting appropriate child care and development sections of 5 CCR, following the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) rule making process, which includes public comment periods.
The 5 CCR sections which will be updated will be determined based on the need to comply with California laws and federal laws and regulations. Early education contractors, stakeholders, and appropriate state agencies will be invited to submit suggestions of 5 CCR sections needing to be updated.
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California Department of Education
California Education Code (EC) Section 8265(d) allows a rate increase for contractors on a case-by-case basis in order to maintain service levels for contracts currently at a rate less than the Standard Reimbursement Rate. Increases approved through this application will be retroactive to July 1, 2016. Contractors may apply for a rate increase if the contract rate for a center-based child development contract has a daily rate less than $40.20 for General Childcare and Development Program or $40.45 for California State Preschool Program, and secondly meets one or more of the following:
- Loss of program resources from other sources;
Contractors must clearly demonstrate how the loss of supplemental funds or in-kind contributions will affect the program. Copies of correspondence from the funding source(s) documenting the reduced funding must be submitted. The loss of in-kind contributions must be quantified with a dollar amount.
- Need of a contractor to pay the same child care rates as those prevailing in the local community;
Contractors must clearly demonstrate how their current contracted rate has had an adverse effect on the quality of care offered by the contractor. The lesser of the contractor's documented requested contracted rate, the SRR, or the Reimbursement Ceilings for Subsidized Child Care fund found on the Reimbursement Ceilings for Subsidized Child Care Web page at http://www3.cde.ca.gov/rcscc/ will be used to determine the maximum rate allowed.
- Increased cost directly attributable to new or amended regulations;
Contractors must clearly demonstrate that they will experience a cost increase as a direct result of one or more provisions of a new or amended regulation. To be considered under this criterion, contractors must identify and describe how each new or amended regulation will increase cost.
- Increased costs necessary to maintain the prior year's level of service and ensure the continuation of the program;
Contractors must clearly demonstrate that they will experience a cost increase that threatens the ability to maintain the prior year's service level. To be considered under this criterion, the contractor must provide documentation of each cost increase.
In all cases, contractors must clearly demonstrate that the current year's projected costs have increased and thereby threaten continuation of the existing program. Copies of prior and current year documentation for all areas of increased costs must be attached.
Documentation must reflect a complete audit trail for increased costs. For example, applications based on labor cost increases must be documented by board-adopted salary schedules for Fiscal Years 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, listing of the appropriate staff on the salary range or step, and the number of staff affected. Board minutes can indicate that the FY 2016–2017 salary increase is contingent on the approval of the rate increase application. Any worksheets or calculations that help clarify and/or justify the amount requested should also be included.
Eligible contractors who wish to apply for a rate increase must complete the attached application (CDNFS 3104) and return it with an original signature to the Child Development and Nutrition Fiscal Services unit by Jan.31. No faxed applications will be accepted, because an original signature is required. Applications and all supporting documentation must be received by the deadline to be considered. Extensions will not be granted.
Applications will be evaluated based upon the information and documentation submitted, as well as an analysis of the contractor's historical earnings, and expenditure data gathered through the annual CDNFS contract review process. If available information does not clearly support the amount being requested, that portion of the request for a rate increase will be denied. Rate increases are subject to availability of funding. Under earnings may be used to fund the rate increase; however, the contract service level may not decrease below the current level of services being projected in FY 2016–2017.
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State of California
Now available here.
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HR Ideas
January 2017
Due date: Jan. 22 — I-9: Employers are required to use the new I-9 form.
Due date: Jan. 31 — W-2: Reports the amount of federal, state, and other taxes withheld from your paycheck. Submit in paper or electronically. Submit with W-3 form.
Due date: Jan. 31 — W-3: Is a transmittal which is forwarded to the Social Security Administration showing total earnings, Medicare wages, Social Security wages, and withholding for all employees encompassing the entire year. Submit with W-2 form.
Due date: Jan. 31 — 1095-B and 1095-C: Form 1095-B is used to report certain information to the IRS and to taxpayers about individuals who are covered by minimum essential coverage and therefore are not liable for the individual shared responsibility payment. Form 1095-C contains important information about the healthcare coverage offered or provided to you by your employer. If mailed or emailed, forms are due no later than this date.
Due date: Jan. 31 — OSHA: Requires employees to electronically submit injury and illness data that are mandatorily recorded on their onsite OSHA Injury and Illness forms.
February 2017
Due date: Feb. 28 — 1095-B and 1095-C: Form 1095-B: is used to report certain information to the IRS and to taxpayers about individuals who are covered by minimum essential coverage and therefore are not liable for the individual shared responsibility payment. Form 1095-C contains important information about the healthcare coverage offered or provided to you by your employer. If filling by paper, forms are due no later than this date.
Due date: Feb. 28 — Berkeley Business Renewal: All Berkeley businesses are responsible for filing an annual business license renewal and renewal payments, which must be received or postmarked by February 28th. Businesses that do not meet this deadline will incur penalties. If you close your business you must complete and file a Closing Business Declaration within 90 days of closure and provide the Gross receipts attained through that year. If you sell your business, the new owner must file for a new Business License.
Due date: Feb. 28 — Payroll Expense Tax statement: if your total SF payroll exceeds $150,000, you are required to file annually and may be liable to pay prepayments during the year.
March 2017
Due date: March 311095-B and 1095-C: Form 1095-B: is used to report certain information to the IRS and to taxpayers about individuals who are covered by minimum essential coverage and therefore are not liable for the individual shared responsibility payment. Form 1095-C contains important information about the healthcare coverage offered or provided to you by your employer. If filling electronically, forms are due no later than this date.
April 2017
Due date: April 1 — Business personal Property and Vessel Property Statements due to the SF office of the Assessor-Recorder (SF only)
Due date: April 30 — Annual reporting form to the OLSE
Due date: April 30 — San Francisco Commuter Benefits Ordinance Annual Compliance Form: Businesses with locations in SF or 20+ employees nationwide have to offer commuter benefits to employees.
Due date: April 30 — San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance Annual Reporting Forms: An employer is covered if it is a for profit business with 20+ employees. Or if it is a non-profit business with 50+ employees. The employer has to work in SF in both conditions.
May 2017
Due date: May 7 — Last day to file Business Property Statement (Form 571-L): without Penalty: details the acquisition cost of all supplies, equipment, fixtures, and improvements owned at each location within the City and County of SF.
Due date: May 31 — Annual Business Registration Renewal fees due to the SF office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector
July 2017
Due date: July 1 — Updated waste water capacity charge rates: announced by the SF Public Utilities Commission
Due date: July 1 — First day of SF Business Registration fiscal year period
Due date: July 1 — OSHA: Establishments with 250 or more employees in industries covered by the recordkeeping regulation must submit information from their 2016 Form 300A. Businesses with 20-249 employees AND in a high-risk industry must electronically submit 2016 information from Form 300A-Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
Due date: July 1 — Form 550: due for calendar year defined contribution and benefit plans
Due date: July 1 — Form 5500: due for non-calendar year plans
August 2017
Due date: Aug. 31 — SF Last Day to pay business personal property taxes before penalties are added
September 2017
Due date: Sept. 30 — EE01: Employer will be required to report compensation data as well as the hours. Additionally, now private employers with 100 or more employees will be required to report employees’ W-2 compensation information and hours worked.
Due date: Sept. 30 — VETS-100: Covered categories include: special disabled veterans, Vietnam era veterans, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans.
Due date: Sept. 30 — VETS-100A: Covered categories include: disabled veterans, other protected veterans, recently separated veterans, and Armed Forces Service Medal veterans.
Southern California Public Radio
Preschoolers from low-income families waiting for a preschool seat may not get it in 2017 if Governor Jerry Brown's austere budget proposal passes. Recently, the governor's budget zeros out about $226 million that was slated for early childhood expansion as promised in the 2016 state budget.
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Earlychildhood News
Children's books and other reading materials are an essential part of a young child's early literacy experience and lay the foundation for a love of reading. But did you know that many other types and uses of print such as street signs, Dad's shopping list, a thank-you note to Grandma, preschool attendance sheets, and names on the birthday board help contribute to a child's ability to read? As young children experience different types of print, they learn what all the letters and words mean in different contexts and how they affect their lives.
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Education Week
The latest results of the Program for International Student Assessment give tantalizing hints of the connections between students' early-childhood education and their later math scores. A new international test may provide more insights into what those connections mean for policy, but experts warn that it remains hard to tell what the United States can learn from other countries' approaches to preschool.
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Los Angeles Times
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a potentially momentous education case on Wednesday and try to clarify the rights of the nation's 6.7 million schoolchildren with disabilities. Long-standing federal law says these children have a right to a "free appropriate public education," but schools, courts and parents have been divided over what this means in practice.
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New America
In California, childcare for infants costs as much as tuition in the University of California system, according to new data from the Lucile Packard Foundation of Children's Health. In 2014, parents of infants in California spent an average of more than $13,300 on childcare. That year, UC tuition and fees were just over $13,200.
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Medical News Today
Preschool-age children from low-income families are more likely to be physically active if parents increase activity and reduce sedentary behavior while wearing movement monitors (accelerometers), according to a Vanderbilt study published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
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MindShift
At Forest Grove Elementary School, along the Ohio River just northwest of Pittsburgh, the Rust Belt is giving way to educational innovation. In a windowless room in the library, first- and second-graders experiment with a strange teaching device that's half computer and half wooden play table. A giant computer screen looms over the table, and a touch-screen tablet is built into the table's surface. A dancing cartoon gorilla appears on both screens, while a disembodied female voice commands two students to erect towers. The children reach into two bins of colorful wooden blocks and oversized Legos and build.
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HealthDay News
Nearly all children get respiratory syncytial virus by age 2. But just because the infection is common doesn't mean it should be taken lightly, one nursing specialist warns. Symptoms of this lung and respiratory infection — coughing, sneezing and a runny nose — are often mistaken for a cold, according to Alison Pittman, clinical assistant professor at Texas A&M College of Nursing.
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Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. ET — Get Inspired to Lead and Lead to Inspire: Techniques That Advance Early Education
Presented by:
Susan MacDonald
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It's Time to Update Your Employee Handbook
Thursday, Jan. 19, and Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific
Are you dreading updating your employee handbook? You’re not alone! Most of today’s HR professionals can agree that employee handbooks can be a handful. Join Robin Shea and the ThinkHR team as they cover some best practices for creating an employee handbook. This webinar offers 1 HRCI and SHRM-approved credit.
It's Time Again to File Forms 1094-C and 1095-C
Watch On Demand
ThinkHR's senior benefits advisor Bethany Lopusnak returns with insights and guidance into getting ready to complete the 2016 "C Forms" (1094-C and 1095-C) that must be filed in early 2017 by applicable large employers (ALEs) documenting benefits coverage offers extended during 2016. Bethany provides a refresher of the rules, covers the new items, and answers the most common questions employers have about Forms 1094-C and 1095-C.
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2017 Labor Landmines — Restaurants
Come join us for Stratton Agencys annual 2017 Labor Landmines presentation. This highly anticipated webinar will be a 2016 year-in-review of most of the interesting HR & Safety developments, some 2016 court decisions that probably affect you, as well as the new laws that take effect in 2017 and how best to deal with them as an employer. This restaurant-based webinar will be 1 hours long as there is a lot to cover this year!
Date: Feb. 15
Time: 9-11 a.m.
Location: Webinar
Cost: Non-Clients $49.00, HRI Clients, GGRA, & PACE are Free (with coupon code)
Click Here to register.
2017 Labor Landmines — General
Come join us for Stratton Agencys annual 2017 Labor Landmines presentation. This highly anticipated webinar will be a 2016 year-in-review of most of the interesting HR & Safety developments, some 2016 court decisions that probably affect you, as well as the new laws that take effect in 2017 and how best to deal with them as an employer. This webinar will be 90 minutes long as there is a lot to cover this year!
Date: Feb. 15
Time: 2-3:30 p.m.
Location: Webinar
Cost: Non-Clients $49.00, HRI Clients, GGRA, & PACE are Free (with coupon code)
Click Here to register.
2017 Labor Landmines — Youth Services
Come join us for Stratton Agencys annual 2017 Labor Landmines presentation. This highly anticipated webinar will be a 2016 year-in-review of most of the interesting HR & Safety developments, some 2016 court decisions that probably affect you, as well as the new laws that take effect in 2017 and how best to deal with them as an employer. This youth services-based webinar will be 1.5 hours long as there is a lot to cover this year!
Date: Feb. 22
Time: 2-3:30 p.m.
Location: Webinar
Cost: Non-Clients $49.00, HRI Clients, GGRA, & PACE are Free (with coupon code)
Click Here to register.
2017 Labor Landmines — Construction
Come join us for Stratton Agencys annual 2017 Labor Landmines presentation. This highly anticipated webinar will be a 2016 year-in-review of most of the interesting HR & Safety developments, some 2016 court decisions that probably affect you, as well as the new laws that take effect in 2017 and how best to deal with them as an employer. This construction-based webinar will be 90 minutes long as there is a lot to cover this year!
Click Here to register.
Date: Feb. 22
Time: 9-10:30 a.m.
Location: Webinar
Cost: Non-Clients $49.00, HRI Clients, GGRA, & PACE are Free (with coupon code)
Click Here to register.
AB1825 Management Harassment Training — Restaurant Specific
All California companies with the following:
- 50 or more employees
- Within 6 months of promoting to a supervisor; or
- Within 6 months or hiring into a company as a supervisor are required by law to provide 2 hours of sexual harassment prevention training to all supervisors in California.
Part-time and temporary employees (including those hired by staffing agencies) plus independent contractors are part of the minimum employee count of 50). This training meets that requirement and a certificate will be given for successful completion of this training. This training is designed towards restaurant supervisors.
Date: Jan. 18
Time: 9-11 a.m.
Location: Webinar
Cost: Non-Clients $49.00, HRI Clients, GGRA, & PACE are Free (with coupon code)
Click Here to register.
SPARK
Your professional development begins here! Each summer SPARK conducts 2 day "Institutes" for each program in beautiful San Diego that are similar to the SPARK Premium Program — yet offer an even richer, in-depth training experience.
We only offer Institutes once a year, and attendance is limited to 40 (on a first registered basis), so make sure to register soon! Registration is now open for the 2017 SPARK Institutes.
The SPARK Institute early registration deadline is April 21.
Select a program below to learn more & register:
We hope see you in San Diego this summer!
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 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063
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