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California’s Mandatory Employment Arbitration Ban Headed for the Full 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
On December 30, 2019 an Eastern District of California federal court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the state of California from enforcing AB51. The lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the California Chamber of Commerce sought an injunction stopping enforcement of AB 51; a bill that would have outlawed employment arbitration ...
Another Decrease in CA Workers’ Compensation Rates Issued
On Wednesday, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a decision to once again reduce California workers’ compensation pure premium advisory rates effective September 1, 2021. Rejecting a proposed average rate increase of 2.7%, Commissioner Lara approved an average 3.4% reduction in advisory pure premium workers’ compensation rates across all classification codes. Advisory pure…
The President’s National Emergency
Remember the timeframe extensions that were announced early in the pandemic? They are still in effect and—importantly—they were just extended. Here is what happened: As you will recall, in May 2020, the Departments of Labor and Treasury issued the “Joint Notification of Extensions of Certain Timeframes for Employee Benefit Plans, Participants, and Beneficiaries Affected by the…
Western Growers Mourns the Passing of Bob Sakata
Bob Sakata, a stalwart of the agricultural community, passed away on June 7, 2022 at the age of 96. Robert (Bob) Yoshiharu Sakata was born on April 15, 1926, in San Jose, California to Aki Nishimura and Mantaro Sakata. His mother died of pneumonia leaving his father to raise 5-year-old Bob and 3 older siblings. Bob’s ...
Ninth Circuit Withdraws Prior Opinion Regarding California’s AB 51 and Grants Panel Rehearing
Since 2021, the challenge to California’s Assembly Bill (AB) 51 (on employment arbitration) has been in limbo awaiting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision on a petition to rehear the appeal en banc. On August 22, 2022, instead of granting or denying the petition for rehearing en banc, the Ninth Circuit made a surprise decision to ...
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Rehearing in Viking River Cruises
On August 22, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the plaintiff-employee’s petition to reconsider the decision in Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana case. The high court also issued a final judgment, leaving intact the Court’s ruling on statutory standing under PAGA. While the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion is now final, the California Supreme Court ...
Congress Introduces Trade Promotion Legislation; Western Growers Urges Swift Action
IRVINE, Calif. (April 6, 2015) — Today, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) introduced bipartisan, bicameral Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. This agreement is a critical first step to concluding trade negotiations and further expanding export opportunities. In response to…
Sakata Releases New Varieties for 2015
Following is a list of new varieties available from Sakata Seed in 2015. Melon Infinite Gold LSL melon has been bred for strong performance and long shelf life, without sacrificing great flavor and fruit quality. In fact, a third-party sensory analysis panel rated Infinite Gold higher in flavor and quality attributes than the ...
Ready-Set-REPORT!
What’s ahead for you in 2015 to be (or remain) compliant with the Affordable Care Act? The answer depends on a number of factors including whether your company is an applicable large employer and the number of employees you have. Does the following sound like a recipe for a headache? Changing your benefits strategy, having ...
Nassif Responds To L.A. Times Column
(Editor’s Note: Western Growers President & CEO Tom Nassif’s “Letter to the Editor” disputing a column by George Skelton about the use of water to produce almonds, was published by that paper in its Dec. 16 edition.) To the editor: Skelton thinks California shouldn’t produce almonds for export because they require lots of water. ...
A Blast from the Past: Safeway is Taking Lead Role In Switch to 48 by 40 Pallet
(Editor’s Note: This story begins a WG&S series that looks at some of the stories the magazine has covered in its 85 year history. Reprinted from the March 1985 issue of WG&S.) Although they haven’t issued an ultimatum and they dislike the word pressure, Safeway officials are pushing some segments of the produce industry ...
A Blast from the Past: Anything But Conventional (From July 1998)
By A.G. Kawamura (This column was written by Western Growers board member A.G. Kawamura for the July 1998 issue of WG&S. This was before he was WG Chairman of the Board or the Secretary of California Department of Food and Agriculture. Then and now, he is largely a strawberry grower in the firm his family ...
Nutrition and Cancer Risk: Guidance from the Experts
We all know Western Growers members grow the best medicine in the world. Embarking on the second year of our partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS), Western Growers is spreading the word that a nutritious diet, including the healthful choices such as the fruits, vegetables and nuts our members grow, pack and ship, along ...
WG/ACS PARTNERSHIP: Preventing and Recognizing Skin Cancer
As part of Western Growers’ partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS), we are sharing information such as the article below to help you prevent different types of cancer for yourself, your family and your employees. To find more resources to share or to arrange for a local ACS representative to speak at your company, ...
UNIONS 2.0: How Big Labor Is Using Worker Centers to Bypass Legal Regulations and Destroy Brands
By Michael C. Saqui of The Saqui Law Group, Roseville, CA In July 2014 we tackled the foundations of the Worker Center Movement. In short, “Worker Centers” are Union surrogates that have become a powerful weapon in organized labor’s arsenal. An excellent new book, New Forms of Worker Organization: The Syndicalist and Autonomist Restoration ...
Nitrate Related Water Quality Regulations Continue to Be in Limbo
By Theresa Dunham of Somach Simmons & Dunn Over the last dozen years or so, the state’s regional water quality control boards have ramped up regulations on irrigated agriculture and their discharges to surface and ground waters. Initially, growers were mainly tasked with implementing on-farm management practices for the protection of water quality and paying ...
Corrugated Packaging: Keeps Shipping Produce Green, Clean and Lean
By Dennis Colley, president of the Fibre Box Association Growers, shippers and packers have a long history of using corrugated containers to send their fresh produce to distributors and retailers. Most have built an infrastructure to fit and facilitate packing in corrugated boxes. Successful operations require an efficient system for managing the entire process ...
WORKING THE CAPITOL: WG Board & Members Present Ag’s View in DC
Western Growers board members from Arizona and California, along with fellow ag leaders from Colorado and New Mexico, concluded meetings held this week in Washington, D.C., with several members of Congress and the Obama Administration. Discussions touched every topic of concern to specialty crop producers and included the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act; ...
WG Members Honored
During the course of The AgTech Summit, two Western Growers members were honored with awards from Forbes. Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter was on hand to present Bruce Taylor, founder and CEO of Taylor Farms, with the Forbes Impact Award in Leadership. Gunter described Taylor’s passionate representation of the produce industry and faithful stewardship of the ...
Proprietary Cultivars Reaping Fresh Patent Litigation
In January, amid a case docket otherwise dominated by electronics and pharmaceuticals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the group of D.C.-based justices whose jurisdiction over patent matters is second only to the Supreme Court, issued a decision concerning a seemingly more elemental technology: grapes. The decision in Delano Farms Co. v. ...