Do you have security officers who patrol the streets of the City of Los Angeles?
Did you know that you must register these officers with bothBSIS and the Los Angeles Police Commission?
The City of Los Angeles is issuing administrative citations to security officers who are patrolling the city streets without proper registration.

We encourage you to review the Private Patrol Service Regulations below which you must adhere to.

In part, the Los Angeles Municipal Code 52.34 states:

It shall be unlawful for any person to perform the duties of a street patrol officer in the City of Los Angeles without first obtaining a Guard Registration card as required by the State of California and registering with the City.  Upon the registration being accepted by the City, the Board of Police Commissioners may issue a permit which shall be subject to all of the provisions of Chapter 10 of this Code, including all the rights, regulations, and due process procedures contained therein.  The Board of Police Commissioners shall retain street patrol officer permits in its files.

Applicant must include the following when submitting the original application to Commission Investigation Division:

  1.       Valid California driver’s license
  2.       Valid guard card
  3.       Valid firearm permit (if using firearm)
  4.       Valid baton permit (if using baton)
  5.       A signed letter of employment by the registered employer
  6.       Any other applicable permits

Note: A background check is made to determine truthfulness of applicant as to criminal history or detect any adverse information. A person on probation, parole, or bearing an invalid driver’s license will not be issued a registration card. The application in itself does not guarantee issuance of Police Commission Registration card.

The board of police commissioners may revoke the registration if applicant is convicted of criminal activity subsequent to granting of permit.

You can review the complete Private Patrol Regulations for Los Angeles here: LA Municipal Code 52.34

Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

Get and stay in compliance!

As we brought to your attention in December, SB1343 requires all employers with 5 or more employees to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees and supervisors. The bill was effective January 1, 2019 with compliance required by January 1, 2020. SB1343 requires that the training be interactive and provided by facilitators who have knowledge and expertise in harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

We understand the potential logistics hurdles that these requirements present. As an association we strive to help you run your business as professionally and efficiently as possible.

In partnership with The Works Consulting we have developed online and on-demand Sexual Harassment Training that satisfies the requirements of SB1343! The training is available for purchase by CALSAGA members and non-members; volume and member discounts are offered. As required by law a certificate of completion will be generated for each training participant.

Click Here for More Information and to Purchase

As an association we strive to keep you informed on relevant information for your business. Please review the information below the we originally sent out in December 2017. This information is still applicable and, if you employ armed officers, very important.

Department of Justice Issues Bulletin to CA Law Enforcement Agencies

After much hard work on the part of the association, CALSAGA is very pleased to report that the Department of Justice has issued a bulletin to California law enforcement agencies concerning AB 2220.

AB 2220 allows a Private Patrol Operator to be a registered owner of a firearm. Additionally, this bill allows a security officer to be assigned a firearm by the PPO and for a firearm custodian to be designated by the PPO. Previous practices and statutes authorized the purchase, registration, and ownership of firearms by an individual, but not by a business entity. AB 2220 authorized business ownership and registration of firearms in the case of PPOs who are actively providing armed private contract security services. A PPO may assign firearms it owns to employees who are licensed to carry firearms by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.

As a result of AB 2220, a problem presented itself because the current Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) Entry System (DES) is not capable of recognizing a business as a firearm purchaser or owner. The Department of Justice intends to modify the DES and Automated Firearm System (AFS) to allow a PPO to be listed as the purchaser and registered owner of a firearm. Additionally, the DOJ intends to create a process for PPOs to submit a Certificate of Assignment to identify the employee of the PPO in AFS who has been assigned a firearm owned by the PPO. These changes are anticipated to be completed by July 1, 2019.

Those intentions were stated in the bulletin to law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, the bulletin cautioned that law enforcement personnel may continue to encounter armed security officers who have the requisite permits and qualifications to carry a firearm in the course of their duties, but who are not actually the registered owners of the firearm. Law enforcement agencies are advised that an assignment of a firearm to an eligible and licensed security officer by a PPO is not a violation of Penal Code 27545.

A link to the bulletin is included below. If your company employs armed officers, we recommend that they carry a hard copy of the bulletin on their person while on duty.

The dissemination of this bulletin is a victory in a hard-fought battle and we are sure will provide reassurance to members who employ armed officers. CALSAGA appreciates the opportunity to continue representing you and the needs of your business. Thank you for your continued membership and support.

Department of Justice Information Bulletin Regarding AB2220

If you still haven’t registered for Security University, what are you waiting for?

This two-day training will be valuable for all security professionals regardless of length of time in the industry.

Day 1 topics include: BSIS Compliance and Audit, How to build a BSIS compliant Employee File, Training Certificates, Insurance, Safety and Compliance, Pricing and Transitioning New Business, P and L Management and Client Rate Increases

Day 2 topics include: Recruitment and Hiring, Best Employee Practices, Staffing and Termination, Legal Pitfalls, Contracts, Indemnification and Contractual Deal Breakers

Security University is sponsored by TrackTik
Serving over 450+ clients worldwide in 35 countries and 6 continents, TrackTik helps secure more than 210,000 facilities and is used by over 200,000 users. The firm is renowned for its commitment to its clients and continuous product development. To learn more about TrackTik and how it can help your security operations, visit: https://www.tracktik.com/

Click Here for More Information about Security University

Register Now for Security University

Sacramento Security University tickets will be available until Monday, February 18th at 5:00pm.

Tickets and full details for the Southern California Security University will be available March 1st.

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Schedule and tickets for the Annual Conference are now available!

Visit the CALSAGA Annual Conference & Exhibits page for complete details.

The 2019 first quarter edition of The Californian: The Quarterly Newsletter of CALSAGA is now available!

Click here to read The Californian.

Have you made plans to attend Security University?

Click Here for More Info

Register Now

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Mark your calendar now for the 2019 CALSAGA Annual Conference!

Conference schedule to be released soon.

Happy New Year!
We hope that your 2019 is off to a great start.

Did you resolve to pursue professional development opportunities this year
or do you just need to ensure that your company is in compliance with the law?

Either way, we’ve got you covered with our upcoming training events!

Click Here for More Info

Register Now

Click Here for More Info

It has been a great year for the association. We appreciate the continued opportunity to serve our members!

As an association we strive to keep you up-to-date on relevant information for your business. 
Here are some important articles for your business that you may have missed.

Are you Prepared for the New Sexual Harassment Prevention Laws?

Rounding Hours Worked – There is a Better Way

Refreshed CALSAGA Training Materials are Now Available

Announcement of 2019-2020 CALSAGA Board of Directors and Annual Conference Recap

Creating an Emergency Action Plan Before Disaster Strikes

As an association we strive to keep you up-to-date on relevant information for your business. Please review the following important information below from CALSAGA Network Partner Bradley & Gmelich.

ROUNDING HOURS WORKED IN CALIFORNIA

by Jaimee K. Wellerstein, Esp.

Arin Norijanian, Esq.

California employers are required to pay their non-exempt (hourly) employees for all hours worked.  They must also keep accurate wage statements and time records that correctly state the total hours worked by the employee. To comply with California’s timekeeping laws, many employers round employees’ clock-in and clock-out times to the closest quarter hour, tenth of an hour, or other interval. In the past, these “rounding” policies invited numerous lawsuits where employees claimed, often successfully, that they were not paid for all time worked.

On June 25, 2018, California’s Second District Court of Appeal upheld an employer’s rounding policy and practice in AHMC Healthcare, Inc. v. Superior Court. In doing so, the Court affirmed the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ prior ruling, and expanded upon the criteria used to determine whether a rounding policy is neutral in practice, and thus lawful.

In AHMC Healthcare, the Court determined that the employer’s rounding policy was lawful. With regard to the policy, all employee time punches were rounded to the nearest quarter-hour, regardless of whether the employer benefited or not. The Court also noted that the rounding was neutral in practice, as evidenced by the results in a statistical study. Although some employees were undercompensated, most employees (approximately 52%) were overcompensated. The Court thus found that the rounding system “did not systematically undercompensate employees over time.”

Employer takeaway:

The good news for California employers is that rounding is lawful in California if the employer’s rounding policy is neutral on its face and in practice,  not resulting in an overall loss of pay for the employees.

The bad news is that although rounding is lawful, rounding policies may always invite legal challenges in California. Without careful analysis of the company’s rounding policy and practice, and whether it results in overall undercompensation or overcompensation to employees, rounding policies could still result in liability to employers.

The safest thing to do is to pay based upon actual time worked by the employee.  Employers will never be penalized or face a potential lawsuit for undercompensation claims for rounding.

Nevertheless, when utilizing a rounding policy, the best practice is to regularly review the Company’s policy and practice, and the impact on the employees to ensure the policy is neutral on its face, and the practice does not result in overall under compensation of employees.

Please contact Bradley & Gmelich LLP if you have any questions.

Jaimee K. Wellerstein is an experienced litigator with a broad spectrum of experience upon which to draw.  As the head of the firm’s employment team, she concentrates her practice in representing employers in all aspects of employment law, including defense of wage and hour class actions, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wrongful discharge lawsuits.  She also provides employment counseling and training in all of these areas. Ms. Wellerstein routinely represents employers in federal and state courts and in arbitration proceedings throughout the state, as well as at administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, the United States Department of Labor, and other federal and state agencies.

As a civil litigator, Ms. Wellerstein has represented clients from Fortune 500 companies to governmental agencies to small businesses throughout each stage of litigation. In addition to her employment law experience, she has honed her expertise in cases involving general tort litigation, premises and products liability, security guard litigation, public entity work, and contract disputes.

 

 

Arin Norijanian has successfully represented employers in lawsuits involving sexual and racial harassment, disability discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination in both California and federal courts and in private arbitration. His clients have benefited from his significant knowledge of the wage and hour laws in California, and his experience in defending these types of cases, including his excellent work on numerous and varied wage and hour class actions over the last several years.

Mr. Norijanian enjoys an excellent reputation as an employment litigator and a sound and prudent legal advisor in workplace labor matters. His experience in the employment arena includes conducting internal investigations, negotiating with labor bargaining units, and conducting training sessions for human resources personnel. Additionally, he provides advice and counsel to employers on various employment-related issues, including workplace investigations, disciplinary matters, leaves of absence, severance agreements, and review of policies.

As an association we strive to keep you up-to-date on relevant information for your business. Please review the following important information below from CALSAGA Network Partner Anne Laguzza of The Works Consulting.

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Be Prepared for the New Sexual Harassment Prevention Laws
It’s time to expand sexual harassment prevention training for all California employers. Effective January 1, 2019 SB1343 requires all employers with 5 or more employees to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees. The deadline for compliance with the initial training requirement is January 1, 2020.

While providing some type of training to all employees has always been recommended as a “best practice” – it will now be a requirement. Prior to this change, only employers with 50 or more employees had a requirement to train supervisory employees.
Under the new law employers must provide:
Supervisory employees with 2 hours of training every 2 years
Nonsupervisory employees with 1 hour of training every 2 years
Both supervisory and nonsupervisory employees must be trained within 6 months of hire (or promotion in the case of a supervisor).

Beginning January 1, 2020, seasonal and temporary employees, or any employee that is hired to work for less than 6 months must receive sexual harassment prevention training within 30 days of hire or within 100 hours worked, whichever occurs first.  If the temporary employee is employed by a temporary services employer, the temporary services employer is responsible for the training, not the client.

As required under existing law, the training must be interactive, include information on state and federal laws, provide practical examples for supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, provide clear guidance on reporting concerns and prohibited retaliation and it must include a component on the prevention of abusive conduct in the workplace as well as information on harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. The training must be provided by facilitators who have knowledge and expertise in harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

Employers should create their training plan now to meet the 2020 deadline.  Employers can choose the method of training that best suits their workplace such as large workshops, small round table sessions or webinars. The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is required to provide training materials as part of this new law and employers may want to evaluate those resources, including online training courses available to employers in English and several other languages.  An updated poster and fact sheet will also be available from the DFEH to all employers.

Beyond the training, find ways to reinforce the laws in your workplace through well-written policies, ongoing communication with your teams and taking action when a complaint is received.

Anne L. Laguzza, M.A.
Chief Executive Officer
The Works Consulting
www.theworksconsulting.com

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Read more from The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing: Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention Training Information for Employers