This Week’s Newsom Executive Orders Include Juvenile Justice, EDD Call Center, Food Sector Sick Leave, Others
Governor Gavin Newsom this week issued a series of executive orders related to COVID-19. Below, these orders are detailed:
Juvenile Justice Discharge and Reentry
Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-49-20 calling for all Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) discharge and reentry hearings to be held via videoconference to minimize participants’ exposure to COVID-19. The order also shortens notification timeframes from 60 days to 30 days before holding a discharge hearing and allows for reentry consideration hearings to occur at the DJJ facility where youth are housed instead of transferring youth to a county jail.
EDD Call Center Hours
Executive Order N-50-20 was issued by Governor Newsom and directs the Economic Development Department (EDD) to launch a new call center on Monday that will operate seven days a week from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. The Unemployment Insurance Branch will also be upstaffed with 1,340 employees, including 740 EDD employees and 600 employees from across state government. The order also directs EDD to expedite access to the Work Share program to avert layoffs.
Food Sector Sick Leave
Executive Order N-51-20 was issued by Governor Newsom on Thursday to provide California workers in the food and agriculture sectors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic with two weeks of paid sick leave, filling a gap left by federal relief that provided similar paid leave benefits for employers with fewer than 500 workers. The order also provides health and safety standards to increase worker and customer protection by permitting workers at food facilities to wash their hands every 30 minutes, or as needed, to increase proper sanitation measures.
COVID-19 Response Efforts
Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-52-20 also on Thursday covering a variety of issues in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including adjusting admissions requirements for the California State University system and providing flexibility for 60 days on background checks for critical infrastructure sectors. Specifically, the CSU system will be able to waive hearing requirements to be able to make adjustments to admissions criteria for students applying this coming fall to enter as freshmen in the fall of 2021.
The order also allows the Department of Justice (DJJ) to develop procedures to perform name-based background checks to protect health and safety and avoid delays in processing employment for critical sectors, such as health care services and care and support for vulnerable populations. The order allows federal stimulus checks to flow directly to custodial parents owed back child support payments and will additionally allow for commercially licensed food trucks to temporarily operate in roadside rest areas for a period of 60 days to ensure essential infrastructure workers have access to food. CalTrans will be charged with developing and implementing a process to administer the temporary permits.