Business groups host talk on new wage laws

SCVEDC, Chamber of Commerce to discuss strategy, labor landscape, timelines for proprietors

The Santa Clarita Valley’s Chamber of Commerce and the SCV’s Economic Development Corp. are teaming up to inform businesses about new minimum wage-law updates next month.

The SCV EDC invited Poole & Shaffery partner Brian Koegle and Jeffrey Forrest, vice president of economic development for College of the Canyon, to look at both the legal and workforce implications of how the new wage levels can impact local employers.

“We’ve designed the forum to not only educate attendees about some of the how to navigate the real estate requirements of the changing minimum wage,” said Holly Schroeder, president and CEO of the SCVEDC, “but also to hear from fellow business executives on some of the strategies they’re using to navigate the new laws. It’s a chance for business owners and executives to talk to each other about their game plans.”

Generally, a business operating in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County would be expected to stay to the scale set by the county, and in city limits, the state’s minimum wage level would be applicable.

However, the minimum wage laws potentially provide a number of challenges for business owners, Schroeder said, because the state and the county have two different timelines for the implementation of the new wage mandates (Jan. 1 and July 1, respectively), and depending on where and how a business is operating, it could trigger one of the two different rates of pay for employers.

Forrest is expected to discuss, since business owners are now paying higher wages, some new ways employers will be able to maximize that investment, Schroeder said, noting that’s been an effort that COC has been working on, in terms of strengthening the local employment pool.

The forum is scheduled to take place at the College of the Canyons University Center, on Wednesday, Aug. 1