Welcome to the March 27-31 edition of the NFIB California Main Street Minute from your NFIB small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

• NFIB members need no education on what the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) has done to them or threatens to do to them.

• “California’s small businesses and workers are being taken advantage of by shakedown lawsuits under PAGA, with lawyers taking billions and workers waiting years to have their claims resolved. Lawyers are the big winners in these lawsuits, walking away with millions and leaving employees with pennies on the dollar. Nonprofits and small, family-run businesses are easy targets for predatory lawsuits based on minor technical violations of the 800+ page labor code.”

• The above words are from the website of Stop the Shakedowns, Californians for Fair Pay and Employer Accountability, a coalition NFIB California is now part of.

• When asked on their 2018 State Ballot if PAGA should be reformed to reduce the financial incentives for attorneys to sue businesses for California Labor Code violations, 86% of NFIB members voted ‘Yes.’ Two years later, on their 2020 State Ballot, 75% said the state should make further PAGA reforms.

• “California has consistently been rated one of the worst states in the country for businesses,” said John Kabateck, NFIB California State Director, in a December 9, 2022, news release announcing the NFIB Legal Center’s filing of an amicus brief in the case of Erik Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc., which is before the Supreme Court of California. “Litigation abuse, particularly related to the state’s labor code, is one of the main reasons businesses choose to leave California. This case is an opportunity for the Court to aid both small businesses and employees by welcoming alternatives to litigation in settling disputes.”

• Click here for latest additions to the 10 bills NFIB is supporting and 11 it’s fighting against.

• NFIB California’s annual Small Business Day at the Capitol will be a virtual event this year on April 19. Speakers include:

o California State Treasurer Fiona Ma o Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher o Sen. Roger Niello

• Some of the issues to be discussed include retail theft, frivolous lawsuits, minimum wage, and the California Air Resources Board’s sweeping energy mandates. Circle the date and join us. For more information, email Grassroots Manager Taylor Criddle at taylor.criddle@nfib.org.

• From time to time, NFIB will post a Member Profile on its webpage. Click here to meet Craig Cooper of Menifee Bicycles in Menifee, Riverside County. To learn more about Member Profiles, send an email to Grassroots Manager Taylor Criddle at taylor.criddle@nfib.org.

• “Around a quarter of Gen Alpha children [born after 2010] live in households with a VR headset, and among this group, 17% reportedly spend more than seven hours a day in virtual reality. — Morning Consult

• On March 23, NFIB Federal Government Relations released How Congress Voted, the final vote report for the 117th Congress. This report shows how members of Congress voted on issues important to NFIB members.

• On March 23, NFIB released a new survey assessing small businesses and health insurance. The data shows that small businesses are facing a substantial affordability crisis in providing health insurance for their employees. Read the press release here.