By Sydney Dalske
The upcoming New Year will bring several new laws into effect. Among dozens of new jobs, there are three that I will mention that may impact your daily life.
One law taking effect on January 1st requires big box stores that sell toys to maintain a gender-neutral toy selection area. South Bay Legislator Evan Low, the bill’s author, says that this is in order to get rid of stereotypes that enforce what kinds of toys that each gender should play with.
California has become the first state to fully require this in all their stores, but many retailers have already begun to do it. Back in 2015, Target stopped using some of the gender-based signs in their stores that directed certain genders to certain areas. Some consumers believe that this will better compare the pricing of toys because girl toys are sometimes priced higher than boys’. This is known as the pink tax and this new law will hopefully hinder that.
Another law soon to take effect is focused on rules of the road. There will be a recently approved speed camera program implemented in a handful of cities including San francisco, Oakland, and San Jose.
They will be placed in 33 school zones and especially accident prone areas. This means that if the camera catches you speeding, it can automatically send you a ticket for it. Fines can range up to $500.
“We had 65 deaths of pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers this last year. We’ve got to do better,” says Matt Mahan, Mayor of San Jose. In this city, the cameras will be installed in the summertime and are expected to reduce accidents by 50%.
The third new law that I will discuss has to do with sick days from work. Employees of most companies are now going to be required to receive 3 days of paid sick leave by the 120th day on the job, and it increases to 5 days by the 200th day of employment.
Also relating to the workforce, California law will now prevent companies from firing any employees who consume cannabis when they are off the clock. This doesn’t apply to all trades though, such as construction or federal employees.
There are a multitude of other laws also being enacted in the new year, but these are just a few. We can expect to see a lot of changes in our daily lives in the state of California.
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