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In This Issue:

PARMA Member Spot Light

Ask Larry & Drawing Opportunity

PARMA Call for Board Nominatings

Apply for the Susan Eldridge PARMA Conference Scholarship

Upcoming Events

PARMA Member Spot Light - Kelsey Harper

Kelsey Harper, ARM

Risk Analyst

County of Ventura

Tell me about how you became a risk manager?



While in college, I began working part-time for the City of Santa Clarita. After receiving my degree, I promoted within the organization, eventually landing in the City Clerk’s Office performing support for City Council meetings and public records requests. At the time, Risk Management was located in the same part of the building and our teams worked together on various matters. As I learned more about their work, I developed a passion for the Risk Management field (finally my natural ability to identify worst-case scenarios would pay off!) and took every opportunity I could to partner with them. Eventually I joined the Risk team as a Risk Technician, and became responsible for employee safety, incident prevention, contract administration, the insurance program, and claim/litigation support for our City Attorney’s Office and TPA. My passion for the field continued to grow,

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Ask Larry

Question: For local and state agencies, is off duty marijuana use allowed if your agency receives federal funding? 

 

Great question! To add some context to this question, I think we should go back to November 8, 2016, the date when Proposition 64 – the Adult Use of Marijuana Act – passed by a 57% to 43% vote, legalizing the use, sale, and cultivation of recreational cannabis in California for adults 21 and over. Although this now legalized cannabis use in the state of California, we should remember that it is still illegal at the federal level. 

 

With that said...The passage of new legislation of AB 2188, which went into effect on January 1, 2024, made it unlawful for employers to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon the following: 


  • A person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace.  
  • An employer-required drug screening test has found the person to have non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids. 


Be aware that there are some exceptions within this new legislation as it pertains to testing and exemptions with respect to certain applicants and employee types.  

 

In summary, this new legislation does not permit a person to possess, be impaired by, or use cannabis on the job. As such, covered employers may continue to enforce any policies they have prohibiting persons from possessing, being impaired by, or using cannabis while working. However, Due to varying legal interpretations as to whether government agencies are exempt if they receive federal funding, I highly recommend consulting with your legal counsel on advice in this matter.  

 

Congratulations Jeremy Harman, Ventura County Fire Department on your question being selected for this issue of our newsletter! We hope you enjoy your $50 gift certificate. Thanks again for asking Larry!  


PARMA is Accepting Nominations for its Board of Directors

If you are interested in volunteering, the PARMA Board Nominations are open. Any primary contact of a public-entity PARMA member who is currently employed or is a lifetime member is eligible for nomination as a PARMA Director.

 

Nominations received by or before the Nomination Deadline - All Applications for Nomination received by the filing deadline of close of business December 2, 2024, will be reviewed by the Nominating Committee for compliance with the selection criteria.

 

An "Board of Directors Nomination Form" is available on the PARMA website. By hitting submit on this online form your completed application will be submitted to the Executive Director and directed to the Nominating Committee. Please be sure to review the candidate criteria closely and that you meet that criterion before submitting your application.

 

Eligibility Requirements

 

Only an individual permanently and directly employed by a Public Entity Member or a Life Member of PARMA are eligible to serve as a director.  A Life Member who becomes employed by or contracted by an associate or prospective associate member will not be eligible to hold office.

 

A qualified candidate has served as either a chapter director or chapter officer for a minimum of two (2) consecutive years. If there is a limited pool of qualified candidates, the Nominating Committee may consider individuals who’ve demonstrated prior experience serving in a board position for another risk management association.

 

The Nominating Committee will consider geographic and/or chapter diversity as well as employment of candidates. Consideration will be given to limiting the number of individuals from the same chapter or same Public Entity to no more than two (2). Exceptions will be considered when there is a limited pool of qualified candidates.

 

Nomination Criteria

 

The following, non-exclusive, factors will be considered by the Nomination Committee in determining the qualifications of the candidates:

 

  • length of employment in the risk management field;
  • candidate's statement of goals and objectives as a PARMA director (supporting PARMA's goals and objectives);
  • ability to devote necessary time and energy to duties of a director; and,
  • employer’s support of candidate's time dedicated to PARMA activities.

 

Questions?

Please direct questions to Executive Director, Gloria Peterson at 1-844-GO-PARMA (1-844-467-2762) x104 or by e-mail at ed@parma.com.

 

The Nomination Committee will recommend the most highly qualified candidates to the PARMA Board of Directors and the membership at the annual conference in February 2025. The election of directors will follow the Nomination Committee report.

Apply Now

Susan Eldridge PARMA Conference Scholarship

Deadline: October 11, 2024

PARMA’s vision is to assist Public Entity Risk Managers in achieving success in their careers and to provide Public Entities with the support they need to make their Risk Managers successful. PARMA has designed a conference to provide quality education and training in all the aspects of risk management. To help assist in funding, PARMA offers scholarships for the conference from both PARMA as an association and through its chapters.

 

The Susan Eldridge PARMA Conference Scholarship is for eligible public entity employees. The scholarship includes the following:

 

  • Conference registration;
  • Hotel accommodations, at the lowest priced option for Conference Host Hotel, for a maximum of three-room nights;
  • Round trip travel the IRS mileage rate and/or airfare, not to exceed $600. PARMA will consider written requests in which extenuating circumstances are presented that would justify travel expenses to exceed the maximum dollar limit. Such requests should be addressed to the PARMA Treasurer.
  • Conference Registration and hotel will be paid directly by PARMA.

 

The scholarship application deadline is Friday, October 11.

Apply for a Scholarship

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