Employment, investment and office constructions are in fluctuation in LA.  Here we look at three new such developments connected to Homeland Security, Lyft and Toolbox LA

In an attempt to bolster hiring operations and diminish unauthorized employment, Homeland Security Investigations program has hired DFS Group and Contemporary Services Corporation.  Undocumented workers are problematic for the vulnerabilities they result in with the marketplace today.  False documentation is used to get benefits not due to them and even steal the identifies of legal US workers.  To combat this, ICE initiated the IMAGE program in 2006.

DFS has signed the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers program.  The idea would be to divulge any vulnerabilities that unauthorized workers could exploit; join employment eligibility verification program E-verify; training staff on IMAGE Best Employment Practices and take on an ICE Form I-9 audit. According to Human Resource Director of Corporate Compliance at CSC Jim Lenoue:

“The IMAGE Program squarely hits on what our company is about. As a company that provides security services at major gatherings, our customers place their trust on our team and our services. Being an IMAGE partner promotes our company’s reputation and its resolve to maintain integrity in our hiring practices.”

The fact that CSC and DFS have committed to IMAGE leads to the greater likelihood of creating and maintaining an “authorized workforce.”

Lyft is making investments in places such as LA.  A staggering $50 million is being infused into cities in which it operates and local transportation initiatives will be supported by this injection of money through the Bridge Home program (which works in conjunction with Greater LA YWCA, PATH and The People Concern).  Lyft City Works is the resulting program which is indicative of Lyft’s “long-term commitment” supporting cities with the best transport solutions.

While WeWork seems to be taking over everywhere, LA  has its own little gem.  Toolbox LA – in San Fernando Valley – is a co-working space with a difference.  Its “innovation hub includes coworking, shared desk space, dedicated desks, private offices, event space, a makerspace, hardware accelerator Make In LA, and biotech lab for startups Lab Launch.”  But it is more than that as it breeds on ecosystem operation with a goal of becoming a “comprehensive, self-sustaining community focused on high-concept hardware and software companies.”

So with the potential of LA moving into sustainability, creating  more authorized employment and making some serious investments in transportation systems, there is much positive change happening in the LA business world right now.