Parental leave expansion bill advances
A bill that would extend employees' rights to parental leave in the state of California passed through the California Assembly Labor and Employment Committee this week. The bill would mandate that employers with more than 20 workers provide up to 12 weeks paid parental leave. The current law states that employers of more than 50 employees must offer 12 weeks parental leave. [Biz Journals]
TaskUs launches new customer experience podcast
TaskUs co-founders Bryce Maddock and Jaspar Weir, who recently took home awards at EY's Entrepreneur of the Year gala, announced this week they will launch CXYZ, a new podcast to shape the conversation about the current landscape and future trends of the customer experience. [TaskUs]
Payscout launches VR payment experience with Visa
Van Nuys-based Payscout launched a virtual reality commerce application this week designed to enable frictionless payments in VR experiences powered by Visa Checkout. While users won't be able to watch their money fly out of their bank accounts in VR —which is probably a good thing — they will be able to purchase physical products within immersive experiences (but they'll have to pick up the items in the real world. [Press Release]
Sada Systems receives prestigious award
North Hollywood-based Sada Systems was named to Business Intelligence's "11 Companies That Treat Employees Best" list this week. The group sought to find companies that actively challenge their employees in environments that made work fun. [Business Intelligence]
Lottogopher adds Shark Tank's Kevin Harrington to its board
Lottogopher, an LA-based startup that allows users to buy lottery tickets online, added Shark Tank's original shark, Kevin Harrington, to its board of directors this week. Harrington, the mind behind the "As Seen On TV" empire said that he believes the lottery market is ripe for an update. [Lottogopher]
Fundings of the week
Wonder, $14 million
Investors: Grishin Robotics and TCL Communication Holdings Ltd., as well as Gerard Pique and Neymar Jr., Shakira, 8VC, Moonshots Capital and Cassius.
Stealthy gaming startup Wonder added $14 million in funding this week, as the startup gears up to release information about the company's mysterious mobile gaming hard ware device and platform. [Built In LA]
Images via social media and Shutterstock.
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