Mariko Yoshihara, CELA Legislative Counsel & Policy Director

The Legislature’s policy committees held dozens of hearings this month to debate and discuss the myriad of bills that were introduced this year. CELA’s legislative committee has been working diligently to support, oppose, and propose amendments to several of the key labor and employment bills. Specifically, we worked with Legal Aid at Work and the California Work and Family Coalition to move SB 63, our co-sponsored bill to expand parental leave rights in California, through the Judiciary Committee and Labor Committee hearings. The bill will be voted on by a fiscal committee next month before moving to the floor for a full vote by the Senate.

We have also been working closely with allies to try and defeat legislation that would substantially weaken Labor Code enforcement under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”). Two of those bills, AB 1429 and AB 1430, we were able to successfully pull from consideration for this year. The third bill, AB 281, was significantly narrowed so that the proposed measure would only extend the time period for an employer to cure violations brought under Labor Code Section 2699.3(c). CELA will continue to oppose this legislation and try to prevent its passage when it is heard in the Assembly Labor Committee early next month. And just last week, along with our labor allies, we were also able to defeat legislation that would have given employers an affirmative defense for a violation of the Labor Code if the employer had relied on an opinion letter from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement at the time of the violation.

We are also supporting and helping craft several key bills to advance workers’ rights in California, including: AB 1209, which would require companies with 250 or more employees to publish their company’s gender pay differentials on their website; AB 569, which would strengthen protections for women who are discriminated against because of their reproductive health decisions; AB 1008, which would “ban the box” on employment applications and limit inquiries into conviction histories; AB 450, which would help protect immigrant employees during federal immigration raids; and AB 263, which would prescribe meal and rest break rights for emergency medical workers.

For a full list of bills we are tracking, visit our Legislative Advocacy page or email mariko@cela.org.