Legislative Update
By Mariko Yoshihara, CELA Legislative Counsel & Policy Director

CELA Introduces Bold Legislative Agenda for 2019

Mariko Yoshihara

Bolstered by the overwhelming success in the last election and the new progressive leadership under Governor Newsom, lawmakers and advocates are kicking off this new legislative session with a flurry of new (and renewed) bill proposals that address many of the issues our members care deeply about. Indeed, CELA is harnessing this incredible political momentum to push forward a bold legislative agenda that will expand the rights of workers in California and improve access to justice.

Last year’s wins for the #MeToo movement was not a passing trend. The appetite for change has only grown as Californians continue to clamor for better workplace rights.

Google’s missteps with secret settlements led to tech workers upending the company’s forced arbitration policy. The energy of #GoogleWalkout workers arguably has fed others to demand more advancements in employee protections.

To build on this progress, CELA will partner with key allies including the California Labor Federation, the Consumer Attorneys of California, Legal Aid at Work, Equal Rights Advocates, Center for Workers’ Rights, and the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation. Together we will fight forced arbitration, worker misclassification, and wage theft. We will work to strengthen our family leave laws, boost equal pay, and ban oppressive settlement terms.

Specifically, our legislative agenda this year will include:

  • Extending the filing deadline for harassment and discrimination claims under FEHA (AB 9, authored by Asm. Reyes, Friedman, and Waldron);
  • Banning “No Re-Hire” clauses that restrict employment opportunities for workers settling a sexual harassment or other employment dispute (AB 749, authored by Asm. Stone);
  • Allowing workers to recover penalties when they are not paid on time (AB 673, authored by Asm. Carrillo);
  • Establishing pay data reporting requirements to boost equal pay (SB 171, authored by Sen. Jackson);
  • Expanding the California Family Rights Act so that more workers can take Paid Family Leave without risking their job (SB 135, authored by Sen. Jackson);
  • Providing individuals who have been forced into arbitration with procedural options and remedies when the company refuses to pay the required arbitration fees (SB 707, authored by Sen. Wieckowski and Hertzberg)
  • Preserving the “ABC Test” for employment status established in the unanimous California Supreme Court decision, Dynamex v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal. 5th 903 (AB 5, authored by Asm. Gonzalez)

Be part of CELA’s legislative efforts by joining us on March 6th when our members will be lobbying lawmakers on these important measures. The deadline to register for Lobby Day is Friday, March 29th. Details and registration info are available at www.cela.org/lobbyday.