Mariko Yoshihara
On January 6th the state legislature kicked off the second year of its two-year legislative cycle. With the legislature back to business, state lawmakers will have until the end of January to pass any bill that stalled last year, and until February 21st to introduce new bills for this year. Our legislative committee has been hard at work, finalizing our legislative package to build upon our successes from last year.
Ken Wang, after completing his productive policy fellowship with CELA at the end of 2019, has now moved into an official role as CELA’s Policy Associate. We are so grateful to have his strong advocacy chops on our team! Please be sure to read his article below about all the new labor and employment bills taking effect this year.
As for legislation we are championing this year, already we have introduced one of our co-sponsored bills – a reintroduction of a bill vetoed last year, which would extend the filing deadline for administrative retaliation complaints and provide attorneys’ fees for whistleblowers under Labor Code Section 1102.5. In the next few weeks, as the February 21st deadline approaches, we will see hundreds of new bills introduced, including several of our own CELA-sponsored bills to advance and protect workers’ rights in California. Be sure to mark your calendar for CELA’s 14th Annual Lobby Day, Tuesday March 17th, when CELA members will converge on the state capitol to present and lobby on our sponsored legislation.
Also this month, Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled his $222.2 billion budget proposal, which included a $253-million increase in funding for the courts, to “address trial court operational costs, reduce inequities inherent in our system of fines and fees, enhance technology, and establish a new Court Navigators program to assist court users in understanding and following court processes.” The Governor’s budget also built upon his commitment to expanding access to California’s Paid Family Leave program, by proposing to extend job protection under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) to all workers in California. With this proposal, workers would no longer risk losing their job in order to take advantage of the Paid Family Leave wage-replacement benefit.
On labor law enforcement, the Governor’s budget included additional resources to enforce compliance with AB 5, the bill that codified the ABC Employment Test established by the California Supreme Court in Dynamex. The Department of Industrial Relations would receive an additional $17.5 million for increased utilization of the workers’ compensation program and investigations of labor law violations around AB 5; $3.4 million for the Employment Development Department to administer the ABC Employment Test, and conduct hearings and investigations on worker status; and $780,000 for the Department of Justice for increased enforcement actions involving misclassification of employees. The budget also proposes to consolidate workforce functions across the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and to create a new agency, the Department of Better Jobs and Higher Wages. The reorganization is intended to “better align data, policy, and program analysis of the state’s workforce training programs.”
Over the next few months, the legislature will hold hearings to analyze and propose revisions to this proposed budget. In May, the Governor will propose a revised budget based on the latest economic forecasts and in June the legislature approves the final budget for signature by the Governor.