Bills Recently Signed by the Governor
AB 1311
(Cooper D) Temporary services employees: wages.
Summary: Current law generally requires that an employee of a temporary services employer, as defined, be paid weekly. Current law provides that a violation of these provisions is punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would, with certain exceptions, make the weekly pay requirement applicable to a security guard employed by a private patrol operator who is a temporary services employer, as provided.
AB 1684
(Stone, Mark D) Civil actions: human trafficking.
Summary: Current law authorizes the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute complaints alleging certain unlawful practices, as specified. This bill would further authorize
AB 2535
(Ridley-Thomas D) Employment: wages: itemized statements.
Summary: Current law requires an employer to provide his or her employee an accurate itemized statement in writing containing specified information, either semimonthly or at the time the employer pays the employee his or her wages. This bill would exempt from that requirement, for information on total hours worked, an employee exempt from payment of minimum wage and overtime under specified statutes, including the outside sales exemption, or applicable orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
Bills to Watch this Month
The California legislature has until August 31st to pass the following bills before the end of the 2015-2016 legislative session. For more information, please visit cela.org/legislation or email mariko@cela.org.
AB 1676 (Campos D) Wage discrimination.
This bill would specify that prior salary cannot, by itself, justify any disparity in compensation under the bona fide factor exception under the Equal Pay Act.
AB 1978 (Gonzalez) Janitorial Workers.
This bill would protect janitorial employees from wage theft and sexual harassment by requiring employers providing janitorial services to register with the DLSE, which requires the employer to: (1) provide specified information about the business and an oath that the employer shall follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws; (2) provide proof of workers’ compensation coverage; (3) post a bond if the employer is liable for any delinquent liabilities. The bill would also establish various civil penalties for non-compliance and allows the DLSE to issue a stop order against the business. The bill defines “covered employer” as any person or entity that employs at least one janitorial worker and that enters into contracts, subcontracts, or franchise agreements to provide janitorial services.
SB 1001 (Mitchell D) Unfair Immigration-Related Practices.
This bill would prohibit an employer or any other person or entity from attempting to reinvestigate or reverify an incumbent employee’s authorization to work using an unfair immigration-related practice, and prohibit an employer or any other person or entity from discriminating or directing another person to discriminate, against an applicant for employment or an employee with authorization to work based upon the specific status, or term of status, that accompanies the authorization to work. The bill would authorize an applicant for employment or an employee who is subject to an unfair immigration-related practice to bring a civil action for equitable relief and any applicable damages or penalties, and provide that, if he or she prevails in that action, he or she shall recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including any expert witness costs.
SB 1015 (Leyva D) Domestic work employees.
This bill would delete the sunset date on the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, which granted overtime compensation to domestic workers.
AB 1066 (Gonzalez) Agricultural workers: wages, hours, and working conditions.
This bill would remove the exemption for agricultural employees regarding hours, meal breaks, and other working conditions, and would create a schedule that would phase in overtime requirements for agricultural workers, as defined, over the course of 4 years, from 2019 to 2022.
SB 1063 (Hall D) Equal Pay Act: race or ethnicity.
This bill would expand the Equal Pay Act to also prohibit an employer from paying any of its employees at wage rates less than the rates paid to employees of another race or ethnicity for substantially similar work, as specified.
SB 1078 (Jackson) Arbitrator Ethics.
This bill would prohibit an arbitrator from entertaining or accepting any offers of employment as a dispute resolution neutral in another case involving a party or lawyer for a party in a pending arbitration unless all parties to the pending arbitration, including the lawyers in the arbitration, have conferred and agreed in writing, before any solicitation of the arbitrator, to allow offers of future employment as a dispute resolution neutral to be made to the arbitrator.
SB 1166 (Jackson D) Parental leave.
This bill would require an employer with 10 or more employees to allow an employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period, to take up to 12 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
SB 1241 (Wieckowski D) Choice of Law and Choice of Venue Clauses.
This bill would prohibit a seller or employer from requiring a consumer or employee, as a condition of entering into a contract, to agree to a provision that would require the consumer or employee to adjudicate outside of California or deprive the consumer or employee of the protection of California law with respect to a controversy arising in California.
For more information, please contact:
Mariko Yoshihara, Esq.
Legislative Counsel & Policy Director
California Employment Lawyers Association
mariko@cela.org | C: (916) 340-5084 | F: (916) 273-4946
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