This year there are numerous bills making their way through the state legislature that address difficulties in collecting wage theft judgments, the backlog at the Labor Commission, paid leave and human trafficking.
According to the California State Auditor’s report, between 2018 and 2023, the Labor Commission was successful in collecting the entire amount owed in just 12% of the cases that were referred to the state for enforcement.
SB 261 (Wahab), a bill sponsored by the Santa Clara County, would require the Labor Commission to post on its website the names of businesses that have not paid wage theft judgments. The bill also provides for up to three times the amount owed as a civil penalty if judgments aren’t paid in 180 days. The Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition has long advocated for a wall of shame.
AB 485 (Ortega), sponsored by the Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition, would deny a license from the state and renewal of a license from the state to businesses that don’t pay wage theft judgments. The bill is modeled on ordinances in Santa Clara County.
SB 355 (Perez) would revoke drivers’ licenses of company vehicles or individual’s vehicles if wage theft judgments are unpaid.
AB 1362 (Kalra) Preventing Trafficking by Regulating Foreign Labor Recruiters, would provide for registration and monitoring by the Labor Commission of foreign labor contractors of agricultural workers. If enacted, it would combat human trafficking and wage theft. Currently, only foreign labor contractors in nonagricultural industries must register. The Santa Clara County Wage Theft Coalition is a sponsor of this bill.
SB 578 (Smallwood-Cuevas) would require the Department of Industrial Relations to make permanent the California Worker Outreach Program that provides outreach and education to workers about their rights.
A proposed bill, AB 1234 (Ortega), addresses the backlog of cases at the Labor Commission and seeks to overhaul and streamline the Labor Commission’s wage claim adjudication process. Although state law requires the Labor Commission to issue a decision on a wage claim within 135 days after it is filed, the state audit report revealed that, as of the end of fiscal year 2022–23, the agency had taken a median of 854 days to issue decisions. The bill would revise and recast the Labor Commission’s process for investigating, holding a hearing, and making determinations in wage theft cases and would set timelines to speed up the wage adjudication process.
AB 1371 (Sharp-Collins) addresses health and safety issues. It would allow an employee to refuse to perform work if the task violates safety standards, or if the employee has a reasonable apprehension that the task would result in injury or illness to the employee or other employees.
Two proposed bills address eligibility for Paid Family Leave and pregnancy leave respectively. SB 590 (Durazo) would permit workers who take Family Medical Leave Act/California Family Rights Act (FMLA/CFRA) leave to care for a designated person who is like family to receive Paid Family Leave (PFL). Currently, these workers are eligible for job protected FMLA/CFRA leave if they meet the requirements but cannot receive Paid Family Leave.
AB 65 (Aguiar-Curry) would provide pregnancy leave for educators.
Another proposed bill aims at preventing human trafficking and forced labor in state government contractors and subcontractors’ supply chains. AB 381 (Stefani), the Human Trafficking Procurement Prevention Act, would mandate certification of compliance plans by government contractors and subcontractors and outline procedures for companies to follow if they identify trafficking or forced labor in their supply chain.
These bills, if enacted, would strengthen protections for workers in the State of California.
San José Spotlight columnist Ruth Silver Taube is supervising attorney of the Workers’ Rights Clinic at the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, supervising attorney of the Santa Clara County’s Office of Labor Standards Enforcement Legal Advice Line and a member of Santa Clara County’s Fair Workplace Collaborative. Her columns appear every second Thursday of the month. Contact her at [email protected].
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