State of California
Department
of Industrial Relations
P. O. Box 420603
San Francisco, CA 94142
Sacramento - Office of the Director
916-324-4163
1999
LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
Stephen J. Smith
Director
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Wages, Hours, and Working Conditions
Number Author Number Subject
AB 109 Knox
99-164 Employment: Sick Leave
AB 302 Floyd
99-220 Public Works: Prevailing Wage
AB 470 Wildman
Vetoed Public Works: Design Build Contracts
AB 555 Reyes
99-556 Farm Labor Vehicles
AB 574 Hertzberg 99-972 Public
Contracts: Responsible Bidder
AB
1652 Steinberg Vetoed Labor: Violations
AB 1689 Floyd 99-692 Employment: Wage Claims
SB 172 Escutia
Vetoed Employees: Inspection of Personnel
Records
Number Author Number Subject
AB 224 Knox
99-270 Workers' Compensation: Peace Officers:
Disability
AB 279 Wayne 99-553 Workers'
Compensation: Failure to Pay Compensation
AB 435 Corbett 99-766 Workers'
Compensation: Medical Records: Disclosure
AB 539 Papan 99-595 Workers'
Compensation: Cancer
AB 775 Calderon 99-124 Workers'
Compensation: Medical Care
AB 1252 Wildman 99-977 Workers'
Compensation: Podiatrists
AB 1309 Scott
99-721 Workers' Compensation Insurance:
Self-Insurers
AB 1343 Floyd
Vetoed Workers' Compensation: Subsequent
Injury
AB 1387 Florez
99-970 Public Employee Disability Benefits
Number Author Number Subject
Occupational
Safety and Health
Number Author Number Subject
SB 508 Ortiz
Vetoed State Property: Safety & Health
Standards
Number Author Number Subject
AB 442 Cedillo
Vetoed State Funds Prohibited for Union
Discouragement
AB 921 Keeley
99-903 Apprenticeship Programs
AB 931 Calderon 99-781 Electricians:
Apprenticeship Standards
AB 1234 Shelley
99-393 State Bodies: Open meetings: Violations
SB 1065 Bowen
Vetoed Public Records: Electronic Format
Effective Date of Legislation is January 1,
2000
(Unless Otherwise Specified)
Wages, Hours and Working Conditions
Number Author Number Subject
While
this bill establishes a statutory framework for daily overtime compensation,
the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) is authorized to take further action in
several areas encompassed by this legislation.
Among its many provisions this bill:
1. Requires the payment of
daily overtime compensation at a rate of one and one half times the regular
rate of pay after eight hours of daily work and 40 hours of weekly work; at a
rate of twice the regular rate of pay after 12 hours of daily work and after
eight hours of work on the seventh day of any workweek.
2. Authorizes the IWC to
establish procedures for employee alternative workweek elections.
3. Nullifies alternative
workweek schedules adopted pursuant to five wage orders amended effective
January 1, 1998 (1 - Manufacturing industry; 4 - Professional, technical,
clerical, mechanical and similar occupations; 5 - Public housekeeping industry;
7 - Mercantile industry; 9 - Transportation industry) except as provided. Reinstates the above orders as established
in specified prior versions of those orders.
Those reinstated orders will remain in effect, pending action by the
IWC.
4. Permits employers in the
health care industry to retain until July 1, 2000, an alternative workweek
schedule with workdays up to 12 hours without overtime compensation, provided
such schedules were approved by employee elections pursuant to the provisions
of wage orders 4 or 5 that were in effect prior to 1998.
5. Provides that if an
employee is voluntarily working an alternative workweek schedule providing for
a regular schedule of not more than 10 hours work in a workday in effect on
July 1, 1999, an employee may continue to work such an alternative workweek
schedule without payment of daily overtime compensation if the employer
approves a written request of the employee to work that schedule.
6. Establishes that within
a workweek, an employee may, based on a specific written request, with the
consent of an employer, take time off for a personal obligation, and then make
up the lost time on other days within the same workweek without payment of
daily overtime compensation for the extra hours worked on the makeup day(s).
7. Authorizes the IWC to
adopt wage orders consistent with this bill without convening wage boards.
8. Authorizes the IWC to
exempt "administrative, executive, or professional employees" from
overtime pay requirements, provided that these employees meet specified wage
and duty requirements. Requires the IWC
to conduct a review of the duties that meet the test of this exemption.
9. Authorizes the IWC to
review, retain or eliminate any exemptions from any hours of work provisions in
a valid work order in effect prior to 1997.
10. Exempts from overtime pay
requirements employees who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement
which meets specified criteria.
11. Effective July 1, 2000,
sunsets specific statutory provisions governing wages, hours and working
conditions in the ski industry, commercial fishing industry, health care
industry, and for stable employees in the horseracing industry. Authorizes the IWC, prior to July 1, 2000,
to conduct a review, following which the IWC may adopt regulations regarding
overtime in these industries. Also
requires the IWC to review wage and hours issues with respect to licensed
pharmacists and outside salespersons.
12. Requires the IWC to study
the extent to which alternative workweeks are employed in California, the costs
and benefits of such workweeks to employees and employers and report the
results of the study to the Legislature not later than July 1, 2001.
AB 109 Knox 99-164 Employment: Sick Leave
This bill would require employers
who provide sick leave to allow employees to use accrued and available sick
leave in an amount not less than what would be accrued in six months of
employment to take care of an ill child, parent, or spouse and would bar
employers from taking discriminatory actions against employees who use or
attempt to use sick leave for this reason.
The bill prescribes specific remedies for employees who experience
discrimination in employment for this reason.
AB 302 Floyd 99-220 Public Works: Prevailing Wage
This bill adds local governmental
agencies within the requirement to pay prevailing wages on public works
projects for the removal of refuse from the construction site.
AB 555 Reyes 99-556 Farm Labor Vehicles
This bill requires the Labor
Commissioner to provide the California Highway Patrol (CHP) with a list of all
registered farm labor vehicles on a quarterly basis, extends the inspection
liability for farm labor vehicles to vehicle owners and farm labor contractors,
and increases fines for violations of inspection requirements for farm labor
vehicles. The bill also requires the
CHP, in cooperation with local farm bureaus, to educate farmers and farm labor
contractors regarding certification requirements. Finally, the bill provides that the willful violation of the
provisions relative to the operation of a vehicle that is operated as a farm
labor vehicle would be a misdemeanor.
This bill codifies existing
court language defining the term "responsible bidder" for the purposes of
specified provisions of the Public Contract Code. It authorizes, but does not mandate, a public entity to require
bidders on public works contracts to complete and submit a standardized
questionnaire and financial statement that would be used to rate all bidders by
objective criteria.
Among its provisions, this
bill requires the Department of Industrial Relations, in concert with other
agencies or interested parties, to develop and draft a model for a standardized
questionnaire that may be used by awarding agencies, and to develop guidelines
for rating bidders.
This bill requires the janitorial and building maintenance
industry to be included in the enforcement actions conducted under the Joint
Enforcement Strike Force (JESF) and the Targeted Industries Partnership Program
(TIPP) of the Department of Industrial Relations. This mandate will become effective for TIPP during fiscal year
1999-2000; and during the 2000-2001 fiscal year for JESF.
AB 633 Steinberg 99-554 Labor
Violations: Garment Manufacturing
This bill makes extensive changes
to the garment manufacturing laws and amends the manufacturer registration and
wage collection process. Among its many
provisions, the bill addresses several areas of concern as follows:
1. Joint Liability: Makes all manufacturers liable for the
guaranteed wages, including civil penalties, of the entity with whom they have
contracted to make garments. A wage
guarantee may be limited on a proportional share basis in cases where the work
of two or more persons is performed at the same worksite.
2. Right of Private Action: Establishes due process procedures for
filing wage and overtime claims, appeal actions, and court enforcement. Grants a right of private action to
employees to recover wages and overtime payments due from a manufacturer who
has contracted with an unregistered manufacturer.
3. Registration Fees: Increases the initial registration fee from
$150 to $250 and permits the Labor Commissioner to increase future fees,
including renewal fees, based on the manufacturer's annual volume, but not to
exceed $1,000 for contractors and $2,500 for all other applicants. Also increases the amount of special wage
account fees from $25 to $75 to make whole aggrieved employees.
4. Confiscation: Authorizes the Labor Commissioner to
confiscate garments from garment manufacturers if all wages due and owing have
not been paid to employees performing garment manufacturing during a period of
180 days prior to an investigation by DLSE.
5. Asset Lien: Provides that an employee shall have a lien upon the assets of
his or her employer for any sum for services performed in garment manufacturing
and that the lien shall have priority over most other claims.
6. Successor Employer: Provides that a successor employer engaged
in the business of garment manufacturing is liable for the unpaid wages of the
preceding employer if the successor meets any of the following criteria:
a. Uses
substantially the same facility or workforce to produce its products.
b. Shares
in ownership or control of the predecessor employer.
c. Has in its employ a manager that controlled
the wages, hours, and working conditions of the predecessor's employees.
d. Is an immediate family member of any person
that had financial or operational interest of the predecessor employer.
This bill regulates advance-fee
talent services, including the contents of contracts with artists, and the
posting of a surety bond. Among its
provisions, this bill:
1. Defines, among other things, the terms "advance fee" and
"advance-fee talent service."
2. Establishes requirements governing advance-fee talent services,
including the requirements that:
a. Agreements
between an artist and an advance-fee talent service be executed by written
contract.
b. Talent
services file a $10,000 bond or deposit with the Labor Commissioner.
3. Provides that violations of this act be classified as a
misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000 and/or a maximum of one
year in jail.
This bill would require the
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to review existing state and federal
restrictions on participation of minor volunteers in construction projects and
to report its findings to the Legislature by April 1, 2000.
AB 1395 Correa 99-302 Public Works: Prevailing Wages
This bill requires the Division of
Labor Standards Enforcement to protect the confidentiality of any employee who
reports a violation regarding public works projects.
AB 1689 Floyd 99-692 Employment: Wage Claims
This bill
amends Labor Code §96 to authorize the Labor Commissioner to accept claims for
lost wages resulting from the demotion, suspension, or discharge of an employee
for lawful conduct outside of working hours.
This bill establishes in the Labor
Code the method of determining prevailing wages on public works projects to be
based on a modal rate. The bill reverses the regulatory change
previously made to change the methodology from the modal rate to a modified
weighted average.
This bill allows victims of
domestic violence to take time off of work to appear in court to obtain a civil
restraining order or other legal protection necessary to ensure their health
and safety. It further prohibits discharge
or other discriminatory acts against an employee for such court related
activities and authorizes an employee to bring a civil suit against an employer
who commits such discriminatory acts.
It allows courts the discretion to award reasonable attorney's fees and
costs to employees who prevail in such cases.
This bill extends the sunset
provision of the multi-agency Joint Enforcement Strike Force on the Underground
Economy from January
1, 2000 to January 1, 2006.
This bill provides that a person
employed in the practice of pharmacy is not exempt from coverage under any
provision of the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, unless he or
she individually meets the criteria established for exemption as executive or
administrative employees.
Wages, Hours and Working Conditions - Vetoed
Number Author Subject
This bill would have authorized school districts to enter into
design-build contracts for projects funded under the state school facilities
funding program. Among its provisions,
the bill would have required the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in
cooperation with the Director of the Department of Industrial Relations, to
develop a standard questionnaire in order to pre-qualify design-build entities.
"I am supportive of the design-build process in
concept. However, I cannot support this
bill because it prohibits the withholding of retention proceeds by school
districts using design-build contracts necessary to protect taxpayers if the
contractor does not fulfill his responsibilities under the contract. This provision would put public funds at
risk, and for that reason I cannot support this bill."
This bill would have revised the
enforcement procedures of wage and hour laws before the Labor Commissioner and
the courts. Among its provisions, the
bill addressed the following issues:
1. Appeals. Required an employer who appeals a decision of the Labor
Commissioner to a court for review to post a surety bond or deposit in the
amount of the award with the court of jurisdiction. Upon completion of the appeal process, if the employer failed to
pay the amount due, an additional award would have been due the employee in the
amount of the award.
2. Wage Collection by Labor Commissioner. Required the Labor Commissioner, when acting
on behalf of a judgment creditor, to make reasonable collection efforts,
including the filing of liens on personal property.
3. Insufficient Funds: Waiting Time
Penalties. Applied to all employers
a provision of current law applying only to the building and construction
industry that imposes up to 30 days waiting time penalties where wages are paid
with a check for which payment is refused due to insufficient funds. Deleted the current provision that
the
penalties do not apply if the violation was unintentional. Granted an employee a right of private court
action to seek recovery of wages due.
4. Retention and Reporting of Payroll
Records. For employees working on a
piece rate, required that an employer retain records and report to the employee
the number of piecework units earned and the applicable piece rate. Established a civil penalty of $50 for an
initial violation and $100 for subsequent violations, and permitted an employee
to file a right of private action as an option to filing with the Labor
Commissioner.
5. Rest and Meal Periods. Provided that no employer shall require any
employee to work during any meal or rest period mandated by an applicable IWC
Order. Violators would have been
subject to a $50 civil penalty and an amount twice the hourly rate of pay, or
piece work pay, of the full meal or rest period. In addition to filing with the Labor Commissioner, the employee
would have had the option of filing a civil court action to enforce this
provision, and the award of attorney fees and costs.
6. Posting of Violation Notices. Required employers found in violation of
wage laws to post a workplace notice issued by the Labor Commissioner for not
less than 60 days, describing the nature of the violation and related
information. Failure to post a notice
subjects an employer to a $500 civil penalty for each instance of refusal.
Governor's Veto Message:
"This legislation, while laudable in its intent, duplicates
many existing enforcement efforts and contains excessive penalties.
Existing law already provides penalties against employers who
issue bad checks for payment of wages.
Additionally, requiring employers who engage in a pattern of violating
wage and hour laws to post a declaration that there will be no further
violations is unworkable and meaningless.
This legislation, as drafted, is overly broad."
SB 172 Escutia Employees:
Inspection of Personnel Records
This bill would have deleted current language in Labor Code
§1198.5 that exempts public employers from the requirement to permit employees
to inspect their personnel files. In
addition, this bill provided that employees would have suffered no loss of pay
for time taken away from work to conduct such inspections during usual business
hours. It further specified the
procedures whereby an employee may have requested correction and/or deletion of
material in the file that was, in the employee's belief, inaccurate,
irrelevant, untimely or incomplete.
Governor's Veto Message:
"The bill is flawed in several respects. First, it is vague and ambiguous. Currently, there are no established
requirements regarding the content of personnel files, nor is there even a
legal requirement for employers to maintain such files. So, it is unclear what exact files would
come within the purview of SB 172.
Second, assuming there is a
personnel file with negative material, this bill would allow removal of that
material after two years and places some burdens on the employer to purge files
after two years. This could make it
difficult to establish the existence of adequate cause for a disciplinary action
should it become necessary at a later date.
Third, allowing an employee
to inspect his or her file at any time during business hours, with no loss of
compensation, would be quite disruptive to the workplace environment. Employers should be allowed to establish
rules of access."
This
bill would have created a rebuttable presumption against an employer that an
employee's claim of hours worked is valid in an action for nonpayment of wages
if the employer has either failed to keep payroll records or to issue itemized
wage deduction statements as required by law.
The bill would also have required the Labor Commissioner to
convene a task force to determine if any public funds were expended for the
procurement or purchase of textiles or apparel used by state or local
government that were produced in sweatshops, as defined. The Labor Commissioner would have been
required to submit a report of findings to the Legislature by September 1, 2000,
and to make a preliminary report no later than May 1, 2000.
Governor's Veto Message:
"Existing law already provides a remedy for
those individuals who claim nonpayment of wages for hours worked. While it may improve the chances of an
employee winning a claim for unpaid wages, this bill could have a significant
adverse impact on small businesses that would not have the resources necessary
to legally rebut such a claim.
In addition, rather than issuing a report on the
possible expenditure of public funds in the procurement of unlawfully
manufactured textiles or apparel, the State can better protect employees by
increasing enforcement resources, and tightening licensing standards."
Workers' Compensation
Bill Chapter
Number Author Number Subject
This bill provides that peace
officers employed on a regular, full-time basis by Los Angeles County who are
injured on the job will be eligible to a leave of absence of up to one year
with full pay in lieu of workers' compensation temporary disability
payments.
AB 279 Wayne 99-553 Workers' Compensation: Failure
to Pay Compensation
This bill increases the penalties
for an employer who fails to provide workers' compensation insurance from a
misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in the county jail and/or a fine of
up to $1,000, to a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail
and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
AB 435 Corbett 99-766 Workers' Compensation: Medical
Records: Disclosure
This bill limits the existing
provision in the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act. It prohibits the disclosure of medical
information relative to a patient being infected with HIV without the prior
authorization of the patient unless the patient is an injured worker claiming
to have been infected with HIV through the course of employment. It further provides that an insurer shall not disclose to an employer,
any medical information about an employee who has filed a workers' compensation
claim, except if the diagnosis of the injury for which workers' compensation is
claimed would affect the employer's premium, or the medical information is
necessary for the employer to have in order for the employer to modify the
employee's work duties.
AB 539 Papan 99-595 Workers' Compensation: Cancer
This bill eliminates the
requirement to demonstrate a link between a carcinogen and the disabling cancer
for certain active firefighting members and peace officers before the cancer is
presumed to be a compensable industrial injury. It also includes leukemia within the definition of
"injury" presumed to be a compensable industrial injury developed or manifested
by this same specified employee classification, and
The bill provides that these
provisions are to be applied to claims for benefits filed or pending on or
after
January 1, 1997.
This bill requires that a workers'
compensation insurer, third party administrator or other entity that requires a
treating physician to obtain either utilization review or prior authorization
shall ensure the availability of those services from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
Pacific coast time of each normal business day.
It also provides that if a billing
or a portion of a billing for medical treatment by an employer or
employer-selected physician is contested, denied or considered incomplete, the
physician shall be notified within thirty days after receipt of the billing by
the employer. In the case of a report
that is considered incomplete, the notice that is to be sent to the physician
is to identify all the additional information required to make a decision on
the billing.
This bill expands the make-up of
the Industrial Medical Council to a total of 20 members by adding a doctor of
podiatric medicine appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, an acupuncturist
appointed by the Senate Rules Committee, and two additional doctors of medicine
appointed by the Governor.
In addition, the biennial renewal
fee for a certificate to practice podiatric medicine would be increased from
$800 to $900 effective January 1, 2002.
This bill allows self-insured
public employers to discharge workers' compensation obligations by purchasing a
special excess workers' compensation policy.
This bill, the Cliff Ojala Death
Benefits Act, provides that in the case of death of a health care worker (as
defined), or a public safety employee (as specified) from an HIV-related
disease, proceedings for collection of workers' compensation death benefits
must be initiated one year from the date of death, provided that:
1. The worker filed
a timely claim and the claim had not been finally determined to be
noncompensable.
2. The employer provided or had been ordered to provide
compensation or medical care for the injury
prior to
the date of death.
3. A report of the injury or exposure had been
made to the employer or to a governmental agency
authorized
to administer industrial injury claims within one year of the date of the
injury.
This bill reinstates the funding
mechanism for the Division of Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving
Fund.
Workers' Compensation - Vetoed
Number Author Subject
This bill would have required the
Worker's Compensation Appeals Board to commute attorney's fees from the end of
the payment process to the beginning of the process for awards in subsequent
injury cases issued on or after January 1, 2000.
Governor's Veto Message:
"This bill would result, in most cases, in the
attorney being paid long before the applicant ever received any funds. Thus, applicants who need the additional
compensation which has been awarded to them for their work related injury or
illness would have to wait until their attorney has been paid before receiving
their benefits. In some cases, where
the applicant dies before sufficient benefits accrue to allow for payment of an
attorney's fee, the applicant would receive no benefits while the attorney
would already have received his or her fee.
This bill
would have increased workers' compensation benefits and made changes in the
administration of the workers' compensation system.
Governor's veto message:
"SB 320, while seeking to
increase benefits for injured workers, fails to meet the test of
moderation. While I recognize that some
benefits for injured workers have fallen behind the cost of living in recent
years, SB 320 increases benefits far beyond what I believe California employers
can absorb without negatively impacting the economy."
This bill
would have modified the regulation of foster care group homes and established a
fraud investigation bureau. Among other
things, it would have required the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) to
provide information regarding group home licensees to assist auditors and
investigators in identifying fraud. The
information was to be limited to, and DWC was prohibited from providing more
than, the information specifically requested and associated with the alleged
fraud of the group home licensee.
Governor's Veto Message:
"While I am supportive of establishing and maintaining appropriate
oversight with respect to group home programs, this bill would require
significant additional resources to accommodate the increased workload
associated with the group home audit provisions. It is more appropriate to review these program changes and
associated costs as part of the annual budget process."
Occupational Safety and Health
Bill Chapter
Number Author Number Subject
1. Requires annual inspection by DOSH as specified
and a written declaration by a qualified inspector, who has been approved by
DIR, that a ride meets established safety standards.
2. Permits DOSH to fix and collect fees for the
actual cost of the program.
3. Requires ride owners to maintain liability
insurance, or the equivalent, as specified.
4. Requires permanent amusement ride operators
to ensure that employees are trained in the safe operation and maintenance of
rides, pursuant to specified standards.
5. Permits DOSH to shut down an unsafe ride
until the condition is corrected.
6. Requires the California Occupational Safety
and Health Standards Board to adopt rules and regulations for the safe
installation, repair, maintenance, use, operation, and inspection of permanent
amusement rides.
7. Requires the operator to keep specified
records regarding accidents which cause injury and specifies that if a fatality
or serious injury is caused by the failure, malfunction, or operation of an
amusement ride, the equipment or conditions that caused the accident shall be
preserved for the purpose of investigation by the division.
8. Requires operators to notify the state
immediately by telephone of any accident resulting in death or serious injury
to the patron. This notification will
trigger an investigation by DOSH.
9. Provides for fines and penalties for
violations.
10. Specifies that the provisions related to annual
inspections do not apply to permanent amusement rides that are located within a
county or other political subdivision of the state that, as of April 1, 1998,
has adopted the provision of the 1994 Uniform Building Code providing for the
routine inspection of such rides.
This bill provides omnibus reform
of the Cal-OSHA program relating to civil and criminal penalties and
enforcement procedures. The purpose of
this bill is to increase the civil and criminal penalties for violations of
statutes and regulations regarding worker safety and makes related changes to
Labor Code provisions regarding worker health and safety. Among its many provisions, the bill:
1. Extends the time
period for filing discrimination complaints to the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement from 30 days to six months following the occurrence of the
violation.
2. Makes statutes
and regulations enforceable by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health
(DOSH) admissible in personal injury and wrongful death actions so that
litigants in these actions could use these provisions as standards for
determining negligence.
3. Expands the
circumstances under which DOSH is subject to existing statutory deadlines to
investigate complaints of unsafe working conditions, and requires DOSH to
prioritize its responses to complaints so that it responds first to complaints
for which time is of the essence.
4. Codifies current
regulations allowing DOSH to cite multiple employers at unsafe worksites, where
multiple employers were responsible for the unsafe conditions.
5. Increases the
criminal penalties for some misdemeanor violations of occupational safety and
health standards to one year with a maximum fine of $15,000, unless the
defendant is a corporation or limited liability company, in which case the
maximum fine would be $150,000.00.
6. Classifies as a
"public offense" any willful occupational safety and health violation
causing death or prolonged impairment, and increases the criminal sanctions for
these crimes as follows:
a. For a first offense
the term of imprisonment is increased from a maximum of six months to a maximum
of three years. The fine is increased
from a maximum of $70,000 to a maximum of $250,000 if the defendant is a
person, and to a maximum of 1,500,000 if the defendant is a corporation or
limited liability company.
b. Defines a new penalty
for a violation of Labor Code §6425 occurring within seven years of an earlier
violation of Labor Code §6423. This
penalty consists of a term of imprisonment of up to three years or a fine up to
an $250,000, or both. If the defendant
is a corporation or limited liability company the penalty will be a fine in the
range of $500,000 to $2,500,000.
c. Defines a penalty for
a second violation of Labor Code §6425 coming within seven years of the first
violation. This penalty will be a
prison term of up to four years and a fine of up to $250,000, or both. If the defendant is a corporation or limited
liability company the fine would be in the range of $1,000,000 to $3,500,000.
Note: The bill also
provides that the definition of "willful" as applied to occupational safety and
health crimes would be the same as the definition used in the Penal Code.
7. Increases the
maximum civil penalty for serious violations from $7,000 to $25,000.
8. Lengthens the
period during which DOSH must preserve records of its investigations and
citations from three to seven years.
9. Increases from
$7,000 per day to $15,000 per day the maximum penalty assessable for a
failure-to-abate violation; and imposes criminal sanctions for filing a false
report of abatement, in the form of imprisonment in a county jail for a term of
up to one year and a fine of up to $30,000, or both, and for a corporation or
limited liability company, a fine of up to $300,000.
10. Redefines what constitutes
a serious violation in a manner that would significantly expand the types of
violations classifiable as serious, and in so doing, increases the amounts of
penalties assessable for such violations.
This bill requires the
Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to report to the Legislature by
April 1, 2000, on the nature and extent of investigations conducted by the
Board pursuant to the procedure for granting a variance from a safety and
health standard or order. The bill
deletes the January 1, 2000 sunset date of the authorization to levy and
collect assessments from employers for the Cal-OSHA Targeted Inspection and
Consultation Fund.
Occupational Safety and Health - Vetoed
Bill
Number Author Subject
SB 508 Ortiz State
Property: Safety & Health Standards
This bill would have required the Occupational Safety and Health
Standards Board to adopt a standard to protect community health care workers from
violence while performing their duties.
Governor's Veto
Message:
"Available data
on violence against health care workers relate to those workers in hospitals
and psychiatric facilities. There is no
direct evidence that violence against home health care workers is on the
rise. Additionally, this bill would
potentially increase costs to employers and be duplicative of the existing
requirements for the development of injury and illness preventive programs under
existing law."
Bill Chapter
Number Author Number Subject
This bill authorizes Material Safety Data Sheets
(MSDS) preparers to submit MSDSs to the Department of Industrial Relations
(DIR) electronically and would require DIR to implement an enabling system for
such filing by January 1, 2002. It also
requires DIR to evaluate the use and effectiveness of the electronic format on
the preparers of the MSDS and the affected employers and employees.
AB 921 Keeley 99-903 Apprenticeship Programs
This bill changes the composition
of the California Apprenticeship Council, revises related apprenticeship
standards for apprentices and programs, and requires periodic audits of
existing programs. Among its provisions
this bill:
1. Clarifies existing law concerning employment of apprentices on
public works, and adds a provision allowing public agencies to request
information from contractors about the expected and actual employment of
apprentices on public works projects.
The bill also adds a provision for grants to apprenticeship programs for
training from monies collected by the California Apprenticeship Council (CAC).
2. Increases the
penalty from $50 to $100 per day for noncompliance with requirements concerning
apprenticeship on public works; adds a $300 per day penalty for repeat
violations within three years; adds a debarment process; provides that where a
subcontractor violates these provisions, a general contractor is not liable for
the subcontractor's actions unless the general had knowledge of the violations,
or failed for follow certain requirements.
The debarment or civil penalties are reviewed by the Director of the
Department of Industrial Relations, with a subsequent review by Superior Court,
eliminating the current review by the CAC after the Director's decision.
3. Changes the make
up of the CAC slightly by requiring that employee representatives on the CAC be
from organizations that sponsor apprenticeship programs.
4. Provides that the
Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall audit all apprenticeship programs
during each five-year period commencing January 1, 2000, to ensure compliance
with state apprenticeship standards, including affirmative action
programs. Failure to correct audit
deficiencies within a reasonable time shall be grounds for withdrawing state
approval.
5. Provides that
except in certain circumstances in the building trades a new program cannot be
approved where there is an existing program.
6. Requires
meaningful representation of apprentices in the management of apprenticeship
programs.
7. Requires that
apprentices only be employed as apprentices by employers who are party to the
apprentice agreement.
AB 931 Calderon 99-781 Electricians:
Apprenticeship Standards
This bill requires the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) by January 1, 2001, to establish and validate
minimum standards for the competency and training of electricians through a
system of testing and certification, regardless of union or non-union
affiliation, and to establish the necessary fees for the program. It also requires DAS to appoint an advisory
committee by March 1, 2000, including union and non-union contractors, to serve
to establish and implement these standards and fees .
AB 1234 Shelley 99-393 State Bodies: Open meetings:
Violations
This
bill requires all state bodies to post notices of meetings, and minutes of
emergency meetings, on the Internet.
The provisions of this bill would not be implemented until July 1, 2001,
unless otherwise authorized by the Department of Information Technology.
Bill
Number Author Subject
AB 442 Cedillo State
Funds Prohibited for Union Discouragement
This bill would have prohibited
the use of state funds by an employer to discourage unionization by the
employer or any other employees. It
would also have required the adoption of regulations to implement these
provisions and to respond to complaints by auditing to see if a violation had
occurred. Violators would be
subject to civil damages and
taxpayers would be authorized to bring action against employers, with the
taxpayers being eligible to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs as
part of the judgement.
Governor's
Veto Message:
"This legislation has the potential to impose an
unreasonable burden on businesses in that they would have to maintain
minutely-detailed records to track good, services and funds received from the
State in order to avoid violating the provisions contained therein. In addition, in the absence of a verified
complaint, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to determine the
accuracy and truthfulness of any report or fund utilization submitted by an
employer.
Finally, AB 442 also has the potential to
significantly increase employers' litigation costs by providing countless
opportunities for disgruntled employees to file civil actions merely in an
effort to harass employers."
SB
1065 Bowen Vetoed Public Records: Electronic Format
This bill would have specifically required all state agencies that
have public information in an electronic format to:
1. Make
that information available in electronic format, if requested by the public.
2. Make
the information available in the electronic format in which it holds the
information, when applicable.
3. Provide
the copy in the electronic format requested by the public if it is a format
that was used by the agency in the past.
The bill also provided that if the report has
been deleted or was no longer available, the agency would not have been
required to reconstruct it in an electronic format.
Governor's Veto
Message:
"As such, this bill does not keep faith with previous
legislation I have signed to protect the confidentiality of citizens whose
personal information is maintained by state departments including the
Employment Development Department, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the
Department of Health Services, and the California Highway Patrol.
I believe the State's information technology resources
should be directed towards making sure that its computer systems are year 2000
compliant. The author was unwilling to
add language which would ensure the completion of this task before the
implementation of the provisions of this bill."
INDEX
Assembly Bills
Bill Chapter
Number Author Number Subject
AB
109 Knox 99-164 Employment: Sick Leave
AB
302 Floyd 99-220 Public Works: Prevailing Wage
AB 435
Corbett 99-766 Workers' Compensation: Medical Records, Disclosure
AB 442
Cedillo Vetoed State Funds Prohibited for Union Discouragement
AB 470
Wildman Vetoed Public Works: Design Build Contracts
AB 539
Papan 99-595 Workers' Compensation: Cancer
AB
555 Reyes 99-556 Farm Labor Vehicles
AB 921
Keeley 99-903 Apprenticeship Programs
AB 931
Calderon 99-781 Electricians: Apprenticeship Standards
AB 1234
Shelley 99-393 State Bodies: Open meetings: Violations
AB
1395 Correa
99-302 Public Works: Prevailing Wages
AB
1652 Steinberg
Vetoed Labor: Violations
AB
1689 Floyd
99-692 Employment: Wage Claims
Senate Bills
Bill Chapter
Number Author Number Subject
SB 172
Escutia Vetoed Employees: Inspection of Personnel Records
SB 508
Ortiz Vetoed State Property: Safety & Health
Standards
SB
1065 Bowen
Vetoed Public Records: Electronic Format