The following bills include outcomes of the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees Suspense Files. 

AB 1522 (Gonzalez) - OPPOSE
As Amended on March 28, 2014

Assembly Bill 1522, by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez, would entitle an employee in California to paid sick days if s(he) works seven or more days in a calendar year. The leave would accrue at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked and the employee would be permitted to start accruing the leave on the 90th calendar day of employment. AB 1522 also defines an employer to include public authorities.

Counties will recall substantially similar legislation from 2011. AB 400 (Ma, 2011) and AB 1000 (Ma, 2010), both which failed to make it through the legislative process due to strong opposition from private and public employers.

AB 1522 was passed off the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File with amendments that will, among other things, delay its implementation date until 2015.

AB 1897 (Hernandez) - OPPOSE
As Amended on April 10, 2014

Assembly Bill 1897, by Assembly Member Roger Hernandez, establishes liability for client employers that obtain workers from third-party labor contractors. The bill:

• Requires a client employer to share with a labor contractorall civil legal responsibility and civil liability for the payment of wages to workers provided by a labor contractor, the failure to report and pay all required employer contributions, worker contributions, and personal income tax withholdingsand failure to secure valid workers’ compensation coverage.
• Prohibits a client employer from shifting to a labor contractor any legal duties or responsibilities related to workplace health and safety.
• Clarifies that these provisions are in addition to, and shall be supplemental of, any other liability or requirement established by statute or common law.
• Specifies that this bill does not prohibit a client employer from establishing, exercising, or enforcing by contract any otherwise lawful remedies against a labor contractor for indemnification for liability created by acts of a labor contractor, and vice versa.
• Provides that, upon request by a state enforcement agency or department, a client employer or a labor contractor shall provide to the agency or department any information required to verify compliance with applicable state laws. Upon request, these records shall be made available promptly for inspection, and the state agency or department shall be permitted to copy them.
• Defines “client employer” to mean an individual or entity thatobtains or is provided workers to perform labor or services within the usual course of business of the individual or entity from a labor contractor. Defines “labor contractor” to mean an individual or entity that contracts with a client employer to supply workers to perform labor or services within the usual course of business or otherwise provides workers to perform labor or services within the usual course of business for the client employer.
• Specifies that “worker” does not include an employee who is exempt from the payment of overtime wages under existing exemptions for executive, administrative, and professional employees.

AB 1897 was passed off of the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense File.

AB 2126 (Bonta) - OPPOSE
As Amended on March 28, 2014

Assembly Bill 2126, by Assembly Member Rob Bonta, would eradicate local control of collective bargaining procedures by requiring the following:

MANDATORY MEDIATION. The bill would allow either the public agency or employee organization to request mediation if, after a reasonable period of time, the parties fail to reach agreement. The parties must agree upon the appointment of a mediator within five days of the request and if they are unable to agree, either party can request that PERB appoint a mediator (PERB must then appoint a mediator within five days of that request).

SCOPE OF FACTFINDING. AB 2126 would allow differences arising from ANY dispute over ANY matter within the scope of representation, when the obligation to meet and confer exists, to be submitted to a factfinding panel. Currently, the ability for either party to request factfinding only applies to those disputes arising during collective bargaining for a new or successor memorandum of understanding.

AB 2126 was passed off of the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File with an amendment to clarify that mediation may only be requested upon impasse.

AB 2378 (Perea) - OPPOSE
As Introduced on February 23, 2014

Assembly Bill 2378, by Assembly Member Henry Perea, would essentially remove Labor Code Section 4850 benefits from the 104-week limit on aggregate disability payments for work-related injuries that cause temporary disability,

AB 2378 passed off the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense File.

SB 1234 (Block) - OPPOSE
As Introduced on February 20, 2014

Senate Bill 1234, by Senator Marty Block, would extend Labor Code 4850 disability benefits (benefits paid to an eligible public safety officer who becomes disabled while performing his or her duties, equal to a one-year leave of absence without loss of salary in lieu of temporary disability payments) to certain peace officers including certain park rangers, airport law enforcement, welfare fraud investigators and members of a California Community College police force.

SB 1234 was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense file.

CalPERS Adopts Pension Beliefs

In an effort, according to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System Board of Administration (Board) to guide the ongoing statewide and national conversation regarding pension benefits, the Board this week adopted a set of pension beliefs that will guide the fund’s discussions and decisions on public pension design, funding and administration.

The full set of beliefs can be found here.