Liability

AB 1897 (Hernandez) - Oppose
As Amended 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 placed on the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense File.

Retirement Benefits

SB 1219 (PERS Committee) – Support
As Amended April 1, 2014

Senate Bill 1219 places an exemption back into statute to allow retirees to serve in an elected capacity without having to reinstate and therefore be unable to collect retirement benefits. 

The Public Employees Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) currently prohibits a public retiree who is first appointed on or after January 1, 2013, to return to public employment without reinstating unless certain conditions are met. The passage of PEPRA led to the inadvertent deletion of an exemption for retirees who return to serve in an elected capactiy; SB 1219 will clarify this exemption within Public Employment Retirement Law.

SB 1219 is currently awaiting a vote on the Senate Floor.