BILL NUMBER: SB 1538	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 27, 2004
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 27, 2004
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 24, 2004
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 18, 2004
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JULY 23, 2004
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 23, 2004
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 4, 2004

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Alarcon
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Chan and Koretz)

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2004

   An act to amend Section 226.7 of the Labor Code, relating to
compensation.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1538, Alarcon.  Compensation:  meal and rest periods.
   Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to
work during any meal or rest period mandated by an order of the
Industrial Welfare Commission and establishes penalties for an
employer's failure to provide a mandated meal or rest period.
   This bill would require employers to pay employees for any rest
period mandated by statute, regulation, or order of the Industrial
Wage Commission and would establish the formula by which the rate of
pay should be determined for the rest periods of piece rate workers
in the agricultural and garment industries, as specified.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 226.7 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   226.7.  (a) No employer shall require any employee to work during
any meal or rest period mandated by an applicable order of the
Industrial Welfare Commission.
   (b) If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal period or
rest period in accordance with an applicable order of the Industrial
Welfare Commission, the employer shall pay the employee one
additional hour of pay at the employee's regular rate of compensation
for each work day that the meal or rest period is not provided.
   (c) Rest periods mandated by any applicable statute, regulation,
or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission shall be counted as
hours worked for which there shall be no deduction of wages.
Employees working on a piece rate basis in the agricultural and
garment industries shall be compensated for rest periods as follows:

   (1) The employer shall determine the total amount of piece rate
earnings for any pay period in which the employee was paid by piece
rate.
   (2) The employer shall determine the total amount of time worked
by the employee during the pay period.
   (3) The employer shall use the amount established under paragraph
(1) and the total time worked under paragraph (2) to determine the
average pay rate applicable to rest periods in that pay period, which
in no event may be below the minimum wage.  The employer shall pay
this amount to the piece rate employee as part of his or her regular
pay.
   (4) This subdivision shall not be construed to require an employer
to compensate a piece rate employee in the agricultural and garment
industries for rest periods during any pay period in which the
employee's gross piece rate pay, averaged on an hourly basis, is more
than forty-one dollars ($41.00) per hour.  The Division of Labor
Statistics and Research shall adjust this hourly rate on October of
each year, effective January 1 of the following year, by an amount
equal to the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price
Index.