BILL NUMBER: AB 1093 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 149
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 30, 2005
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 30, 2005
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 15, 2005
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Matthews
FEBRUARY 22, 2005
An act to amend Sections 213 and 515.5 of the Labor Code, relating
to employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1093, Matthews Employment: wages.
Existing law prohibits any person from issuing in payment of wages
due or to become due, as an advance on wages to be earned, any
order, check, draft, note, memorandum, or other acknowledgment of
indebtedness, unless negotiable and payable on demand without
discount at some established place of business in the state. Existing
law provides that provision shall not prohibit an employer from
depositing wages due or to become due or an advance on wages to be
earned in an account on any bank, savings and loan association, or
credit union of the employee's choice in this state, provided the
employee has voluntarily authorized the deposit, and provides that if
an employee is discharged or quits, the voluntary authorization for
deposit shall be deemed terminated and existing law relating to
payment of wages upon termination of employment shall apply.
This bill would instead provide that the employer may deposit the
wages or advance on wages in an account in any bank, savings and loan
association, or credit union of the employee's choice that has a
place of business in this state. This bill would additionally modify
existing law to provide that if an employee is discharged or quits,
the employer may pay the wages earned and unpaid at the time the
employee is discharged or quits by depositing that sum into the
account authorized by the employee, and would provide that existing
law relating to the payment of wages upon termination or quitting of
employment shall continue to apply.
Existing law requires that an employee in the computer software
field be exempt from the requirement that an overtime rate of
compensation be paid if certain conditions are met, including a
requirement the employee's hourly rate of pay is not less than $41.
This bill would instead provide that requirement be that the
employee's hourly rate of pay is not less than $41 or the annualized
full-time salary equivalent of that rate, provided that all the other
requirements for exemption are met and that in each workweek the
employee receives not less than $41 per hour worked.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 213 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
213. Nothing contained in Section 212 shall:
(a) Prohibit an employer from guaranteeing the payment of bills
incurred by an employee for the necessaries of life or for the tools
and implements used by the employee in the performance of his or her
duties.
(b) Apply to counties, municipal corporations, quasi-municipal
corporations, or school districts.
(c) Apply to students of nonprofit schools, colleges,
universities, and other nonprofit educational institutions.
(d) Prohibit an employer from depositing wages due or to become
due or an advance on wages to be earned in an account in any bank,
savings and loan association, or credit union of the employee's
choice with a place of business located in this state, provided that
the employee has voluntarily authorized that deposit. If an employer
discharges an employee or the employee quits, the employer may pay
the wages earned and unpaid at the time the employee is discharged or
quits by making a deposit authorized pursuant to this subdivision,
provided that the employer complies with the provisions of this
article relating to the payment of wages upon termination or quitting
of employment.
SEC. 2. Section 515.5 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
515.5. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), an employee in
the computer software field shall be exempt from the requirement that
an overtime rate of compensation be paid pursuant to Section 510 if
all of the following apply:
(1) The employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual
or creative and that requires the exercise of discretion and
independent judgment.
(2) The employee is primarily engaged in duties that consist of
one or more of the following:
(A) The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures,
including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or
system functional specifications.
(B) The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation,
testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including
prototypes, based on and related to user or system design
specifications.
(C) The documentation, testing, creation, or modification of
computer programs related to the design of software or hardware for
computer operating systems.
(3) The employee is highly skilled and is proficient in the
theoretical and practical application of highly specialized
information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software
engineering. A job title shall not be determinative of the
applicability of this exemption.
(4) The employee's hourly rate of pay is not less than forty-one
dollars ($41.00), or the annualized full-time salary equivalent of
that rate, provided that all other requirements of this section are
met and that in each workweek the employee receives not less than
forty-one dollars ($41.00) per hour worked. The Division of Labor
Statistics and Research shall adjust this pay rate on October 1 of
each year to be effective on January 1 of the following year by an
amount equal to the percentage increase in the California Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.
(b) The exemption provided in subdivision (a) does not apply to an
employee if any of the following apply:
(1) The employee is a trainee or employee in an entry-level
position who is learning to become proficient in the theoretical and
practical application of highly specialized information to computer
systems analysis, programming, and software engineering.
(2) The employee is in a computer-related occupation but has not
attained the level of skill and expertise necessary to work
independently and without close supervision.
(3) The employee is engaged in the operation of computers or in
the manufacture, repair, or maintenance of computer hardware and
related equipment.
(4) The employee is an engineer, drafter, machinist, or other
professional whose work is highly dependent upon or facilitated by
the use of computers and computer software programs and who is
skilled in computer-aided design software, including CAD/CAM, but who
is not in a computer systems analysis or programming occupation.
(5) The employee is a writer engaged in writing material,
including box labels, product descriptions, documentation,
promotional material, setup and installation instructions, and other
similar written information, either for print or for onscreen media
or who writes or provides content material intended to be read by
customers, subscribers, or visitors to computer-related media such as
the World Wide Web or CD-ROMs.
(6) The employee is engaged in any of the activities set forth in
subdivision (a) for the purpose of creating imagery for effects used
in the motion picture, television, or theatrical industry.