BILL NUMBER: AB 734 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Evans
FEBRUARY 22, 2007
An act to amend Sections 923, 1770, 1773.4, 1778, 1780, 1811,
4651.2, and 7152 of the Labor Code, relating to workers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 734, as introduced, Evans. Workers: gender neutrality.
Existing provisions of the Labor Code governing workers use the
term "workman" and other masculine words and define the masculine
gender to include the feminine.
This bill would either replace masculine terms with gender-neutral
terms or add feminine terms to make the provisions applicable to
both men and women.
This bill would also make additional technical, nonsubstantive
changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 923 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
923. In the interpretation and application of this chapter, the
public policy of this State state is
declared as follows:
Negotiation of terms and conditions of labor should result from
voluntary agreement between employer
employers and employees. Governmental authority has permitted
and encouraged employers to organize in the corporate and other forms
of capital control. In dealing with such
employers, the individual unorganized worker is helpless to exercise
actual liberty of contract and to protect his or her
freedom of labor, and thereby to obtain acceptable terms and
conditions of employment. Therefore it is necessary that the
individual workman worker have full
freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of
representatives of his or her own choosing, to negotiate
the terms and conditions of his or her employment, and
that he shall the worker be
free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of
labor, or their agents, in the designation of such
representatives or in self-organization or in other concerted
activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual
aid or protection.
SEC. 2. Section 1770 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
1770. The Director of the Department of
Industrial Relations shall determine the general prevailing rate of
per diem wages in accordance with the standards set forth in Section
1773, and the director's determination in the matter shall be final
except as provided in Section 1773.4. Nothing in this article,
however, shall prohibit the payment of more than the general
prevailing rate of wages to any workman
worker employed on public work. Nothing in this act shall
permit any overtime work in violation of Article 3 of this
chapter (commencing with Section 1810) .
SEC. 3. Section 1773.4 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
1773.4. Any prospective bidder or his or her
representative, any representative of any craft, classification or
type of workman worker involved, or the
awarding body may, within 20 days after commencement of advertising
of the call for bids by the awarding body, file with the Director of
Industrial Relations a verified petition to review the determination
of any such rate or rates upon the ground that they have not been
determined in accordance with the provision of Section 1773
of this code . Within two days thereafter, a copy of
such the petition shall be filed with
the awarding body. The petition shall set forth the facts upon which
it is based. The Director of Industrial Relations or his or her
authorized representative shall, upon notice to the petitioner,
the awarding body and such those other
persons as he or she deems proper, including the
recognized collective bargaining representatives for the particular
crafts, classifications or types of work involved, institute an
investigation or hold a hearing. Within 20 days after the filing of
such a petition, or within such longer
period as agreed upon by the director, the awarding body, and all the
interested parties, he or she shall make a determination
and transmit the same in writing to the awarding body and to the
interested parties.
Such The determination shall be
final and shall be the determination of the awarding body. Upon
receipt by it of the notice of the filing of such
a petition , the body awarding the contract or
authorizing the public work shall extend the closing date for the
submission of bids or the starting of work until five days after the
determination of the general prevailing rates of per diem wages
pursuant to this section.
Upon the filing of any such a
petition, notice thereof shall be set forth in the next and all
subsequent publications by the awarding body of the call for bids. No
other notice need be given to bidders by the awarding body by
publication or otherwise. The determination of the director shall be
included in the contract.
SEC. 4. Section 1778 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
1778. Every person, who individually or as a representative of an
awarding or public body or officer, or as a contractor or
subcontractor doing public work, or agent or officer thereof, who
takes, receives, or conspires with another to take or receive, for
his or her own use or the use of any other person any
portion of the wages of any workman worker
or working subcontractor, in connection with services rendered
upon any public work , is guilty of a felony.
SEC. 5. Section 1780 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
1780. Any person acting on behalf of the State
state or any political subdivision, or any contractor or
subcontractor or agent or representative thereof, doing any public
work who places any order for the employment of a workman
worker on public work , where the
filling of the order for employment involves the charging of a fee,
or the receiving of a valuable consideration from any applicant for
employment , is guilty of a misdemeanor.
SEC. 6. Section 1811 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
1811. The time of service of any workman
worker employed upon public work is limited and restricted to 8
hours during any one calendar day, and 40 hours during any one
calendar week, except as hereinafter provided for
under Section 1815.
SEC. 7. Section 4651.2 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
4651.2. No petitions filed under Section 4651.1 shall be granted
while the injured workman worker is
pursuing a rehabilitation plan under Section 139.5 of this
code .
SEC. 8. Section 7152 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
7152. In addition to the duties imposed by any law regulating or
relating to scaffolding, an employer who uses or permits the use of
scaffolding described in Section 7151 in connection with
construction, alteration, repairing, painting, cleaning ,
or doing of any work upon any building or structure, shall:
(a) Furnish safety lines to tie all hooks and hangers back on the
roof of such the building or structure.
(b) Provide safety lines hanging from the roof, securely tied
thereto, for all swinging scaffolds which rely upon stirrups of the
single point suspension type to support the working platform. One
such line shall be provided for each
workman worker with a minimum of one line
between each pair of hangers or falls.
The standards board may adopt occupational safety and health
standards different from the requirements of this section or grant
variances from these requirements if the standards or variances
provide equivalent or superior safety for employees.