BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1336 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1336 (Frazier) As Amended June 24, 2013 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |49-21|(May 24, 2013) |SENATE: |25-11|(September 3, | | | | | | |2013) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: L. & E. SUMMARY : Enacts various provisions of law related to enforcement of prevailing wage law by specified joint-labor management committees. The Senate amendments : 1)Reduce the proposed increase to the statute of limitations for specified enforcement actions from 24 months to 18 months after the filing of a valid notice of completion of acceptance of the public work. 2)Increase the deadline for service by the Labor Commissioner of specified assessments from 180 days to 18 months after the filing of a valid notice of completion of acceptance of the public work. 3)Specify that the civil penalties established under this bill may only be imposed against an employer that failed to pay the prevailing wage to its employees. 4)Specify that, in imposing civil penalties established under this bill, a court shall follow the same standards and have the same discretion in setting the amount of penalties as are provided in a specified provision of existing law. 5)Provide that liquidated damages shall only be awarded if the complaint alleges with specificity the wages due and unpaid, and the defendant fails to pay the wages, deposit that amount with the court to be held in escrow, or provide proof to the court of an adequate surety bond. 6)Provide that liquidated damages shall be awarded only on the wages found to be due and unpaid. AB 1336 Page 2 7)Authorize a court to exercise discretion to waive the payment of liquidated damages, as specified. 8)Make other related technical and conforming changes. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs. COMMENTS : This bill is sponsored by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, who argues that it will enhance the state's enforcement efforts to combat the underground economy, protect the public's investment in infrastructure and protect workers from wage theft. The sponsor states that the change in the statute of limitations for claims will allow for adequate time for a legal remedy for workers cheated out of wages they are owed since victims of wage theft are underpaid for years on multiple projects and only come forward when their employment with the contractor ends. In addition, the sponsor states that under current law, a joint labor-management committee that requests certified payroll records receives them only with the workers' addresses and not the workers' names. However, many instances of wage theft involve payroll records that do not report all the hours an employee is actually working. Providing the names of the employees will allow the committee to properly follow-up and determine if the payroll records are fraudulent. Finally, the sponsor states that this bill will provide Taft-Hartley trust funds with the last four digits of social security numbers, enabling the correct allocation of health benefits and pension contributions to workers for which the contributions were made. The sponsor states that the redaction of this information severely hinders this process and often lawsuits are required to obtain this information. Many instances of wage theft involve payroll records that do not report all the hours the employee is actually working and there are occasions when the employer has gone out of business or refuses to cooperate in an audit, so the certified payroll records are the only practicable means for allocating benefit contributions. AB 1336 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 FN: 0001751