BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Ted W. Lieu, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2013 2013-2014 Regular
Session
Consultant: Deanna D. Ping Fiscal:No
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 1383
Author: Committee on Labor and Employment
As Introduced: March 4, 2013
SUBJECT
Employment regulations: local enforcement
KEY ISSUE
Should the legislature allow localities to enforce employment
protections in a manner more stringent than the state if they so
choose?
ANALYSIS
Existing law states that nothing in a specified "part" of the
Labor Code shall be deemed to restrict the exercise of local
police powers in a more stringent manner. (Labor Code �1205)
Existing law states that when a local jurisdiction expends funds
that have been provided to it by a state agency, operates a
program that has received assistance from a state agency, or
engages in an activity that has received assistance from a state
agency, labor standards established by the local jurisdiction
through exercise of local police powers or spending powers shall
take effect with regard to that expenditure, program, or
activity, so long as those labor standards are not in explicit
conflict with, or explicitly preempted by, state law. (Labor
Code �1205)
Existing law states that a state agency may not require as a
condition to the receipt of state funds or assistance that a
local jurisdiction refrain from applying labor standards
established by the local jurisdiction to expenditures, programs,
or activities supported by the state funds or assistance in
question. (Labor Code �1205)
This Bill would explicitly state that nothing in the Labor Code
itself prohibits the local enforcement of labor standards in a
manner more stringent than enforcement by the state.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
Many cities throughout California have local labor standards
(such as minimum wage or living wage ordinances) that exceed
the requirements of California law. In 2002, the legislature
enacted AB 2509 to ensure that state law does not prohibit
more stringent local labor standards or jeopardize state
funding. AB 1383 would amend existing law to clarify that
nothing in the Labor Code itself preempts local labor
enforcement standards that go further that the state.
According to the author's office, the bill would protect labor
standards adopted by localities by ensuring that the Labor
Code does not prohibit local enforcement in a manner more
stringent than enforcement by the state.
2. Worker's Compensation Constitutionality and AB 1383: Staff
Comments
Article XIV, Section 4 of the California Constitution vests
the legislature with the plenary, or complete power, to create
and enforce a complete system of worker's compensation.
According to some stakeholders, Article XIV, Section 4 of the
Constitution gives the Legislature the authority to impose
laws with regard to workers' compensation, not local
authorities. Specifically, stakeholders are concerned that AB
1383 could be potentially unconstitutional as it encompasses
all sections of the Labor Code, including workers'
compensation.
In the 1953 case of Healy v. Industrial Accident Commission,
Hearing Date: June 12, 2013 AB 1383
Consultant: Deanna D. Ping Page 2
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
41 Cal.2d 118 the court states the general principle that
state law, with respect to workers' compensation, prevails
over local law only in the event of a conflict in Labor Code.
Given that the language in AB 1383 expressly allows locals to
have more stringent enforcement, there would be no conflict or
issue of constitutionality given that the Legislature's
authority that is granted under the Constitution is plenary,
or complete, but not exclusive. Were AB 1383 to become law,
nothing in the current language would preclude the Legislature
from coming back at a later date and revisiting a local
jurisdiction's inappropriate use of police powers.
3. Proponent Arguments :
According to the sponsor of the bill, California Labor
Federation, the California Labor Code is intended to provide a
floor of set minimum labor standards for all workers in this
state. Proponents argue that local communities should be able
to raise those standards, such as living wage ordinances or
local paid sick days, based on their own assessment of what
types of protections are needed. Proponents argue that the
bill makes it clear that localities are free to pass local
ordinances that supplement and enhance existing statewide
protections.
4. Opponent Arguments :
Opponents argue that California has some of the most onerous
wage and hour requirements in the nation and AB 1383 provides
local jurisdictions with the authority to adopt even more
stringent labor and employment requirements than those already
in existence statewide. Opponents contend that this authority
will create a patchwork of labor and employment laws
throughout California that will make it even more difficult
for business to operate, especially small businesses that do
not have the capacity to manage new and additional labor laws.
5. Prior Legislation :
AB 2509 (Goldberg), Chapter 298, Statutes of 2002 - allows
local government agencies to impose labor standards more
Hearing Date: June 12, 2013 AB 1383
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
stringent than those required by state law on projects which
receive state funding. Specifically, it allows local
jurisdictions to apply labor standards that they have
established to economic development projects that are funded
by the state but administered at the local level, so long as
those standards do not explicitly conflict with state law.
SUPPORT
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
OPPOSITION
California Chamber of Commerce
California Grocers Association
Acclamation Insurance Management Services
Allied Managed Care, Inc.
Associated Builders and Contractors of California
California Association of Winegrape Growers
California Chapter of American Fence Association
California Employment Law Council
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Fence Contractors' Association
California Framing Contractors' Association
California Grocers Association
California Hospital Association
California Restaurant Association
California Trucking Association
Engineering Contractor's Association
Flasher Barricade Association
Marin Builders Association
National Federation of Independent Business
Hearing Date: June 12, 2013 AB 1383
Consultant: Deanna D. Ping Page 4
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations