BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1384
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Date of Hearing: April 24, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hern�ndez, Chair
AB 1384 (Labor Committee) - As Introduced: March 4, 2013
SUBJECT : Garment manufacturing: civil penalties.
SUMMARY : Establishes civil penalties for a garment
manufacturer who fails to display specified information at the
front entrance of the business, as required under existing law.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that any person who fails to comply with the
requirement will be subject to civil penalty of $100 per
calendar day for an initial citation.
2)Provides for a penalty of $200 per day for any subsequent
citation.
3)Provides that the procedures for issuing, contesting and
enforcing citations and judgments for the civil penalties will
be the same as under existing law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires every person engaged in the business of garment
manufacturing to register with the Labor Commissioner and meet
other specified requirements.
2)Requires every person registered as a garment manufacturer to
display his or her name, address, and garment manufacturing
number on the front of his or her business, as specified.
3)Authorizes the Labor Commissioner to waive this requirement if
he or she finds compliance to be infeasible due to the design
or layout of the business premises.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill would establish a civil penalty for a
garment manufacturer who fails to display their name, address
and garment manufacturing registration number outside the
business entrance, as required by current law.
AB 1384
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Existing law requires every person engaged in the business of
garment manufacturing to register with the Labor Commissioner.
In addition, existing law (Labor Code Section 2676.5) requires
that every person registered as a garment manufacturer shall
display on the front entrance of his or her business premise,
and also, if the front entrance is within the interior of a
building, on or near the main exterior entrance of the building
in which his or her business premise is located, his or her
name, address, and garment manufacturing registration number,
all in letters not less than three inches high. Certain
exemptions to this provision exist, including a waiver of this
requirement if the Labor Commissioner finds that compliance
would not be feasible due to the design or layout of a business
premise.
Despite the significance of this posting requirement for
enforcement efforts (the posted information helps both garment
workers and the Labor Commissioner to identify the name and
address of garment companies that violate labor laws), there is
no civil penalty specified for a violation of this section.
Compliance with Section 2676.5 is an important mechanism to
achieve transparency in the apparel industry, as it serves to
provide basic information to garment workers about the companies
for whom they perform labor. DLSE staff have increasingly
reported that garment workers who have filed administrative wage
claims often have difficulty naming and providing the address of
the garment manufacturing companies for whom they worked.
Obscuring this information from workers enables sweatshops to
operate in the underground economy and prevents workers from
seeking redress for labor law violations. Enforcement of this
basic posting requirement is long overdue; garment companies
that deprive workers of lawful wages should no longer be able to
take advantage of the lack of civil penalties for non-compliance
with Section 2676.5.
Therefore, this bill would establish a civil penalty of $100 per
day for failure to post the mandated information. For
subsequent violations, the civil penalty would be $200 per day.
Supporters argue that, in an industry dominated by labor
contractors who often try to conceal their true business
identities, it is appropriate that there be significant
sanctions against those who engage in these practices.
AB 1384
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091