BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair


          AB 1384 (Assembly Labor and Employment Committee) - Garment  
          Manufacturing: Civil Penalties
          
          Amended: As Introduced          Policy Vote: L&IR 4-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: June 24, 2013                             
          Consultant: Robert Ingenito     
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.


          Bill Summary: AB 1384 would establish civil penalties for a  
          garment manufacturer who fails to display specified information  
          at its front entrance. 

          Fiscal Impact: The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)  
          anticipates costs of $118,000 (special funds) to implement the  
          provisions of the bill, using a methodology that estimates (1)  
          the number of resulting citations, and (2) subsequent  
          administrative hearings. 

          Additionally, the bill imposes a penalty of $100 per day for an  
          initial citation, and $200 per day for subsequent citations. The  
          assessment of these penalties could offset a portion of DIR's  
          implementation costs. 

          Background: During the 1980s, legislation was enacted requiring,  
          among other things, garment industry employers (1) to register  
          with the Labor Commissioner, and (2) to display their name,  
          address and garment manufacturing registration number on the  
          front entrance of the business premise. Current law further  
          requires that this information be no less than three inches high  
          and authorizes the Labor Commissioner to waive this provision  
          under specified circumstances. Despite the significance of  
          posting this information for enforcement purposes, there is  
          currently no civil penalty for noncompliance.
          
          Proposed Law: This bill would establish civil penalties for  
          garment manufactures who fail to display specified information  
          on the front entrance of the business, pursuant to existing law.  
           Specifically, this bill would: 








          AB 1384 (Assembly Labor and Employment Committee)
          Page 1



                 Establish a $100 penalty per day for an initial citation  
               and establishes a $200 penalty per day for any subsequent  
               citation. 

                 Authorize the Labor Commissioner o issue a citation for  
               failure to comply with existing law regarding the display  
               of information.  The bill specifies that procedures for  
               issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations  
               or civil penalties are the same as under current law.   
          .
          Staff Comments: DIR's Bureau of Field Enforcement conducted 858  
          inspections of garment manufacturers in 2010-11. Of these  
          inspections, 574 citations were issued.  There are approximately  
          4,000 garment manufacturers registered with DIR.