BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1387|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1387
Author: Roger Hernández (D)
Amended: 4/18/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 3-1, 6/26/13
AYES: Monning, Leno, Yee
NOES: Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-23, 05/29/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Car washes
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill eliminates the sunset date on existing law
regulating the car washing and polishing industry. Also, this
bill increases the surety bond from $15,000 to $150,000 and
provides a specified exemption for employers with a valid
collective bargaining agreement.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires every employer to register
annually with the Labor Commissioner and lists the following
conditions for registration or renewal:
1. The employer must present proof of compliance with the local
government's business licensing or regional regulatory
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requirements to the Labor Commissioner.
2. The employer has obtained a surety bond with a principal sum
no less than $15,000 and file a copy of the bond with the
Labor Commissioner. The bond will be payable to the people
of California for the benefit of any employee damaged by
his/her employer's failure to pay wages, interest on wages,
or fringe benefits.
3. The employer has documented that a worker's compensation
insurance policy is in effect and has paid necessary fees.
Existing law regulates the car washing and polishing industry by
requiring specific recordkeeping requirements of car wash
employers on employee wages, hours and working conditions.
Existing law establishes a car wash worker fund for which
penalties and registration fees are deposited for disbursement
by the Labor Commissioner to employees of car washing or
polishing businesses found to be in violation of current law.
Existing law states that charitable groups, rental car agencies,
self-service or automated car wash that have no more than two
full-time employees for cashiering and/or maintenance purposes,
and licensed vehicle dealers or automotive repair businesses are
exempted.
This bill makes changes to existing law regulating the car
washing and polishing industry. Specifically, this bill:
1. Eliminates the sunset date on existing law regulating the car
washing and polishing industry, thereby making it a permanent
enforcement program under California law.
2. Increases the surety bond amount required from $15,000 to
$150,000.
3. Provides that the surety bond requirements do not apply to an
employer covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement
if the agreement expressly provides for wages, hours of work,
working conditions, and an expeditious process to resolve
disputes concerning nonpayment of wages.
Comments
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Supporters of this bill argue that in order to wash and clean
such a high number of vehicles, car wash employers routinely
violate basic labor laws such as those requiring rest breaks or
providing shade and clean drinking water. They also contend
that workers have reported kidney damage, respiratory problems
and nerve damage due to chemical exposure. Supporters state
that the car wash registry is continually on the verge of being
eliminated and the surety bond amount is too low to cover the
wages actually owed to workers. Supporters also maintain that
there are no exceptions for upstanding employers who are doing
right by their workers and raising the bar for the industry.
Supporters contend that this bill is the answer as it eliminates
the sunset date- reserving one of the most effective tools in
labor law enforcement and raises the bond amount to cover stolen
wages, making sure workers are protected.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/13)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Los Angeles
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Los Angeles
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Communications Workers of America, District 9
Community Labor Environmental Action Network Carwash Campaign
Enlace
Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance
The Wage Justice Center
United Steelworkers, Local 675
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The CLEAN Carwash Campaign states that
this bill will help to continue to better regulate the carwash
industry in California that for too long has been part of the
underground economy in our state. The supporters argue that car
wash workers in California have been able to utilize this law in
the past to assert their rights and this should be the case
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permanently. The supporters contend that by lifting the sunset
clause in this law will ensure that thousands of carwash workers
in our state an asset their rights. CLEAN references a 2009
study conducted by UCLA that found 655,000 workers in Los
Angeles alone experience serious wage theft, 30% receive less
than minimum wage, while a staggering 80% are denied lawful
breaks - a sum total of these violations amounts to $26.2
million in stolen wages each year. CLEAN Carwash Campaign
argues that because of the rampant violations of labor law in
the car wash industry, the Legislature passed a law in 2004
requiring car washes to register with the state and post a bond.
CLEAN Carwash Campaign maintains that as that law has been
implemented, enforcement efforts in the underground economy have
improved and for the first time-workers have had access to
justice.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 54-23, 5/29/13
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,
Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle,
Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder,
Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande,
Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Wilk, Vacancy
PQ:d 8/13/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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