BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations Senator Ben Hueso, Chair Date of Hearing: June 11, 2013 2013-2014 Regular Session Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:Yes Urgency: No Bill No: AB 2743 Author: Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment As Introduced/Amended: February 27, 2014 SUBJECT Employment: wages. KEY ISSUE Should the Legislature permit unionized, regular short-term employees who work at a theatrical or concert venue from being able to pursue liquidated damages due to non-payment of wages after discharge? ANALYSIS Existing law provides for a statute of limitations for the collection of wages of three years and a statute of limitations for the collection of penalties of one year, unless the statute imposes a different statute of limitations. (Code of Civil Procedure §§338 & 340) Existing law provides that, if an employer discharges an employee, the wages earned and unpaid at the time of discharge are due and payable immediately. (Labor Code §201) Existing law exempts certain industries from the requirement of immediately paying wages upon discharge. These include: a) Curing, canning or drying of perishable fruit, fish, or vegetables (Labor Code §201); b) Temporary services employers (Labor Code §201.3); c) Production or broadcasting of motion pictures (Labor Code §201.5); d) Oil drilling (Labor Code §201.7); and e) Employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement who work at a venue that hosts live theatrical or concert events and are enrolled in and routinely dispatched to employment through a hiring hall or other system of regular short-term employment. (Labor Code §201.9) Existing law requires that, if an employer willfully fails to pay wages due to an employee who is discharge or who quits, the wages of the employee shall continue as a penalty from the due date thereof at the same rate until paid or until an action therefor is commenced for up to 30 days. Penalties for failure to timely pay wages can be sought until the expiration of the statute of limitations for the wages in which the penalties are being sought. (Labor Code §203) Existing law currently excludes employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement who work at a venue that hosts live theatrical or concert events and are enrolled in and routinely dispatched to employment through a hiring hall or other system of regular short-term employment from being able to receive liquidated damages due to an employer failing to pay wages due to discharge. This bill would allow the above-mentioned employees to pursue liquidated damages due an employer failing to pay wages due to discharge. COMMENTS 1. The Creation of Labor Code §201.9: The provision excluding unionized, regular short-term theatrical employees from the requirement to pay wages immediately upon discharge was created by SB 1719 (Cedillo) of 2006 (Statutes of 2006, Chapter 685). This bill, however, was the product of a "gut and amend" on the Assembly Floor near the end of session. Prior to those amendments, SB 1719 (Perata) dealt with transportation funding. Hearing Date: June 11, 2014 AB 2743 Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 2 Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations As was noted above, unionized, regular short-term theatrical employees are the only group of private employees in the State of California that are excluded from pursuing liquidated damages due to non-payment of wages after discharge. This includes employees of the State of California, who are frequently excluded from Labor Code provisions. Noting that neither the Assembly nor Senate analyses discuss this exclusion, it is likely that it was inadvertent and caused by a drafting error. AB 2743 would address this probable drafting error by allowing unionized, regular short-term theatrical employees to pursue liquidated damages due to non-payment of wages after discharge. 2. Proponent Arguments : None on file. 3. Opponent Arguments : None on file. 4. Prior Legislation : SB 1719 (Cedillo), Statutes of 2006, Chapter 685, was discussed above. SUPPORT None on file. OPPOSITION None on file. Hearing Date: June 11, 2014 AB 2743 Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 3 Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations