BILL NUMBER: SB 390	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  718
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 10, 2013
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 10, 2013
	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 10, 2013
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 9, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 25, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wright

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

   An act to amend Section 227 of the Labor Code, relating to
employment.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 390, Wright. Employee wage withholdings: failure to remit.
   (1) Existing law makes it a crime for an employer to fail to make
agreed-upon payments to health and welfare funds, pension funds, or
various benefit plans. Existing law provides that the crime be
punished as a felony or a misdemeanor, as specified, if the amount
unpaid exceeds $500, and as a misdemeanor, if the amount is less than
$500.
   This bill would make it a crime, as described above, for an
employer to fail to remit withholdings from an employee's wages that
were made pursuant to state, local, or federal law. The bill would
prescribe how recovered withholdings or court-imposed restitution, if
any, are to be forwarded or paid. By broadening the definition of a
crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.



THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 227 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   227.  If an employer has made withholdings from an employee's
wages pursuant to state, local, or federal law, or has agreed with
any employee to make payments to a health or welfare fund, pension
fund, or vacation plan, or other similar plan for the benefit of the
employees, or a negotiated industrial promotion fund, or has entered
into a collective bargaining agreement providing for these payments,
it shall be unlawful for that employer willfully or with intent to
defraud to fail to remit the withholdings to the proper agency or to
fail to make the payments required by the terms of that agreement. A
violation of any provision of this section when the amount the
employer failed to pay into the fund or funds exceeds five hundred
dollars ($500) shall be punishable by imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or in a county
jail for a period of not more than one year, by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and
fine. All other violations shall be punishable as a misdemeanor. In a
criminal proceeding under this section, any withholdings that are
recovered from an employer shall be forwarded to the appropriate fund
or plan and, if restitution is imposed, the court shall direct to
which agency, entity, or person it shall be paid.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.