BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 666
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 666 (Steinberg)
As Amended August 22, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :31-7
JUDICIARY 7-0 LABOR & EMPLOYMENT 7-0
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|Ayes:|Wieckowski, Alejo, Chau, |Ayes:|Roger Hernández, Morrell, |
| |Dickinson, Garcia, | |Alejo, Chau, Gomez, |
| |Muratsuchi, Stone | |Gorell, Holden |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-1
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, | | |
| |Bradford, | | |
| |Ian Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, | | |
| |Holden, Pan, Quirk, Weber | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits retaliation against employees and others on
the basis of citizenship and immigration status. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Provides that a business licensee is subject to suspension or
revocation of the license for threatening to retaliate or
retaliating, through the use of the employee's citizenship or
immigration status, against a current, former, or prospective
employee of the licensee who attempts to exercise an
employment right protected by law, provided however that an
employer shall not be subject to suspension or revocation for
requiring a prospective or current employee to submit, within
three business days of the first day of work for pay, an I-9
Employment Eligibility Verification form.
SB 666
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2)Authorizes the suspension, disbarment, or other discipline
against a licensed attorney who reports the immigration
status, or threatens to report the immigration status, of a
witness or party to a civil or administrative action, or his
or her family member, to a federal, state, or local agency
because the witness or party exercises, or has exercised, a
right related to his or her employment. For purposes of this
provision, this bill defines "family member" to mean a spouse,
parent, sibling, child, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, cousin,
grandparent, or grandchild related by blood, adoption,
marriage, or domestic partnership.
3)Clarifies that the employee or job applicant is also protected
under the above provision from retaliation or adverse actions
by the employer. This bill also provides these protections to
the employee or job applicant for making a written or oral
complaint that he or she is owed unpaid wages.
4)Authorizes, in addition to any other remedies available, a
civil penalty, not to exceed $10,000 per employee for each
violation, to be imposed against a corporate or limited
liability company employer.
5)Provides that reporting or threatening to report an
employee's, former employee's, or prospective employee's
citizenship or immigration status, or the citizenship or
immigration status of his or her family member, to a federal,
state, or local agency because the employee, former employee,
or prospective employee exercises a right under the provisions
of the Labor Code, the Government Code, or the Civil Code
constitutes an adverse action for purposes of establishing a
violation of an employee's, former employee's, or prospective
employee's rights. For purposes of this provision, this bill
defines "family member" to mean a spouse, parent, sibling,
child, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, cousin, grandparent, or
grandchild related by blood, adoption, marriage, or domestic
partnership.
6)Prohibits any person acting on behalf of the employer from
preventing or retaliating against an employee who makes use of
anti-retaliation protections.
7)Provides protection to a person for providing information to,
or testifying before, any public body conducting an
SB 666
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investigation, hearing, or inquiry.
8)Specifies that its provisions are severable, and if any of its
provisions are held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect
other provisions or applications that can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), within the
Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), and the courts will
see increased costs to the extent additional complaints are
filed with the Labor Commissioner and civil actions are
commenced. The DIR anticipates that the bill's provisions
will deter a large majority of potential violations. The
department estimates that, if only a small fraction of
undocumented workers take action for alleged violations,
however, about 800 cases could be filed with the DLSE or the
courts. Assuming 5% of these complaints are filed with DLSE,
and 80% are accepted for investigation (the same percentage as
for current claims), there would be about 30 additional cases
annually. The department believes that this total would be
further reduced by two-thirds due to the bill's provision that
administrative remedies not be exhausted prior to bringing a
civil action. The result will be only minor additional
special fund costs (less than $100,000 annually) associated
with a few additional complaint investigations. (Labor
Enforcement and Compliance Fund)
2)Costs in court time for the over 700 complaints filed with the
court instead of DIR would likely total several hundred
thousand to a few million dollars annually. These costs are
covered in the budgets of the trial courts. Though trial court
budgets have been significantly constrained in recent years,
this relatively small number of cases, on a statewide basis
would not increase pressure on trial court budgets.
COMMENTS : The author states that the purpose of this bill is to
empower workers to exercise their rights under California law
without fear that employers will retaliate by reporting their
immigration status or that of their family members to government
officials.
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According to a recent study, there are approximately 2.6 million
undocumented individuals in California. (Cho and Smith,
Workers' Rights on ICE: How Immigration Reform Can Stop
Retaliation and Advance Labor Rights, National Employment Law
Project (Feb. 2013)
.) The study found that
"[m]ost undocumented immigrants work in traditionally low-wage
occupations such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing,
and service industries, where workers face the greatest risk for
exploitation. Undocumented workers are far more likely to
experience violations of wage and hour laws." (Id.) The study
states that many undocumented workers do not file claims against
their employers out of fear of "'getting in trouble' or being
fired." (Id.) The study also found that "[w]hile threats of job
loss have an especially serious consequence in this job market,
an employer's threat to alert immigration or local law
enforcement of an undocumented immigrant worker's status carries
added force. Such action is at least as frequent as other forms
of retaliation." (Id. at pp. 2-3.)
Existing law prohibits employers from withholding an employee's
wages and prohibits discrimination, retaliation, and adverse
actions by an employer against an employee or job applicant who
exercises his or her rights under the law. (Labor Code Section
200 et seq.)
In order to further address employer retaliation against
employees who assert their rights under the Labor Code, and to
reaffirm the legislative protections available to all employees,
regardless of citizenship status, this bill would prohibit
retaliation against an employee based on the citizenship or
immigration status of the employee or his or her family members.
This bill would also clarify that an employer is prohibited
from discriminating, retaliating, or taking adverse action
against an employee who makes a written or oral complaint that
the employee is owed unpaid wages, and provides up to a $10,000
penalty for violations thereof.
The bill would also subject a business licensee to disciplinary
action for threatening to retaliate or retaliating against an
employee based on the employee's citizenship or immigration
status. This bill would also provide for disciplinary action
against an attorney who threatens to report the immigration
SB 666
Page 5
status of a witness or party to a civil or administrative
proceeding, as specified.
This bill would also supplement Labor Code anti-retaliation law
by protecting an employee who provides information to, or
testifies before, any public body conducting an investigation,
hearing, or inquiry into improper employer conduct, as
specified.
The bill would provide that an adverse action taken by an
employer would include reporting or threatening to report an
employee's, former employee's, or prospective employee's
citizenship or immigration status, or the citizenship or
immigration status of his or her family member, to a federal,
state, or local agency because the employee, former employee, or
prospective employee exercises a right under the provisions of
the Labor Code, the Government Code, or the Civil Code.
The federal Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) prohibits
intimidation, threats, coercion, or retaliation (these acts are
considered discrimination under IRCA) against any individual for
the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege provided
under IRCA or because the individual intends to file or has
filed a charge or complaint, testified, or participated in an
investigation, proceeding or hearing, and immigration-related
employment practices such as discriminating on the basis of
citizenship or national origin. (8 United States Code Section
(U.S.C.S.) 1324b(g)(2)(B).) While IRCA may provide this
protection only for citizens and permanent resident immigrants,
this bill extends similar anti-discrimination and retaliation
protections based on California's existing protections for
workers who make claims under the Labor Code, a right available
to all California employees, regardless of citizenship or
immigration status. This bill, by further defining that an
employer's adverse action against an employee includes the
reporting or threatening to report an employee's or family
member's citizenship or immigration status, will strengthen
existing anti-retaliation protections.
This bill would authorize, in addition to any other remedies
available, a civil penalty, not to exceed $10,000 per employee
for each violation, to be imposed against a corporate or limited
liability company employer who unlawfully discriminates,
retaliates, or takes adverse action against an employee making a
SB 666
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claim under the Labor Code, as specified. The bill would also
clarify that an employee or job applicant is not required to
exhaust administrative remedies or procedures in order to bring
a civil action under any provision of the Labor Code, unless the
provision under which the action is brought expressly requires
exhaustion of an administrative remedy.
The State Bar Act provides statutory licensing requirements for
attorneys practicing law in the state. The State Bar also
provides disciplinary measures, including suspension and
disbarment, of attorneys who demonstrate acts of dishonesty,
moral turpitude, and corruption. This bill would authorize the
suspension, disbarment, or other discipline against a licensed
attorney who reports immigration status or threatens to report
immigration status of a witness or party to a civil or
administrative action or his or her family member to a federal,
state, or local agency because the witness or party exercises or
has exercised a right related to his or her employment.
Existing Labor Code Section 1102.5 prohibits an employer from
preventing an employee from disclosing information, or
retaliating against an employee who discloses information, to a
government or law enforcement agency where the employee has
reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a
violation of state or federal statute, or a violation or
noncompliance with a state or federal rule or regulation. This
bill would additionally prohibit any person acting on behalf of
the employer from preventing an employee from disclosing
information or retaliating against an employee who does disclose
information and would protect a person who provides information
to, or testifies before, any public body conducting an
investigation, hearing, or inquiry regarding employer violations
of the law.
Analysis Prepared by : Kevin G. Baker / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0001899