BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 67 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 67 (Gonzalez) - As Introduced December 17, 2014 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Labor and Employment |Vote:|5 - 2 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: No SUMMARY: AB 67 Page 2 This bill enacts the Double Pay on the Holiday Act of 2015. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires any work on a "family holiday" to be compensated at no less than twice the employee's regular rate of pay. Defines "family holiday" as either December 25 or the fourth Thursday of November of each year (Thanksgiving). 2)Specifies the requirements of the bill are in addition to and independent of any other rights, remedies, or procedures available under any other law to an aggrieved employee. 3)Exempts an employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement includes the wages, hours of work and working conditions of employees; paid sick days or a paid leave or paid time off policy that permits the use of sick days for those employees; final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning the application of the holiday premium pay previsions; premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked; and, regular hourly rate of pay not less than 30 percent more than the state's minimum wage. 4)Defines "employer" as any person employing another under any arrangement or contract of hire that includes the state, political subdivisions of the state, or municipalities. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown General Fund costs, potentially in the low millions, to provide state employees and in home supportive services (IHSS) providers not covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement with two times the regular rate of pay for work provided on a "family holiday". There are 462,000 IHSS providers, many of whom work on AB 67 Page 3 Thanksgiving or Christmas and are not covered under a valid collective bargaining agreement. For illustration, if 10 percent of IHSS providers were provided double pay for one day of work, the state would incur costs of approximately $4.7 million. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, in recent years, Black Friday shopping deals have increasingly spread into the Thanksgiving holiday, forcing workers to give up their holiday or risk losing their jobs. The author contends that requiring employers in California to pay at least two times the regular rate of pay on Christmas or Thanksgiving will increase the level of respect for California's workers, assist in paying towards a living wage, and perhaps reevaluate holiday work policies. 2)Paid and unpaid holidays. California law does not require an employer to provide its employees with paid holidays, to close its business on any holiday, or give employees the day off for any particular holiday. An employer's decision to close its business on holidays and give its employees time off from work with or without pay, or to pay overtime wages on holidays, results from an adopted employer policy or practice, the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, or the terms of an employment agreement. State government code entitles employees required to work on any of the 12 paid holidays to straight-time pay and eight hours of holiday credit. This bill amends the labor code and may be in conflict with existing government code provisions. AB 67 Page 4 3)Opposition. The opposition, including the California Chamber of Commerce, raises concerns that the bill increases costs, creates a competitive disadvantage and potentially violates employers' constitutional rights by forcing employers to recognize certain days as "family holidays". They note that certain business models, such as hospitals, medical facilities and lodging accommodations need to stay open during these holidays for the public benefit. Further, they note the bill applies to exempt, salaried employees, who could be entitled to double compensation for the entire "family holiday" even if only one hour of work was performed. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081