BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 357
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
357 (Chiu) - As Amended May 1, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill enacts the Fair Scheduling Act of 2015 to provide
predictable work schedules to covered employees, as specified,
in addition to other requirements. Specifically, this bill:
AB 357
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1)Requires a "food and general retail establishment" to provide
its employees with at least two weeks' notice of their work
schedules.
2)Defines a "food and general retail establishment" to mean a
retail sales establishment that has a physical location with
in-person sales, including, but not limited to, a food retail
store, a grocery store, a general merchandise store, a
department store, or a health and personal care store, and
meets all of the following:
a) Has 500 or more employees in this state and has 10 or
more other such retail sales establishments located in the
United States.
b) Maintains two or more of the following: a standardized
array of merchandise; a standardized façade; a standardized
decor and color scheme; uniform apparel; or standardized
signage and a trademark or a service mark.
3)Excludes from the definition of "food and general retail
establishment" an online retailer that does not have a
physical location with in-person sales in this state, or a
franchise that does not meet the criteria specified in (2).
4)Provides that this requirement does not apply to specified
employees who are exempt from the payment of overtime under
existing law.
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5)Provides that a food and general retail establishment shall
provide an employee with specific compensation, per shift, for
each previously scheduled shift that the food and general
retail establishment moves to another date or time or cancels,
and each previously unscheduled shift that the food and
general retail establishment requires an employee to work.
However, it provides that this compensation requirement shall
not apply for shifts for which the employee is compensated
with reporting time pay as required by any wage order or to
changes in the scheduling of rest periods, recovery periods,
or meal periods.
6)Requires a food and general retail establishment to provide an
employee with the following compensation for each on-call
shift for which the employee is required to be available but
is not called in to work. However it provides that this
compensation requirement related to on-call time shall not
apply to on-call time that is required to be compensated as
hours worked for which the employee is in fact compensated
under existing law.
7)Establishes exceptions to these compensation requirements
under any of the following circumstances.
8)Requires a food and general retail establishment to allow an
employee to be absent from work without pay for up to eight
hours twice a year, upon request, to attend any required
appointments at the county human services agency. Requires the
employee to provide reasonable advanced notice of intent to
take time off. Prohibits an employer from taking any action
against the employee if that employee, within a reasonable
time, provides documentation to the employer from the county
human services agency documenting the required appointment.
AB 357
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9)Requires the Labor Commissioner to promulgate all regulations
and rules of practice and procedures necessary to carry out
the provisions the bill, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Estimating the number of wage and retaliation claims the
Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) will receive is
difficult to predict. Based on the number of businesses and
employees affected by this bill, DIR estimates costs in the
range of $1 million to $2.8 million (Labor Enforcement and
Compliance Fund) to cover personnel costs associated with
processing claims.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the findings of the bill, unpredictable
scheduling practices and last-minute work schedule changes
cause workers who are already struggling with low wages to
live in a constant state of insecurity about when they will
work or how much they will earn on any given day. These
practices also make it hard for employees to plan their
finances and to plan for and obtain child care. These
practices also prevent part-time employees from pursuing
educational opportunities or holding a second or third job
that those workers may need to make ends meet.
AB 357
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Western Center on Law and Poverty and the United Food and
Commercial Workers Western States Council are co-sponsoring
this bill to provide stability for workers by requiring that
employees receive two-weeks advance notice of their work
schedule, are paid for shifts that are cancelled with little
notice, and are accommodated when they request unpaid time off
to attend to any required appointments necessary to apply for
or maintain eligibility for government assistance. AB 357 will
apply to food retail grocery, general merchandise, department
and health and personal care employers with 500 or more
employees in California and 10 or more stores located in the
United States.
According to data provided by the sponsor, the bill appears to
impact approximately 8,276 employer locations (stores) and an
estimated 1,004,394 employees. This represents 6% of the
total employment in the state. These numbers do not include
corporate owned restaurants as Employment Development Data
does not distinguish between corporate owned, privately owned
or franchises. This bill does not apply to franchises but
does apply to certain corporate owned businesses. For example,
In and Out Burgers is a corporate owned company that has over
10 locations in California and over 3,000 employees and would
be subject to the requirements of this bill.
2)Opposition. A coalition of employers, including the California
Chamber of Commerce and the California Retailers Association,
opposes this measure and argues that it will significantly
increase employers cost of doing business and will limit their
opportunity to provide flexibility to employees as well as
offer additional hours of work, as doing so will expose the
employer to litigation and statutory penalties.
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The opponents note that in December 2014, the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors passed the "Retail Workers Bill of
Rights" that included a "fair scheduling" mandate, similar to
that proposed in this bill. The ordinance will not go into
effect until July 3, 2015. They state that San Francisco has
yet to see the consequences from the impact of its local
ordinance mandating penalties for schedule changes and believe
the bill is premature.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081