BILL NUMBER: AB 465	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 2, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Roger Hernández

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2015

   An act to add Section 925 to the Labor Code, relating to
employment.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 465, as amended, Roger Hernández. Contracts against public
policy.
   Existing law declares that negotiation of terms and conditions of
labor should result from voluntary agreement between employer and
employee. Existing law provides that any person who coerces or
compels any other person to enter into an agreement, written or
verbal, not to join or become a member of any labor organization, as
a condition of securing employment or continuing in employment, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
   This bill would prohibit any person from requiring another person,
as a condition of employment, to agree to the waiver of any legal
right, penalty, forum, or procedure for any employment law
violations. The bill would prohibit a person from threatening,
retaliating against, or discriminating against another person based
on a refusal to agree to such waiver, and would provide that any such
waiver required from an employee or potential employee as a
condition of employment or continued employment is unconscionable,
against public policy, and unenforceable. The bill would require that
any waiver of a person's employment  rights  
rights, not prohibited by state or federal law,  be knowing and
voluntary and in writing, and expressly not made as a condition of
employment. The bill would provide that a person seeking to enforce a
waiver has the burden of proof to show that the waiver was knowing
and voluntary. The bill would apply to any waiver agreement entered
into on or after January 1, 2016, and would impose a $10,000 penalty
against the employer for each violation of its provisions, with the
penalty moneys and reasonable attorney's fees awarded to the
prevailing claimant.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares that it is the
policy of the State of California to ensure that all persons have the
full benefit of the rights, penalties, remedies, forums, and
procedures established in the Labor Code, and that individuals not be
deprived of those rights, penalties, remedies, forums, or procedures
through the use of involuntary or coerced waivers.
   (b) It is the purpose of this act to ensure that a contract to
waive any of the rights, penalties, remedies, forums, or procedures
under the Labor Code, including any provision that has the effect of
limiting the full application or enforcement of any right, remedy,
forum, or procedure available under the Labor Code, is a matter of
voluntary consent, not coercion.
  SEC. 2.  Section 925 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
   925.  (a) A person shall not require another person to waive any
legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of
any provision of this code, as a condition of employment, including
the right to file and pursue a civil action or complaint with, or
otherwise notify, the Labor Commissioner, state agency, other public
prosecutor, law enforcement agency, or any court or other
governmental entity.
   (b) A person shall not threaten, retaliate, or discriminate
against another person on the basis that the other person refuses to
waive any legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a
violation of this code, including the right to file and pursue a
civil action or complaint with, or otherwise notify, the Labor
Commissioner, state agency, other public prosecutor, law enforcement
agency, or any court or other governmental entity.
   (c)  Any   Except for any legal right,
penalty, forum, or procedure that state or federal law prohibits from
being waived, any  waiver of any legal right, penalty, remedy,
forum, or procedure for a violation of this code, including the right
to file and pursue a civil action or complaint with, or otherwise
notify, the Labor Commissioner, state agency, other public
prosecutor, law enforcement agency, or any court or other
governmental entity shall be knowing and voluntary and in writing,
and expressly not made as a condition of employment.
   (d) Any waiver of any legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or
procedure for a violation of this code that is required as a
condition of employment shall be deemed involuntary, unconscionable,
against public policy, and unenforceable. Nothing in this subdivision
shall affect the enforceability or validity of any other provision
of the contract.
   (e) Any person who seeks to enforce a waiver of any legal right,
penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this code
shall have the burden of proving that the waiver was knowing and
voluntary and not made as a condition of employment.
   (f) This section shall apply to any agreement to waive any legal
right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this
code, including an agreement to accept private arbitration, entered
into, altered, modified, renewed, or extended on or after January 1,
2016.
   (g) In addition to any other remedies available, a person who
violates this section is liable for a civil penalty not exceeding ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) per individual for each violation of this
section and reasonable attorney's fees.