AB 621, as amended, Roger Hernández. Drayage truck operators.
Existing law governs the relationship between an employer and an employee with regard to hiring, promotion, discipline, wages and hours, working conditions, and administrative and judicial remedies. Existing law sets forth guidelines for determining whether a person who performs work for another pursuant to a contract is an employee or an independent contractor. Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate employee complaints and to conduct a hearing in any action to recover wages, penalties, and other demands for compensation.
This bill would, notwithstanding any law, relieve a motor carrier performing drayage services of liability for statutory or civil penalties associated with misclassification of commercial drivers as independent contractors if the motor carrier enters into a consent decree with the Labor Commissioner prior to January 1, 2017, whereby the motor carrier agrees to convert all of its commercial drivers to employees, and the consent decree contains prescribed components, including, but not limited to, an agreement by the motor carrier to pay all wages, benefits, and taxes owed, if any.begin insert The bill would permit a consent decree to contain a provision authorizing the Labor Commissioner to recover from the carrier specified costs associated with the consent decree.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 2750.8 is added to the Labor Code, to
2read:
(a) Notwithstanding any law, a motor carrier
4performing drayage services at one or more ports in this state shall
5be relieved of liability for statutory or civil penalties associated
6with misclassification of commercial drivers as independent
7contractors if the motor carrier enters into a consent decree with
8the Labor Commissioner whereby the motor carrier agrees to
9convert all of its commercial drivers to employees.
10(b) A consent decree entered into pursuant to subdivision (a)
11shall contain all of the following:
12(1) An agreement by the motor carrier to pay all wages, benefits,
13and taxes owed, if any, to or in
relation to all of its converted
14commercial drivers covering the period of time from the first date
15of misclassification to the date the consent decree is entered into,
16but not exceeding the applicable statute of limitations.
17(2) An agreement by the motor carrier to maintain any converted
18commercial driver positions as employee positions.
19(3) An agreement by the motor carrier that any future
20commercial drivers hired to perform the same or similar duties as
21those employees converted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
22presumed to have employee status and that the motor carrier shall
23have the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that
24they are not employees in any administrative or judicial proceeding
25in which their employment status is an issue.
26(4) Any other provisions the Labor Commissioner deems
27necessary to carry out the intent of this section or to enforce the
28provisions of the consent decree.
29(c) As used in this section, the following terms have the
30following meanings:
31(1) “Commercial driver” means a person who holds a valid
32commercial driver’s license hired or contracted with to provide
33port drayage services.
34(2) “Motor carrier” means a registered owner, lessee, licensee,
35or bailee of a commercial motor vehicle as set forth in Section
P3 134500 of the Vehicle Code, who operates or directs the operation
2of any such vehicle on a for-hire or not-for-hire basis to perform
3port drayage
services.
4(3) “Port” means any sea or river port in this state.
begin insert
5(d) A consent decree entered into pursuant to subdivision (a)
6may contain a provision authorizing the Labor Commissioner to
7recover from the motor carrier an amount necessary to cover the
8Labor Commissioner’s reasonable costs associated with the review,
9approval, and compliance with the consent decree.
10(d)
end delete
11begin insert(e)end insert This section shall not apply to a motor
carrier that has a
12pending civil lawsuit against it in state or federal court alleging
13misclassification of commercial drivers where the lawsuit was
14filed prior to January 1, 2015.
15(e)
end delete
16begin insert(f)end insert This section shall apply only to consent decrees entered into
17by the Labor Commissioner prior to January 1, 2017.
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