Amended in Senate June 25, 2015

Amended in Assembly June 1, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 621

Introduced by Assembly Member Roger Hernández

February 24, 2015

An act to add Section 2750.8 to the Labor Code, relating to employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

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 begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement agreement end insert 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 begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement agreement end insert contains prescribed components, including, but not limited to, an agreement by the motor carrier to pay all wages, benefits, and taxes owed, if any. The bill would permit a begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement agreement end insert to contain a provision authorizing the Labor Commissioner to recover from the carrier specified costs associated with the begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement agreement 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 1.  

Section 2750.8 is added to the Labor Code, to
read:

2750.8.  

(a) Notwithstanding any law, a motor carrier
performing drayage services at one or more ports in this state shall
be relieved of liability for statutory or civil penalties associated
with misclassification of commercial drivers as independent
contractors if the motor carrier enters into a begin delete consent decree end delete
begin insert settlement agreement end insert with the Labor Commissioner whereby the
motor carrier agrees to convert all of its commercial drivers to
employees.

(b) A begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement agreement end insert entered into pursuant
to subdivision (a) shall contain all of the following:

(1) An agreement by the motor carrier to pay all wages, benefits,
and taxes owed, if any, to or in relation to all of its converted
commercial drivers covering the period of time from the first date
of misclassification to the date the begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement
agreement end insert is entered into, but not exceeding the applicable statute
of limitations.

(2) An agreement by the motor carrier to maintain any converted
commercial driver positions as employee positions.

(3) An agreement by the motor carrier that any future
commercial drivers hired to perform the same or similar duties as
those employees converted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
presumed to have employee status and that the motor carrier shall
have the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that
they are not employees in any administrative or judicial proceeding
in which their employment status is an issue.

(4) Any other provisions the Labor Commissioner deems
necessary to carry out the intent of this section or to enforce the
begin delete provisions of the consent decree. end delete begin insert settlement agreement. end insert

(c) As used in this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(1) “Commercial driver” means a person who holds a valid
commercial driver’s license hired or contracted with to provide
port drayage services.

(2) “Motor carrier” means a registered owner, lessee, licensee,
or bailee of a commercial motor vehicle as set forth in begin insert subdivision
(b) of end insert Section begin delete 34500 end delete begin insert 15210 end insert of the Vehicle Code, who operates or
directs the operation of any such vehicle on a for-hire or
not-for-hire basis to perform port drayage services.

(3) “Port” means any sea or river port in this state.

(d) A begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement agreement end insert entered into pursuant
to subdivision (a) may contain a provision authorizing the Labor
Commissioner to recover from the motor carrier an amount
necessary to cover the Labor Commissioner’s reasonable costs
associated with the review, approval, and compliance with the
begin delete consent decree end delete begin insert settlement agreement end insert .

(e) This section shall not apply to a motor carrier that has a
pending civil lawsuit against it in state or federal court alleging
misclassification of commercial drivers where the lawsuit was
filed prior to January 1, 2015.

(f) This section shall apply only to begin delete consent decrees end delete begin insert settlement
agreements end insert entered into by the Labor Commissioner prior to
January 1, 2017.