BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 676 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 676 (Calderon) - As Introduced February 25, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Labor and Employment |Vote:|5 - 1 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill prohibits, starting July 1, 2016, an employer, an employment agency, or a person who operates an Internet Web site for posting jobs from publishing an advertisement or announcement for a job that indicates current employment is a requirement, unless this is based on a bona fide occupational qualification. Specifically, this bill: AB 676 Page 2 1)Prohibits an employer or an employment agency from affirmatively asking an applicant to disclose information concerning the applicant's current employment status until the employer has determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications for the position. 2)Prohibits an employment agency, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification, from limiting, segregating, or classifying an individual in any manner that may limit that individual's access to information about jobs or referrals for consideration of jobs because of the individual's employment status. 3)Prohibits an employer, employment agency, or person operating a job posting website from interfering with, restraining, or denying the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any rights provided under this bill, or discriminating against an individual because the individual has engaged in specified activities. 4)Authorizes an individual aggrieved by a violation of this bill to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. 5)Establishes civil penalties of $1,000 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second violation, and $10,000 for each subsequent violation. 6)Specifies this bill does not create or authorize a private right of action. 7)Defines "employment status" to mean an individual's present unemployment, regardless of length of time that the individual has been unemployed. FISCAL EFFECT: Administrative costs to the Department of Labor AB 676 Page 3 Standards Enforcement, potentially in the range of $1 million to $3 million (special funds), to process, review, and investigate complaints. Predicting the number and nature of the claims that may come before the DLSE is difficult. According to data from the Employment Development Department, as of February, there are approximately 1.2 million unemployed workers in California. According to DLSE, cases involving retaliation often involve lengthy, resource intensive investigations. This bill also expands DLSE enforcement authority to include 3rd party internet website providers. This is a new addition to the DLSE statutory framework and associated costs are difficult to determine. Further, this bill prohibits a private right of action, meaning all complaints would come before DLSE. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. Over the last several years, significant media attention has focused on reports that some employers are refusing to consider applicants for employment unless those individuals are currently employed in other jobs. Further, research conducted by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) in 2011 identified more than 150 ads that included exclusions based on current employment status. This bill seeks to address discrimination against the unemployed by prohibiting current employment as a requirement, unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification. 2)Prior legislation. This bill is nearly identical to AB 2271 (Calderon) of 2014, vetoed by Governor Brown. The veto message reads as follows: "This bill would prohibit an employer from discriminating against job applicants based on the applicant's status as AB 676 Page 4 unemployed. While I support the intent of this bill, it could impede the state's efforts to connect unemployed workers to prospective employers as currently drafted. The problems facing our state's long term unemployed are great. There is no doubt that those Californians want to get back to work and I want to help them get there - unfortunately this bill does not provide the proper path to address this problem." Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081