BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 676|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 676
Author: Calderon (D)
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 6/24/15
AYES: Mendoza, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
NOES: Stone
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/30/15
AYES: Jackson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski
NOES: Moorlach, Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-27, 6/2/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Employment: discrimination: status as unemployed
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill prohibits an employer from 1) publishing an
advertisement or announcement for a job that includes a
provision stating or indicating that an unemployed person is not
eligible; and 2) asking an applicant to disclose the applicant's
employment status until the employer has determined that he/she
meets the minimum employment qualifications for the position.
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ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes employers to conduct an investigation, such as a
background check, into a person's character for employment
purposes.
2)Defines unlawful discrimination and lawful employment
practices by employers and employment agencies to protect both
prospective and current employees against employment
discrimination.
3)Prohibits, under the Fair Employment and Housing Act,
harassment and discrimination in employment because of, among
other things, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation,
marital status, mental and physical disability, age and/or
retaliation for protesting illegal discrimination related to
one of these categories or for reporting patient abuse in tax
supported institutions.
4)Prohibits employers from discriminating, discharging or
refusing to hire an employee based on an employee's lawful
conduct during nonworking hours away from the employer's
premises.
This bill:
1)Prohibits an employer, on and after July 1, 2016, from doing
the following:
a) Publishing in print, on the Internet, or in any other
medium, an advertisement or announcement for a job that
includes a provision stating or indicating that an
unemployed person is not eligible.
b) Asking an applicant to disclose, orally or in writing,
the applicant's employment status until the employer has
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determined that the applicant meets the minimum employment
qualifications for the position, as stated in the published
notice for the job.
2)Defines "employer" as the state or any political or civil
subdivision of the state or any person, as defined, who
directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other
person, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or
working conditions of any person.
3)Defines "employment status" as an individual's present
unemployment, regardless of the length of time that he/she has
been unemployed.
4)Specifies that these provisions shall not be construed to
prohibit an employer from:
a) Publishing, as specified, an advertisement or
announcement for any job that contains provisions setting
forth job qualifications, including:
i) Holding a current and valid professional or
occupational license, certificate, registration, permit,
or other credential.
ii)Requiring a minimum level of education or training, or
professional, occupational, or field experience.
iii)Stating that only individuals who are current employees
of the employer will be considered for that job.
b) Obtaining information regarding an individual's
employment, including recent relevant experience.
c) Having knowledge of a person's employment status.
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d) Inquiring as to the reasons for an individual's
employment status.
e) Refusing to offer employment to a person because of the
reasons underlying an individual's employment status.
f) Otherwise making employment decisions pertaining to that
individual.
5)Specifies that a violation of these provisions does not result
in a person being guilty of a misdemeanor.
Background
"Unemployed Need Not Apply"
The nation has suffered from a severe unemployment crisis that
has affected nearly all sectors of the economy. According to the
National Employment Law Project, around 9.8 million workers were
unemployed in May 2014, and 3.4 million, or 34.6 percent, of
those workers were searching for work for six months or more. In
the summer of 2010, news accounts began to emerge throughout the
country suggesting that some employers were establishing blanket
exclusions of unemployed workers from job consideration using
terms like "must be currently employed" or "require current (or
very recent) tenure," as part of the qualifications for
employment. One of the first stories reported, in May 2010,
involved accounts by media in Atlanta reporting that Sony
Ericsson's newly relocated headquarters had posted a job
announcement for a marketing position that explicitly stated,
"No Unemployed Candidates Considered At All."
Subsequently, in early 2011, the National Employment Law Project
(NELP) conducted a four-week review of the nation's most
prominent online job listing websites. NELP's research of job
postings identified more than 150 ads that included exclusions
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based on current employment status. (Briefing Paper: Hiring
Discrimination against the Unemployed, National Employment Law
Project, July 12, 2011) Most of the ads specifically stated that
applicants "must be currently employed."
Existing law also prohibits harassment and discrimination in
employment because of race, color, religion, sex and sexual
orientation, among others. However, nothing specifically
addresses the issue of discriminating against the unemployed.
This bill attempts to ban such a practice under state law by
prohibiting employers from discriminating against prospective
job applicants on the basis of his/her employment status.
White House: Addressing the Negative Cycle of Long-Term
Unemployment
In January 2014, the White House released a report, "Addressing
the Negative Cycle of Long-Term Unemployment," which explored
the challenge of long-term unemployment, something it called
"the worst legacy of the Great Recession." Among other things,
the report found that, although the long and short-term
unemployed have similar credentials overall, research suggests
that the long-term unemployed face significant disadvantages in
the labor market simply by virtue of their status as being
long-term unemployed. In response to these findings, the Obama
Administration announced the following:
1)New Best Practices for Hiring and Recruiting Long-Term
Unemployed: The Administration has engaged with America's
leading businesses to develop best practices for hiring and
recruiting the long-term unemployed and ensure they receive a
fair shot during hiring. Over 80 of the nation's largest
businesses have signed on as well as many small- and
medium-sized businesses.
2)Presidential Memorandum to Make Sure the Federal Government
Does the Same: The President will also lead by example to make
sure that individuals who are unemployed or have faced
financial difficulties through no fault of their own receive
fair treatment and consideration for employment by federal
agencies.
3)Fund programs that help find employment: The Department of
Labor is seeking to fund new programs that build on models
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that have shown success in helping the long-term unemployed
find employment through innovative partnerships and proven
strategies, including job-training, subsidized employment, and
sector-based strategies.
Prior Legislation
AB 2271 (Calderon, 2014) was nearly identical to the previous
version of this
bill and was vetoed by the Governor. Amendments to AB 676 taken
out of Senate
Appropriations Committee have revised and recast the provisions
to achieve the
author's goal, however, AB 2271 included civil penalties for
violations of these
provisions and the current version of this bill does not.
AB 1450 (Allen, 2012) was similar, but not identical, to this
bill and was also
vetoed by the Governor. AB 1450 also included state contracts
and would have specified that failure to comply would be grounds
for cancelling, terminating, or suspending the contract and
debarring the contractor (for up to three years) from
eligibility for future state contracts.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Department
of Industrial Relations would potentially incur increased
administrative costs in the range of $1 million annually
(special funds) to process, review, and investigate complaints.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/27/15)
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Conference of Machinists
California Employment Lawyers Association
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Nurses Association
California State Firefighters' Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
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Engineers & Scientists of California
Glendale City Employees Association
International Longshore & Warehouse Union
National Association of Social Workers, CA Chapter
Organization of SMUD Employees
Professional & Technical Engineers
San Bernardino Public Employees Association
San Diego County Court Employees Association
Service Employees International Union
San Luis Obispo County Employees Association
UNITE-HERE, AFL-CIO
Utility Workers Union of America
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/27/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, research
shows that the long-term unemployed are frequently overlooked
and sometimes excluded from job opportunities. Employers and
employment agencies have posted job vacancy notifications with
language such as "No unemployed candidates considered at all" or
"Only currently employed candidates will be considered."
Proponents argue that the long-term unemployed are some of
California's most in-need individuals whose harm is compounded
when their attempts to re-enter the work force are thwarted by
this type of discrimination. They cite a study which found that
long-term unemployed workers with otherwise identical resumes
were called back for interviews at rates 45% lower than the
short-term unemployed. Proponents believe this bill will level
the playing field for the long-term unemployed and allow a
person's credentials and qualifications to speak first, rather
than their status as an unemployed individual.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-27, 6/2/15
AYES: Alejo, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty,
Medina, Mullin, O'Donnell, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
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Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang,
Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones,
Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez,
Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Nazarian
Prepared by:Alma Perez / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
8/31/15 8:54:38
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