Amended in Senate September 4, 2015

Amended in Senate June 15, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 795

Introduced by Assembly Member begin delete Low end delete begin insert Atkins end insert

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(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Low)

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February 25, 2015

An act to begin delete amend end delete begin insert add end insert Section begin delete 90.5 of end delete begin insert 12012.69 to end insert the begin delete Labor end delete begin insert Government end insert Code, relating to begin delete employment. end delete begin insert end insert begin insert tribal gaming, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 795, as amended, begin delete Low end delete   begin insert Atkins end insert . begin delete Employment: Department of Industrial Relations: wage claims and retaliation complaints. end delete begin insert Tribal gaming: compact ratification. end insert

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Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments to tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes.

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The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.

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This bill would ratify the tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the State of California and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, executed on September 2, 2015. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions are not projects for the purposes of CEQA.

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This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

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Existing law establishes within the Department of Industrial Relations the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which is vested with the general duty of enforcing labor laws, including those relating to wage claims and employer retaliation. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner, defined as the Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, to establish and maintain a field enforcement unit in order to ensure that minimum labor standards are met. Existing law requires the commissioner to report annually to the Legislature, not later than March 1, concerning the effectiveness of the field enforcement unit, as specified.

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This bill would require the Labor Commissioner to include in its report to the Legislature, as described above, specified information on the status of wage claims and retaliation complaints, including the average amount of time it takes for a wage claim to receive a preliminary hearing and the current backlog of claims and complaints.

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Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 12012.69 is added to the end insert begin insert Government
Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 12012.69. end insert   

(a) The tribal-state gaming compact entered into
in accordance with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of
1988 (18 U.S.C. Secs. 1166 to 1168, inclusive, and 25 U.S.C. Sec.
2701 et seq.) between the State of California and the Sycuan Band
of the Kumeyaay Nation, executed on September 2, 2015, is hereby
ratified.

(b) (1) In deference to tribal sovereignty, none of the following
shall be deemed a project for purposes of the California
Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section
21000) of the Public Resources Code):

(A) The execution of an amendment to the tribal-state gaming
compact ratified by this section.

(B) The execution of the tribal-state gaming compact ratified
by this section.

(C) The execution of an intergovernmental agreement between
a tribe and a county or city government negotiated pursuant to
the express authority of, or as expressly referenced in, the
tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.

(D) The execution of an intergovernmental agreement between
a tribe and the Department of Transportation negotiated pursuant
to the express authority of, or as expressly referenced in, the
tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.

(E) The on-reservation impacts of compliance with the terms
of the tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.

(F) The sale of compact assets, as defined in subdivision (a) of
Section 63048.6, or the creation of the special purpose trust
established pursuant to Section 63048.65.

(2) Except as expressly provided herein, this subdivision does
not exempt a city, county, or city and county, or the Department
of Transportation, from the requirements of the California
Environmental Quality Act.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

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In order to enhance the economic development, stability, and
self-sufficiency of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and
to protect the interests of the tribe and its members, the
surrounding community, and the California public at the earliest
possible time, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 90.5 of the Labor Code is amended to
read:

90.5.  

(a) It is the policy of this state to vigorously enforce
minimum labor standards in order to ensure employees are not
required or permitted to work under substandard unlawful
conditions or for employers that have not secured the payment of
compensation, and to protect employers who comply with the law
from those who attempt to gain a competitive advantage at the
expense of their workers by failing to comply with minimum labor
standards.

(b) In order to ensure that minimum labor standards are
adequately enforced, the Labor Commissioner shall establish and
maintain a field enforcement unit, which shall be administratively
and physically separate from offices of the division that accept
and determine individual employee complaints. The unit shall have
offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego,
Sacramento, and any other locations that the Labor Commissioner
deems appropriate. The unit shall have primary responsibility for
administering and enforcing those statutes and regulations most
effectively enforced through field investigations, including Sections
226, 1021, 1021.5, 1193.5, 1193.6, 1194.5, 1197, 1198, 1771,
1776, 1777.5, 2651, 2673, 2675, and 3700, in accordance with the
plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subdivision
(c). Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority
of this unit in enforcing any statute or regulation in the course of
its investigations.

(c) The Labor Commissioner shall adopt an enforcement plan
for the field enforcement unit. The plan shall identify priorities for
investigations to be undertaken by the unit that ensure the available
resources will be concentrated in industries, occupations, and areas
in which employees are relatively low paid and unskilled, and
those in which there has been a history of violations of the statutes
cited in subdivision (b), and those with high rates of noncompliance
with Section 3700.

(d) The Labor Commissioner shall annually report to the
Legislature, not later than March 1, concerning the following:

(1) The effectiveness of the field enforcement unit. This part of
the report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(A) The enforcement plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner
pursuant to subdivision (c), and the rationale for the priorities
identified in the plan.

(B) The number of establishments investigated by the unit, and
the number of types of violations found.

(C) The amount of wages found to be unlawfully withheld from
workers, and the amount of unpaid wages recovered for workers.

(D) The amount of penalties and unpaid wages transferred to
the General Fund as a result of the efforts of the unit.

(2) The status of wage claims and retaliation complaints. This
part of the report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:

(A) The average amount of time it takes for a wage claim to
receive a preliminary hearing.

(B) The number of determinations issued, the number of
investigative hearings held, the number of complaints dismissed,
and the number of complaints found valid, grouped by the year in
which the complaints were filed.

(C) An update on the division’s current backlog of wage claims
and retaliation complaints.

(e) The report required by subdivision (d) shall be provided in
compliance with the provisions of Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

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