BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 795
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
795 (Low) - As Amended March 26, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)
to submit a report to the Legislature regarding the amount of
time it takes for wage claims to receive a preliminary hearing
date.
AB 795
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor/absorbable costs to the DIR to produce and submit the
report.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill requires DIR to submit a report to the
Legislature detailing the length of time it takes for wage
claims to receive a hearing date.
2)Background. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)
Wage Claims Adjudication (WCA) unit under DIR handles over
30,000 new wage claims a year in 16 offices across the state.
Under current law, workers may file a claim before the DLSE
for unpaid wages (including minimum wage and overtime), other
compensation, and penalties through an administrative claims
process ("Berman" process). When a Berman claim is filed, WCA
staff typically hold a settlement conference and hearing on
the claim. In addition, WCA staff administer wage claims
brought by garment workers under a separate
statutorily-mandated process (known as "AB 633") for
investigating and adjudicating garment claims.
From 2009 to 2011 it took an average of seven months for a
wage claim to be heard. With regard to AB 633 claims, more
than half of the open cases filed two to three years prior
were still open during this timeframe.
AB 795
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As of May 2013, the length of time has been reduced to between
five and six months for Berman claims to be heard.
Although the DLSE has made progress to reduce the delays for
wage claim hearings and AB 633 cases in the last two years,
the author contends more work needs to be done to further
expedite the wage claims hearing process.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081