BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 795 Hearing Date: July 8,
2015
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|Author: |Low |
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|Version: |June 15, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Gideon Baum |
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Subject: Employment: Department of Industrial Relations: wage
claims and retaliation complaints.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature require the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement (DLSE) to include a section on the status of wage
and retaliation claims in their annual report?
ANALYSIS
Existing law establishes the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement (DLSE), headed by the Labor Commissioner, which is
empowered to enforce California's labor laws, including the
minimum wage and workers' compensation. (Labor Code §§ 79, 90.3,
& 90.5)
Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate
employee complaints and provide for a hearing in any action to
recover wages, penalties, and other demands for compensation,
including liquidated damages if the complaint alleges payment of
a wage less than the minimum wage fixed by an order of the
Industrial Welfare Commission or by statute, properly before the
division or the Labor Commissioner, including orders of the
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Industrial Welfare Commission, and is required to determine all
matters arising under his or her jurisdiction. (Labor Code §
98)
Existing law requires that the Labor Commissioner reports to the
Legislature, not later than March 1, concerning the
effectiveness of the field enforcement unit. The report must
include, but is not be limited to, all of the following:
1) The enforcement plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner,
and the rationale for the priorities identified in the
plan;
2) The number of establishments investigated by the unit,
and the number of types of violations found;
3) The amount of wages found to be unlawfully withheld from
workers, and the amount of unpaid wages recovered for
workers; and
4) The amount of penalties and unpaid wages transferred to
the General Fund as a result of the efforts of the unit.
This bill would add a second section to the annual legislative
report by the Labor Commissioner on the status of wage and
retaliation claims. This report would include:
1) The average amount of time it takes for a wage claim to
receive a preliminary hearing;
2) 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; and
3) An update on the division's current backlog of wage
claims and retaliation complaints.
COMMENTS
1. Wage Claims Adjudication:
In 2013, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued a
general update on the progress of the Division since 2010. In
the Report, the DLSE reported that, despite some of the lowest
staffing levels in recent years, DLSE was able to cut the
length of time a wage dispute reached a hearing from 7 months
to slightly less than 6 months. However, as of 2010, the
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adjudication process for garment manufacturing workers (known
as the AB 633 process) remains significantly longer than that.
While the number of AB 633 hearings tripled between 2011 and
2012, DLSE notes in their report that there is a continued
need to shorten hearing waiting times.
AB 795 would require that the DLSE report to the Legislature
on wage claim adjudication hearing wait times, backlog, and
decisions issued.
2. Proponent Arguments :
The author argues that DLSE has faced a significant backlog in
processing wage claims, which creates delays in workers
receiving the wages they are due. The author notes that such
delays adversely impact the most vulnerable Californians who
are desperately in need of their wages to meet the basic needs
of themselves and their families. The author believes that AB
795 will help address this by providing the Legislature with
timely data on the status of wage claim adjudication hearing
wait times, backlog, decisions issued.
3. Opponent Arguments :
None on file.
4. Current Legislation :
SB 588 (DeLeon), which was heard by this Committee in April,
allows the Labor Commissioner to file a lien or levy on an
employer's property in order to assist the employee in
collecting unpaid wages when there is a judgment against the
employer. SB 588 is currently before the Assembly Committee on
Labor and Employment.
SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
None received.
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