BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 897
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
897 (Gonzalez)
As Amended August 20, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 76-0 | (May 26, |SENATE: |24-10 | (August 31, |
| | |2015) | | |2015) |
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Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY: Enacts amendments related to recently-enacted
legislation related to grocery worker retention to specify that
the law does not include a retail store that has ceased
operations for six months or more.
The Senate amendments delete the contents of this bill and
instead provide that, with respect to recently-enacted
legislation relating to grocery worker retention, the definition
of "grocery establishment" does not include a retail store that
has ceased operations for six months or more.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: As passed by the Assembly, this bill made changes to
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the rules governing retention of court files involving certain
misdemeanor traffic offenses. However, Senate amendments delete
the contents of this bill and instead make a change to
recently-enacted legislation related to grocery worker
retention, in response to the Governor's signing message.
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed and the Governor
signed AB 359 (Gonzalez), Chapter 212, Statutes of 2015.
AB 359 established a worker retention requirement upon a change
in control of a grocery establishment that requires an incumbent
employer to prepare a list of specified eligible grocery workers
for a successor grocery employer, and requires the successor
grocery employer to hire from this list during a 90-day
transition period. AB 359 required the successor grocery
employer to retain eligible grocery workers for a 90-day period,
prohibited the successor grocery employer from discharging those
workers without cause during that period, and, upon the close of
that period, required the successor grocery employer to consider
offering continued employment to those workers.
AB 359 was signed by Governor Brown on August 17, 2015, and will
go into effect on January 1, 2016. However, the Governor's
signature was accompanied by a signing message that stated:
I am signing Assembly Bill 359, which would require
a successor grocery employer to retain eligible
grocery workers for a 90-day transitional period
and, upon completion of that period, require the
successor grocery employer to consider offering
continued employment to those workers.
As drafted, the bill is not clear how the provisions
apply if an incumbent grocery employer has ceased
operations. The author and the sponsors have
committed to clarify the law would not apply to a
grocery store that has ceased operations for six
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months or more. I look forward to receiving that
fix before the end of this legislative session.
Therefore, in response to the Governor's signing message, this
bill provides that a "grocery establishment" for purposes of the
new law does not include a retail store that has ceased
operations for six months or more.
Analysis Prepared by:
Benjamin Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 FN:
0001542