BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1978 (Gonzalez) - Employment: property service workers
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|Version: June 22, 2016 |Policy Vote: L. & I.R. 4 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1978 would (1) create a registration process for
janitorial employers, and (2) require sexual harassment and
violence prevention training for janitorial workers.
Fiscal
Impact: The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) estimates
that it would incur initial costs of $3.5 million and ongoing
costs of $2.3 million to implement the provisions of the bill
(special fund). These costs would be somewhat offset by the
bill's proposed registration fee and civil penalties. It is
difficult to estimate how many employers would be required to
register and whether the fees generated would fully cover the
costs of the program. DIR has the authority to increase fees if
necessary.
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Background: The UC Berkeley Labor Center recently released a report with
the following findings related to the janitorial industry: (1)
research statistics and in-depth interviews suggest that women
janitors are at risk of sexual harassment and assault in what
are often isolated working conditions, (2) sexual harassment
policies are not in place or are inadequate or unenforced, (3)
workers may not know to whom they can report harassment, even if
they know harassment is illegal, (4) supervisors are often not
trained on how to respond, and (5) janitors are
disproportionately workers of color and immigrants; 75 percent
of contracted janitors were born outside the U.S.
Proposed Law:
This bill would create the Property Services Workers Protection
Act, which seeks to protect janitorial employees from wage theft
and sexual harassment. Specifically, this bill would, among
other things, do the following.
Require DSLE, no later than January 1, 2018, to do the
following:
o Develop worker and supervisor agendas, handouts,
facilitation guides, and other materials for a four-hour
training regarding sexual harassment, sexual violence,
and human trafficking that are appropriate for the
janitorial industry and the languages and literacy levels
of covered workers, as specified. DLSE shall provide
these materials in all languages that are the language
spoken at home of at least 2,000 janitors who reside in
the state, and shall update these materials annually.
o Establish requirements that employers shall require
all covered workers and supervisors, to at least
annually, receive comprehensive, accurate and appropriate
in-person training lasting at least four hours regarding
sexual harassment and sexual assault that provides an
opportunity for interactive questions and answers, as
specified.
o Establish minimum qualification standards for
trainers who may deliver such training, including but not
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limited to, a minimum of three years of experience
conducting adult education with non-English speakers with
a reading ability at or below the fifth grade level in
the language spoken at home. The collective bargaining
agent that represents the employer's covered workers or
the designee of the collective bargaining agent may
deliver such trainings.
o Establish requirements for employers to maintain
accurate records of training, as specified.
o Require employers to post and display prominently a
notice, developed by the DLSE and posted on its website,
that informs covered workers of their rights under the
sexual harassment and human trafficking laws, contain
examples of illegal employer conduct, and provide the
contact information for local resources to assist those
who have experienced sexual harassment and human
trafficking.
o Appoint, along with the Division of Occupational
Safety and Health, an advisory group of stakeholders to
assist them in carrying out their respective
responsibilities under this bill. The advisory group must
include representatives from at least one nonprofit
organization that advocates for policies and standards to
prevent workplace sexual violence and harassment in the
janitorial industry, and from a labor organization that
represents covered workers.
o Issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out
this bill.
Require the Occupational Safety and Health Standards
Board, no later than July 1, 2018, to adopt standards that
require an employer to adopt a workplace sexual violence
and sexual harassment prevention plan, as a part of its
injury and illness prevention plan, to protect covered
workers from sexual violence and harassment.
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Provide that on and after January 1, 2018, no employer
may conduct any janitorial business without a valid
registration and all employers must be registered with
DLSE.
Provide that, in order to qualify for a certificate of
registration or renewal, an employer shall:
o Beginning January 1, 2018, register with DLSE and
pay an initial application fee of $500 and an annual
renewal fee of $500.
o Execute a written application, under penalty of
perjury, that contains specified information, including
an oath that the employer shall follow all applicable
federal, state, and local laws.
o Provide evidence, disclosures, or releases under
penalty of perjury, as are necessary to establish
specified information, including proof of workers'
compensation coverage and if the employer is liable for
any delinquent liabilities, which includes unpaid wages
and arbitration awards due to sexual harassment,
including interest, fines, and penalties.
Establish specified posting and recordkeeping
requirements for covered employers.
Provide that DLSE shall not grant registration or
renewal of registration to specified employers, including
lacking workers' compensation coverage, made false
statements or has not submitted the necessary application
information, or has a delinquent liability to the state or
a worker.
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Authorize DLSE to revoke, suspend, or place a
registration on probation if specified requirements are
met, including failing to maintain a bond for payment of a
delinquent liability.
Require DLSE to establish a Property Services Compliance
Unit to enforce the requirements of this bill.
Establish civil penalties of $2,500 for failing to have
a current and valid registration or violating the
provisions of this act.
Establish additional civil penalties against any
employer that has been previously assessed civil penalties
to an additional penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) for
each calendar day that the employer conducts business in
violation of Act, not to exceed one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000).
Authorize DLSE to issue a stop order against an employer
that is conducting business without a valid registration,
and establishes criminal penalties for an employer that
fails to observe a stop order.
Establish the State Janitorial Contractor Registration
Fund, to be funded by registration fees and civil
penalties. Moneys in the Fund shall only be used for
administering the registration of janitorial contractors
and the administration and enforcement of the requirements
of this bill.
Permit DLSE to audit employers in order to ensure
compliance with this Act.
Provide that, after February 1, 2018, DIR's website
shall include a regularly updated, searchable database of
registered covered employers. The database will have the
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capability to search all data for at least the past ten
years, and will include specified information.
Provide that after July 1, 2018, DIR's website shall
include a searchable database regarding its compliance and
enforcement activities. The database will have the
capability to search all data for at least the past ten
years, and will include specified information.
Extend FEHA liability due to sexual harassment or
violence by a janitorial employer or supervisor to a person
or entity who contracts or subcontracts with a janitorial
employer who lacks a current or valid registration.
Create a presumption that a person or entity that
contracts with a janitorial employer who has a current and
valid registration is NOT liable for a FEHA violation due
to sexual harassment or violence by a janitorial employer
or supervisor against a janitorial worker.
Related
Legislation: AB 350 (Solorio) of 2011 would have expanded the
provisions of existing law which requires janitorial or building
maintenance service contractors to retain employees for 60 days
following the awarding of a contract. The bill failed passaged
on the Senate Floor.
Staff
Comments: This bill would create significant new workload for
DIR. As noted above, the department estimates costs of $3.5
million initially and $2.3 million ongoing, offset to some
extent by registration fees and civil penalties. It is difficult
to estimate how many employers would be required to register and
whether the fees generated would fully cover the costs of the
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program. DIR has the authority to increase fees if necessary.
DIR would allocate these new resources for staff to operate the
Property Services registration unit and administer the
additional enforcement requirements posed by the bill. A
one-time allocation would be required to develop the sexual
harassment and violence prevention training materials as
specified with ongoing resources to handle translating updated
materials. Additionally the Department would require resources
to create the database required by this bill and estimates costs
for ongoing maintenance.
Any local government costs resulting from the mandate in this
measure are not state-reimbursable because the mandate only
involves the definition of a crime or the penalty for conviction
of a crime.
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