BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2025
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
2025 (Gonzalez)
As Amended April 18, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Business & |13-0 |Salas, Baker, Bloom, | |
|Professions | |Campos, Chávez, | |
| | |Dahle, Dodd, Gatto, | |
| | |Gomez, Holden, | |
| | |Mullin, Ting, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, McCarty, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, Chau, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Obernolte, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 2025
Page 2
SUMMARY: Requires, beginning January 1, 2018, the Board of
Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC), as a condition of issuing an
establishment license, to ensure that the applicant has
knowledge of basic labor laws pertaining to the individuals who
work in establishments, as specified; requires the BBC to
consult with the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) in
developing and adding questions on the application for
licensure; requires the BBC to consult with stakeholders and the
DIR to create informational materials on basic labor laws;
requires the BBC to translate all of its written materials in
English, Spanish, and Vietnamese; and, authorizes the BBC to
collect voluntary demographic information of its applicants for
licensure. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the BBC to offer and make available all written
materials provided to licensees and applicants in English,
Spanish, and Vietnamese.
2)Requires the inclusion of instruction and coursework in labor
laws that pertain to the types of licensees who may work in
establishments for applicants for licensure.
3)Requires applicants for an establishment license to have
knowledge of basic labor laws that pertain to the types of
licensees who may work in the establishment.
4)Defines "basic labor laws," to include, but not be limited to
the following:
a) A key difference between the legal rights, benefits, and
obligations of an employee and an independent contractor;
b) Wage and hour rights for hourly employees;
c) Antidiscrimination laws relating to the use of a
particular language in the workplace; and,
AB 2025
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d) How to obtain more information about labor law from the
DIR.
5)Requires the BBC to ensure that applicants for an
establishment license have the knowledge of basic labor law by
consulting with the DIR to develop and add questions on basic
labor laws to the application; in consultation with DIR and
stakeholders select and create informational materials on
basic labor laws that the BBC determines to be practical and
accessible to all applicants.
6)Requires, as part of a complete application, a signed
acknowledgement that the applicant understands that
establishments are responsible for obeying labor laws of the
state and the informational materials on basic labor laws
established by the BBC.
7)Requires the BBC, commencing January 1, 2018, to collect
through optional questions on an application for licensure,
the demographic information of each applicant, including, but
not limited to, his or her spoken and written language
preference.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee,
1)Minor and absorbable costs to the BBC (special funds) to
develop and add general check mark questions regarding the
applicant's understanding of basic labor law to the
application for licensure. Staff notes that if the questions
instead require exam-like answers and correct answers are a
condition of licensure, the fiscal impact would be
substantially higher.
2)Minor and absorbable costs to the BBC (special funds) to
AB 2025
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create and make available information and to translate written
materials. The BBC indicates they have the necessary
information and are in the process of translating materials
currently.
3)Minor and absorbable costs for any information technology
workload required.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill aims to increase education and information
for licensees and establishment owners in basic labor laws and
also requires the BBC to translate informational material for
licensees into English, Spanish and Vietnamese. This bill is
sponsored by the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative.
According to the author, "California has many strong labor
standards, but part of enforcing those laws is making sure
workers know their rights, and that business owners are aware of
obligations to the workers in those businesses. [This bill]
takes the opportunity to educate workers and salon owners using
existing license application processes and training
requirements. The Legislature also knows that language barriers
are a problem for establishments regulated by the Board of
Barbering and Cosmetology, especially nail salons, which is why
[this bill] includes provisions to improve language access for
both workers and businesses."
Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. The BBC is responsible for
licensing and regulating barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians,
electrologists, manicurists, apprentices and approximately
41,000 establishments. Establishment licensees do not need to
hold a separate professional license. In order to obtain an
establishment license, an individual must submit an application
to the BBC and pay the appropriate fee. The application must
contain information about the applicant, whether it is a person,
AB 2025
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firm, or corporation that will be operating the establishment,
and specifically prohibits issuing an establishment license if
the individual, or each officer, director, or partner has
committed any acts or crimes, as specified, which are grounds
for denial.
The BBC is required to maintain a program of random and targeted
inspections of establishments to ensure compliance with
applicable laws relating to health and safety. While the BBC
inspects establishments for compliance with applicable health
and safety requirements, it does not have jurisdiction over the
enforcement of labor laws.
This bill does not provide the BBC with enforcement authority
for labor code violations; however, it will require the BBC to
create, in consultation with the DIR and stakeholders,
informational materials on basic labor laws which be accessible
to all licensees. This bill will specifically require
applicants for an establishment license to acknowledge, through
the application process, that they understand the informational
materials on basic labor laws. The materials on basic labor
laws developed by the BBC in consultation with the DIR must
include at a minimum, information about key differences between
the legal rights, benefits, and obligations of an employee and
independent contractor, wage and hour rights for employees,
antidiscrimination and, anti-retaliation laws.
Joint Hearing on Labor Practices, Health, and Safety in
California Nail Salons. Labor concerns for nail technicians
were raised in a May 7, 2015, article from the New York Times,
"The Price of Nice Nails", in which it was reported: "The New
York Times interviewed more than 150 nail salon workers and
owners, in four languages, and found that a vast majority of
workers are paid below minimum wage; sometimes they are not even
paid. Workers endure all manner of humiliation, including
having their tips docked as punishment for minor transgressions,
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constant video monitoring by owners, even physical abuse.
Employers are rarely punished for labor and other violations."
In August of 2015, the Assembly Select Committee on Women in the
Workplace, Assembly Select Committee on Girls and Women of
Color, Assembly Committee on Health, Assembly Committee on
Business and Professions, and the Assembly Committee on Labor
and Employment held a joint informational hearing which focused
on both the health and safety of licensees regarding exposure to
chemicals and other ingredients, and concerns about labor
practices in nail salons, where according to the Healthy Nail
Salon Collaborative, "there are approximately 97,100 manicurists
and 241,700 cosmetologists in California. Up to 80% are
estimated to be Vietnamese immigrants, and more than 50% are of
childbearing age."
Health and Safety Curriculum. The BBC is required to design the
curriculum of a health and safety course that must be covered by
schools as part of the hours of required instruction. Business
and Professions Code Section 7389 specifies that the BBC is to
develop or adopt a health and safety course on hazardous
substances, which must be taught in schools approved by the BBC.
This curriculum needs to be taught as a stand-alone course,
separate from other curricula, in order to fulfill the Health
and Safety Hazardous Substances requirement.
Language Access Issues. During the BBC's 2015 Sunset Review,
the issue of language access and the BBC's ability to enhance
language-access services to consumers and licensees was raised.
As noted in the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions
2015 background paper, because the BBC's licensing population is
over 550,000 licensees, in order to meet the needs of its
diverse licensing population, with respect to regulatory
oversight, it is critical that the BBC is able to communicate
effectively with its licensees throughout the lifecycle of the
licensing process. The BBC noted in its 2014 Sunset Review
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Report that it made language access one of its priorities over
the last two years. To that end, the BBC reported that it has
translated all of its documents into Vietnamese, Spanish, and
Korean. This bill would require the BBC to offer and make
available all written materials provided to licensees and
applicants in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Another issue
that was raised during the BBC's 2015 sunset review hearing
pertained to the collection of demographic data of
BBC-licensees. Without statutory authority, the BBC reports
that it is not able to collect specified data about its
applicants or licensees, including language preferences. This
bill will authorize the BBC to collect specified demographic
information of its licensees, including language preference, if
an applicant chooses to provide the information. This bill will
not require applicants for licensure to provide such
information.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0002959