BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2025
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2025 (Gonzalez)
As Amended August 19, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |69-3 |(May 19, 2016) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 23, |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & P.
SUMMARY: Requires the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology (BBC),
to provide practitioner and establishment applicants with
information about basic labor laws, as specified; requires the
BBC to translate all of its written materials in English,
Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese; and, authorizes the BBC to
collect voluntary demographic information of its applicants for
licensure and renewal. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the BBC to offer and make available all written
materials provided to licensees and applicants in English,
Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
2)Requires, commencing July 1, 2017, the BBC's Health and Safety
Advisory Committee to additionally advise the BBC on the issue
of how to ensure licensees are aware of basic labor laws,
including, but not limited to the following:
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a) Key differences 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;
d) Anti-retaliation laws relating to a worker's right to
file complaints with the Department of Industrial
Relations; and,
e) How to obtain more information about state and federal
labor laws.
3)Requires basic labor laws to be included in the BBC's health
and safety course on hazardous substances, commencing July 1,
2017.
4)Requires, as part of a complete establishment application and
electronic renewal 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 as provided by the BBC.
5)Requires, commencing July 1, 2017, every electronic renewal
application to include a signed acknowledgement that the
renewal applicant understands his or her rights as a licensee,
as specified.
6)Requires, commencing July 1, 2017, each applicant to include a
signed acknowledgment the he or she understands his or her
rights as a licensee as outlined in the information provided
by the BBC.
7)Requires the BBC, commencing July 1, 2017, to collect through
optional questions on an application for licensure, and in an
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electronic renewal application, the spoken and written
language preference of each applicant.
The Senate amendments revise the requirements for applicants for
an establishment and practitioner license to obtain information
about specified labor laws and make a technical and conforming
change.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in:
1)No significant costs are anticipated from the requirement to
provide information to licensees in Spanish, and Vietnamese or
to collect applicant demographic data. The Board has already
translated its informational materials into those languages or
is in the process of doing so. Similarly, the Board indicates
that cost to update the BreEze license application system to
collect optional demographic data from applicants can be
accommodated within the existing maintenance budget, given the
delayed implementation date of this requirement of January 1,
2018.
2)Additional information technology costs, likely over $150,000
to make changes to the BreEze online application system, to
record a license applicant's acknowledgement of his or her
responsibility to comply with state labor laws (Barbering and
Cosmetology Contingent Fund). This requirement of this bill
would go into effect on January 1, 2017 and could not be
absorbed within the current year maintenance budget.
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
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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 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 provide information to licensees on
basic labor laws. This bill will specifically require
applicants for an establishment and practitioner license and
licensure renewals to acknowledge, through the application
process, that they understand the informational materials on
basic labor laws. The materials on basic labor laws 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.
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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,
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. This bill will
require the health and safety course to include instruction on
basic labor laws, commencing July 1, 2017.
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
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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
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.
Beginning July 1, 2017, this bill will authorize the BBC, to
collect 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:
0004857