BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2025 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2025 (Gonzalez) As Amended August 19, 2016 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |69-3 |(May 19, 2016) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 23, | | | | | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: AB 2025 Page 2 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 AB 2025 Page 3 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 AB 2025 Page 4 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. AB 2025 Page 5 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 AB 2025 Page 6 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