Amended in Senate June 22, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 9, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2230

Introduced by Assembly Member Chu

February 18, 2016

begin delete An act to amend Section 5811 of the Labor Code, relating to workers’ compensation. end delete begin insert An act to amend Section 515.8 of the Labor Code, relating to employment. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2230, as amended, Chu. begin delete Workers’ compensation: language interpreters. end delete begin insert Overtime compensation: private elementary or secondary academic institutions: teachers. end insert

begin insert

Existing law provides that 8 hours of labor constitutes a day’s work. Under existing law, any work in excess of 8 hours in one workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek, and the first 8 hours worked on the 7th day of work in any one workweek, is required to be compensated at the rate of no less than 11⁄2 times the regular rate of pay for an employee. Existing law also provides that hours worked in excess of 12 hours in one day as well as hours worked in excess of 8 hours on any 7th day of work are to be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay of an employee. Existing law exempts from these provisions an individual employed as a teacher at a private elementary or secondary academic institution if specified requirements are met, including, among others, that the employee earns a monthly salary equivalent to no less than 2 times the state minimum wage for full-time employment.

end insert begin insert

This bill would suspend that earnings standard until July 1, 2017. On and after that date, the bill would prescribe a revised earnings standard for exemption from the overtime provisions described above that would require the employee to earn no less than the lowest salary offered by any school district or the equivalent of no less than 70% of the lowest schedule salary offered by the school district or county in which the private elementary or secondary institution is located, as specified.

end insert begin delete

Existing law establishes a workers’ compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation, that generally requires employers to secure the payment of workers’ compensation for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment. Existing law requires an employer to provide all medical, surgical, chiropractic, acupuncture, and hospital treatment that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the injured worker from the effects of his or her injury, and makes the employer liable for the reasonable expense incurred by or on behalf of the employee in providing treatment, as specified. Existing law authorizes a qualified interpreter to render services in various settings for purposes of workers compensation claims. Existing law prohibits an interpreter from disclosing to any person who is not an immediate participant in the communications the content of the conversations or documents that the interpreter has interpreted or transliterated unless the disclosure is compelled by court order.

end delete begin delete

This bill would expressly include within this prohibition the disclosure of any communication or transliteration involving attorney-client privileged communications, and would make additional nonsubstantive conforming changes.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 515.8 of the end insert begin insert Labor Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

515.8.  

(a) Section 510 does not apply to an individual
employed as a teacher at a private elementary or secondary
academic institution in which pupils are enrolled in kindergarten
or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(b) For purposes of this section, “employed as a teacher” means
that the employee meets all of the following requirements:

(1) The employee is primarily engaged in the duty of imparting
knowledge to pupils by teaching, instructing, or lecturing.

(2) The employee customarily and regularly exercises discretion
and independent judgment in performing the duties of a teacher.

(3)  begin delete The end delete begin insert On and after July 1, 2017, the end insert employee earns begin delete a monthly
salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage
for full-time employment. end delete begin insert the greater of the following: end insert

begin insert

(A) No less than 100 percent of the lowest salary offered by any
school district to a person who is in a position that requires the
person to have a valid California teaching credential and is not
employed in that position pursuant to an emergency permit, intern
permit, or waiver.

end insert begin insert

(B) The equivalent of no less than 70 percent of the lowest
schedule salary offered by the school district or county in which
the private elementary or secondary academic institution is located
to a person who is in a position that requires the person to have
a valid California teaching credential and is not employed in that
position pursuant to an emergency permit, intern permit, or waiver.

end insert

(4) The employee has attained at least one of the following
levels of professional advancement:

(A) A baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited
institution of higher education.

(B) Current compliance with the requirements established by
the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, or the
equivalent certification authority in another state, for obtaining a
preliminary or alternative teaching credential.

(c) This section does not apply to any tutor, teaching assistant,
instructional aide, student teacher, day care provider, vocational
instructor, or other similar employee.

(d) The exemption established in subdivision (a) is in addition
to, and does not limit or supersede, any exemption from overtime
established by a Wage Order of the Industrial Welfare Commission
for persons employed in a professional capacity, and does not
affect any exemption from overtime established by that commission
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 515 for persons employed
in an executive or administrative capacity.

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 5811 of the Labor Code is amended to
read:

5811.  

(a) No fees shall be charged by the clerk of any court
for the performance of any official service required by this division,
except for the docketing of awards as judgments and for certified
copies of transcripts thereof. In all proceedings under this division
before the appeals board, costs as between the parties may be
allowed by the appeals board.

(b) (1) It shall be the responsibility of any party producing a
witness requiring an interpreter to arrange for the presence of a
qualified interpreter.

(2) A qualified interpreter is a language interpreter who is
certified, or deemed certified, pursuant to Article 8 (commencing
with Section 11435.05) of Chapter 4.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of
Title 2 of, or Section 68566 of, the Government Code. The duty
of an interpreter is to accurately and impartially translate oral
communications and transliterate written materials, and not to act
as an agent or advocate. An interpreter shall not disclose to any
person who is not an immediate participant in the communications
the content of the conversations or documents that the interpreter
has interpreted or transliterated, including, regardless of the
circumstances of where or how the communication occurred, any
communication or transliteration involving attorney-client
privileged communications, unless the disclosure is compelled by
court order. An attempt by any party or attorney to obtain
disclosure, including, regardless of the circumstances of where or
how the communication occurred, disclosure of any communication
or transliteration involving attorney-client privileged
communications, is a bad faith tactic that is subject to Section
5813.

(3) Interpreter fees that are reasonably, actually, and necessarily
incurred shall be paid by the employer under this section, provided
they are in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by the
administrative director.

(4) A qualified interpreter may render services during the
following:

(A) A deposition.

(B) An appeals board hearing.

(C) A medical treatment appointment or medical-legal
examination.

(D) During those settings which the administrative director
determines are reasonably necessary to ascertain the validity or
extent of injury to an employee who does not proficiently speak
or understand the English language.

end delete