BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Senator Tony Mendoza, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2230 Hearing Date: June 29,
2016
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|Author: |Chu |
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|Version: |June 22, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Gideon L. Baum |
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Subject: Overtime compensation: private elementary or
secondary academic institutions: teachers
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature create a new overtime exemption for
private school teachers that is tied to comparable public school
teacher salaries, rather than the state minimum wage?
ANALYSIS
Existing law:
1) Requires any work in excess of eight hours in one
workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one
workweek to be compensated at the rate of no less than one
and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee.
(Labor Code §510)
2) Exempts private school teachers from the requirements of
overtime if the teacher is paid a monthly salary that is
the equivalent of at least twice the state minimum wage for
full time employment. (Labor Code §515.8)
3) Defines a private school teacher as an employee who is
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primarily engaged in the duty of imparting knowledge to
pupils by teaching, instructing, or lecturing and
customarily and regularly exercises discretion and
independent judgment in performing the duties of a teacher.
(Labor Code §515.8)
4) Sets the current California minimum wage at $10.00 per
hour. (Labor Code §1182.12)
5) Starting January 1, 2017, incrementally increases the
state's minimum wage, depending on the size of the employer
and future economic conditions, to $15 per hour and then
ties annual minimum wage increases to the U.S. Consumer
Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation. (Labor
Code §1182.12)
This bill strikes the current overtime exemption for private
school teachers and instead requires that, in order to be exempt
from overtime, private school teachers must make the greater of
either:
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.
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.
COMMENTS
1. Need for this bill?
As noted above, under existing law private school teachers are
exempted from overtime if they make at least twice the minimum
wage. Starting in January 1, 2017, the State of California
will begin to gradually increase the state minimum wage, which
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will eventually be indexed to the consumer price index (CPI)
once the minimum wage reaches $15 per hour. The CPI increase
would be calculated on August 1st and take effect the January
1 of the following year. For private schools that calculate
their budgets prior the beginning of the school year, this can
present a moving target for calculating the level of wages
that would trigger the overtime exemption.
AB 2230 would simplify this calculation by tying private
school wages to a set percentage of comparable public school
wages.
2. Referral to Senate Rules Committee:
If AB 2230 is passed out of Committee, it will be referred to
the Senate Rules Committee.
3. Proponent Arguments :
Proponents note that private school teachers are currently
exempted from overtime if they are paid twice the minimum
wage. However, proponents note that this calculation is
arbitrary and not based on the day-to-day realities of the
teaching profession and local economic variation. Proponents
argue that AB 2230 will address these inadequacies by tying
the private teacher overtime to the salaries of public school
teachers, establishing a wage floor for private school
teachers that will increase in step with earnings received by
public school counterparts. Proponents also argue that AB 2230
will help ensure that private school teachers employed in more
affluent communities receive higher levels of compensation,
while still ensuring that private school teachers who teach in
less affluent areas are not denied reasonable compensation.
4. Opponent Arguments :
None on file.
5. Prior Legislation :
AB 2613 (Mullin), Chapter 159, Statutes of 2006, created the
current private school teacher overtime exemption.
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SUPPORT
California Association of Private School Organizations
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
OPPOSITION
None received.
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