BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2230
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 22, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Tony Thurmond, Chair
AB 2230
(Chu) - As Amended June 22, 2016
SUBJECT: Overtime compensation: private elementary or
secondary academic institutions: teachers
SUMMARY: Amends an existing overtime exemption for private
school teachers to tie the exemption to comparable public school
teacher salaries, rather than the state minimum wage.
Specifically, this bill provides that an existing overtime
exemption for private school teachers applies if, on and after
July, 2017, the employee earns the greater of the following:
1)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.
2)The equivalent of no less than 70 percent of the lowest
schedule salary offered by the school district or county in
which the private school 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.
AB 2230
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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.
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.
3)Defines a private school teacher as an employee who is
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.
4)Sets the current California minimum wage at $10.00 per hour.
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)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: 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 will
AB 2230
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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.
This bill would simplify this calculation by tying private
school wages to a set percentage of comparable public school
wages.
Supporters note that private school teachers are currently
exempted from overtime if they are paid twice the minimum wage.
However, supporters note that this calculation is arbitrary and
not based on the day-to-day realities of the teaching profession
and local economic variation. Supporters argue that this bill
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.
Supporters also argue that this bill 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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Association of Private School Organizations
AB 2230
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California Catholic Conference
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091