BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2899|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2899
Author: Roger Hernández (D)
Amended: 5/4/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 6/29/16
AYES: Mendoza, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
NOES: Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 52-24, 5/23/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Minimum wage violations: challenges
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires that, prior to filing an appeal of a
decision by the Labor Commissioner (LC) relating to a violation
of wage laws, employers must post a bond with the LC which
covers the unpaid wages and damages owed to employees.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Allows employees, who claim that they have not been paid the
minimum wage, to file an administrative claim with the LC
rather than filing a civil suit. This claim can then be heard
in an administrative adjudication hearing (Labor Code §98).
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2)Allows the decisions of these hearings to be appealed to the
Superior Court, but employers who wish to file an appeal in
this way must first post a bond with the court that covers the
amount owed under the previous decision, order, or award, only
in those circumstances when an employee filed the original
claim (Labor Code §98.2).
This bill:
1)Creates a wage bond requirement for employer appeals
challenging a citation and decision initiated by the LC, when
the LC finds a violation of wage laws.
2)Requires that this bond must be filed with the LC and include
the total amount of any minimum wages, liquidated damages, and
overtime compensation owed as specified in the citation being
challenged. The bond amount would not include amounts for
penalties.
3)Specifies that the bond shall be issued by a surety
duly-authorized to do business in the state, and in favor of
unpaid employees, thus ensuring that the employer makes
payments owed.
Comments
Need for this bill? According to the author, under current law,
an employee may file a wage claim with the LC for unpaid wages.
If the LC rules in favor of the employee, the employer may
appeal to the Superior Court, but must first file a wage bond
for the amount of unpaid wages owed. This preserves the ability
of the employee to collect their wages in case the employer
shuts down or hides their assets to evade payment of the
judgment. However, this same bond requirement and protection
does not exist for actions and decisions initiated by the LC
involving wage law violations. This bill requires that before
appealing a decision by the LC, whether an employee filed the
original claim or the LC issued a citation, employers must post
a bond to ensure employees receive any payments owed to them.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16)
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author states that, under current
law, in addition to an employee complaint, the LC can cite an
employer for unpaid wages after an investigation. If the LC
rules against the employer, the employer may appeal to the
Superior Court. Therefore, this bill would similarly require an
employer, prior to filing such an appeal, to post a wage bond
for the amount of the unpaid wages. As a result, the author
believes that this bill helps bring consistency to the processes
and remedies regarding both employee wage claims and LC
enforcement actions.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 52-24, 5/23/16
AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper,
Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo
Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lopez,
Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Dahle,
Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim,
Lackey, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte,
Olsen, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Cooley, Eggman, Patterson
AB 2899
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Prepared by:Brandon Seto / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
8/3/16 18:21:30
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