BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 702|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 702
Author: McGuire (D), et al.
Amended: 1/4/16
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 1/13/16
AYES: Mendoza, Stone, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 1/21/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Employment of minors: agricultural packing plants
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill extends a Lake County-specific exemption of
child labor law that allows minors to work during the peak
agricultural season when school is not in session.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits any employer employing a minor 16 or 17 years of age
for more than 8 hours in one day or more than 48 hours in one
week. (Labor Code §1391)
2)Allows the Labor Commissioner to issue exemptions for
agricultural packing plants to employ minors that are 16 or 17
years of age to work for up to 10 hours per day during peak
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harvest season when school is not in session. The Labor
Commissioner may require inspections of agricultural packing
plants prior to issuing the exemption.
(Labor Code §1393)
3)Allows the Labor Commissioner, upon receiving written approval
from the Lake County Board of Education, to issue exemptions
to agricultural packing plants to employ minors enrolled in
schools located in Lake County to work for up to 10 hours per
day and more than 48 hours, but not more than 60 hours, per
week during peak harvest season, when school is not in
session. This exemption will sunset on January 1, 2017.
4)Requires the Labor Commissioner to inspect the affected Lake
County agricultural packing plants before issuing exemptions,
and also requires the affected agricultural packing plants
file a written report detailing the previous year's payroll,
including the age and number of minors employed, as well as
the hours they worked.
5)Requires the that Labor Commissioner, on or before November 1,
2016, issue a written report to the Legislature on the
general working conditions of minors employed in Lake County
agricultural packing plants from March 1, 2011 to October 1,
2016.
6)Requires that the Lake County-specific exemption described
above sunsets on January 1, 2017. (Labor Code §1393.5)
This bill:
1)Extends the operation of the exemption for agricultural
packing plants to employ the specified minors in Lake County
until January 1, 2027.
2)Requires that Labor Commissioner, on or before November 1,
2025, issue a written report to the Legislature on the general
working conditions of minors employed in Lake County
agricultural packing plants from October 1, 2016 to October 1,
2026.
3)Makes minor and technical changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
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Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Department
of Industrial Relations indicates that costs to produce the
report on working conditions in the Lake County packing industry
would be minor and absorbable.
SUPPORT: (Verified1/11/16)
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Fresh Fruit Association
California Pear Growers
California Women for Agriculture, Lake County Chapter
County of Lake Board of Supervisors-Anthony W. Farrington
Kelseyville High School
OPPOSITION: (Verified1/11/16
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author's office, the
deadline should be extended to help deal with the labor
shortages in Lake County's agricultural industry during harvest
time in August. The pear-packing season lasts only four to six
weeks and coincides with the pick-up in tourism, the other large
labor industry in Lake County. With both tourism and
agriculture at peak activity, the available labor pool is
limited.
In 2007, the Lake County Employment Development Department (EDD)
branch office reported that the labor shortage last season was
"extreme", resulting in the loss of $2.5 million in lost pears,
and would have been exacerbated by an absence of minors working
in the agricultural packing plants. The EDD also reported that
total summer wages were in excess of $60,000 for the
participating minors, allowing students to focus on academic,
rather than economic, issues during the school year.
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Prepared by:Gideon L. Baum / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
1/25/16 16:16:50
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