BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1001 (Mitchell) - Employment: unfair practices
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|Version: March 28, 2016 |Policy Vote: JUD. 5 - 1, L. & |
| | I.R. 4 - 1 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: April 25, 2016 |Consultant: Robert Ingenito |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1001 would prohibit an employer or any other person
or entity from discriminating against or engaging in unfair
immigration-related practices, as defined, against an applicant
or employee or from reinvestigating or reverifying an incumbent
employee's authorization to work unless required to do so by
federal law.
Fiscal
Impact: The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) indicates
that it would incur costs of up to $473,000 annually (special
funds) to implement the provisions of the bill.
SB 1001 (Mitchell) Page 1 of
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Background: Current law provides protections, rights, and remedies
available under state law to all individuals, regardless of
immigration status, who have applied for employment, or who are
or who have been employed, in this state. Further, California's
labor laws provide anti-retaliation protection for employees who
make claims against their employers for violations of labor
laws.
To provide protection for undocumented workers laying claims
against their employers for wage and hour violations, AB 263
(Hernández, Chapter 732, Statutes of 2013) prohibited an
employer or any other person or entity from engaging in unfair
immigration-related practices, as defined, for the purpose of
retaliation against any person who exercises any rights under
the Labor Code. That same year, SB 666 (Steinberg, Chapter 577,
Statutes of 2013), among other things, specified that an
individual is not required to exhaust administrative remedies or
procedures in order to bring a civil action under the Labor
Code, unless expressly required to do so, and prohibited an
employer from reporting or threatening to report a job
applicant's, employee's, or former employee's, or family
member's, as specified, suspected citizenship or immigration
status because the person exercised a right under state law.
The following year, AB 2751 (Hernández, Chapter 79, Statutes of
2014) clarified the award of a civil penalty of up to $10,000
against an employer who discriminates, retaliates, or takes any
adverse action against an employee or applicant for employment,
who exercises a right protected under local and state labor and
employment laws, including employers who unlawfully engage in
unfair-immigration-related employment practices in retaliation
against an employee exercising his or her rights under the Labor
Code.
Last year, AB 1065 (Chiu, 2015) was introduced to provide
protection under the Fair Employment and Housing Act against
employers who refuse to honor documents or discriminate against
an immigrant with authorization to work based upon the specific
statutes or term of status that accompanies the authorization to
work. The introduced version of this bill was substantially
similar to AB 1065, which was held on suspense in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
SB 1001 (Mitchell) Page 2 of
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Proposed Law:
This bill would prohibit an employer or any other person or
entity from engaging in unfair immigration-related practices, as
defined, against an applicant for employment or employee.
Additionally, the bill would prohibit (1) an employer from
reinvestigating or reverifying an incumbent employee's
authorization to work unless required to do so by federal law or
authority, and (2) discrimination against an applicant or
employee with authorization to work based upon the specific
status or term of status that accompanies the authorization to
work. Finally, the bill would authorize a private right of
action for equitable relief, damages, and penalties by an
applicant or employee against an employer or any other person or
entity who engages in unfair immigration-related practices.
Staff
Comments: This bill closely mirrors protections created by AB
263 (Statutes of 2013) which made threats against immigration
status, and reverification of work authorization, an unlawful
immigration related practice. SB 1001 would extend those
protections to applicants as well. This would significantly
widen the pool of potential claimants; however, the number of
claimants would actually avail themselves of such a protection
is unknown. Consequently, DIR estimates needing between $145,000
to $473,000 annually to accommodate the potential increased
workload.
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