BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2850
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Paul Koretz, Chair
AB 2850 (Ridley-Thomas) - As Introduced: February 20, 2004
SUBJECT : Displaced private security officers.
SUMMARY : Establishes requirements and procedures related to the
continued employment of private security officers at a job site
following the termination of a contract for private security
services. Specifically, this bill :
1)Enacts the Private Security Service Assurance Act, which
applies to contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2005.
2)Requires a terminated contractor to provide to the successor
contractor the name, date of hire, and job classification of
each employee employed at the job site or sites, within three
working days after receiving notification that a contract for
private security services has been terminated.
3)Requires successor contractors and successor subcontractors to
retain, for a period of 90 days, certain employees who were
employed at that site by the previous contractor or
subcontractor, unless the successor contractor or successor
subcontractor has reasonable and substantiated cause not to
hire a particular employee based on that employee's
performance or conduct while working under the terminated
contract.
4)Provides that the successor contractor or successor
subcontractor is not required to pay the same wages or offer
the same benefits as were provided by the prior contractor or
prior subcontractor.
5)Provides that if the successor contractor or successor
subcontractor determines that fewer employees are needed to
execute the successor service contract or successor
subcontract than were required under the terminated contract
or terminated subcontract, the successor contractor or
successor subcontractor shall retain employees by seniority
within the job classification.
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6)Prohibits the dismissal without cause any employee retained
pursuant to this bill, unless the dismissal was based only on
the performance or conduct of the particular employee.
7)Requires the successor contractor or successor subcontractor
to maintain a preferential hiring list of eligible covered
employees not retained by the successor contractor or
successor subcontractor from which to hire additional
employees during the 90-day period.
8)Requires that employees retained under the bill's provisions
for that 90-day period be offered continued employment if
their performance during that 90-day period is satisfactory.
9)Requires at the end of the 90-day transition employment
period, a successor contractor or successor subcontractor
provide a written performance evaluation to each employee
retained pursuant to this bill, and to offer continued
employment to those employees whose performance is deemed
satisfactory.
10)Provides that any employment after the 90-day transition
employment period shall be at-will employment under which the
employee may be terminated without cause.
11)Authorizes an employee who was not retained in accordance
with the bill's provisions, or his or her agent, to bring an
enforcement action in a court of competent jurisdiction, as
specified, and receive backpay, as provided, upon
determination of a violation.
12)Prohibits an employee from maintaining a cause of action
solely for the failure of an employer to provide a written
performance evaluation, in absence of a claim that the
employee was terminated in violation of this bill's
provisions.
13)Provides that, except as specified, nothing in this chapter
changes or increases the relationship or duties of a property
owner or an awarding authority, or their agents, with respect
to contractors, subcontractors, or their employees.
14)Provides that nothing in this bill limits the right of a
property owner or an awarding authority to terminate a service
contract or to replace a contractor with another contractor or
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with the property owner's or awarding authority's own
employees.
15)Authorizes local government agencies to enact ordinances
imposing stricter standards or additional enforcement
provisions.
EXISTING LAW requires successor janitorial contractors with 25
or more employees to retain for 60 days employees of the
previous employer performing janitorial or building maintenance
service duties with four months or more service.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
This bill gives private security officers protected employment
status at a job site for 90 days following a change of
contractors. The successor contractor would generally be
required to retain the employees of the former contractor during
that period. At the end of the period, the successor would be
required to offer the employees continued employment if the
employee's performance during that 90-day period is
satisfactory. The bill's protection of employee status expires
after that time. The transition period allows employees to keep
their jobs by demonstrating their worth to a successor
contractor. However, after 90 days an employee can be fired for
any reason.
Property owners are explicitly exempt from the main requirements
of this bill. Under this bill, property owners, or a party
acting on their behalf, are required to indicate to a terminated
contractor whether a successor service contract has been awarded
and identify the name and address of the successor contractor.
The bill's retention requirements primarily apply only to
contract private security companies.
Arguments in Support
The Service Employees International Union, the sponsor of this
legislation, states that the private security industry has a
great responsibility to provide for public safety in office
buildings, and other private places. According to the sponsor,
when security contracts are changed newly hired staff often do
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not know how to provide adequate security for a particular job
site. Besides enhancing tenant security, the sponsor argues
that this bill will reduce employer unemployment insurance costs
by offering jobs to workers who would otherwise be laid off.
Other Legislation
This bill is modeled after SB 20 (Alarcon), Chapter 795,
Statutes of 2001, which applies to the janitorial industry. SB
20 requires successor janitorial contractors to retain, for a
specified transition period, the employees of the previous
employer performing janitorial or building maintenance service
duties with four months or more service. The main differences
between this bill and SB 20 are the transition period, which is
only 60 days under SB 20, and the definition of "contractor".
Under SB 20, only contractors employing 25 or more individuals
are subject to its requirements. This bill sets no such
standard.
SB 1521 (Alarcon), of this year, extends the 60-day period under
SB 20 to 90 days and subjects property owners to the notice and
retention requirements of SB 20, as well as placing a specified
restriction on the property owner's right to terminate
contracts. SB 1521 passed the Senate Labor and Industrial
Relations Committee on April 14, 2004 by a vote of 5 to 3.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Service Employees International Union (sponsor)
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Opposition
California Chamber of Commerce
Analysis Prepared by : Nick Louizos / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091