BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2850
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 2850 (Ridley-Thomas)
As Amended April 27, 2004
2/3 vote
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT 6-2 APPROPRIATIONS 15-5
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|Ayes:|Koretz, Mullin, Lieber, |Ayes:|Chu, Berg, Calderon, |
| |Chu, Laird, Leno | |Corbett, Firebaugh, |
| | | |Goldberg, Leno, Nation, |
| | | |Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, |
| | | |Pavley, Ridley-Thomas, |
| | | |Wesson, Wiggins, Yee |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Shirley Horton, Houston |Nays:|Runner, Bates, Daucher, |
| | | |Haynes, Keene |
| | | | |
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ASSEMBLY: 43-33 (May 17, 2004)
SENATE: 21-14 (August 24, 2004)
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
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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.
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 this 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
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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 this 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
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, no state fiscal impact. This bill provides for a
civil enforcement remedy.
COMMENTS : This bill, which is sponsored by the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), 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
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period is satisfactory. This 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.
This bill's retention requirements primarily apply only to
contract private security companies.
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), pending in the Senate, 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.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
This bill requires private security service
contractors to retain employees employed by the
previous contractor for a period of at least 90 days.
Since security concerns, particularly in California's
high rises and government buildings, are higher than
ever before, it is imperative that security service
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contractors are able to make the necessary staffing
decisions that best provide the security their clients
demand.
In many cases, a new contractor will call upon the
knowledge and expertise of the existing employees in
order to provide that protection. This is even more
likely considering the amount of training required for
private security guards under current law. Retaining
current employees would not only provide the
contractor this expertise but also save the contractor
the costs of the training. A statutory mandate is not
needed for contractors to appreciate these incentives.
Analysis Prepared by : Nick Louizos / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
FN: 0009159