BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 236
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 6, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                 AB 236 (Swanson) - As Introduced:  February 6, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Labor and  
          Employment   Vote:                            6-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill eliminates a January 1, 2010 sunset date on an  
          enforcement program regulating the employment practices of  
          employers in the carwash and car polishing industry.  
          Specifically, the bill permanently extends enforcement  
          provisions that:

          1)Impose specific recordkeeping requirements on carwash and car  
            polishing employers related to employee wages, hours and  
            working conditions.

          2)Require car wash employers to register with the Labor  
            Commissioner (LC) and post a wage surety bond.

          3)Establish a car wash worker fund for which penalties and  
            registration fees are deposited for disbursement by the LC to  
            employees of car washing or polishing businesses found to be  
            in violation of current law.

          4)Exempts charitable groups, rental car agencies, self-service  
            or automated car washes that have no more than two full-time  
            employees for cashiering and/or maintenance purposes, and  
            licensed vehicle dealers or automotive repair businesses.

           FISCAL EFFECT

           Staffing costs within the Division of Labor Standards  
          Enforcement for the carwash enforcement program are currently  
          about $650,000. 

           COMMENTS  








                                                                  AB 236
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           1)Background  . Numerous studies and investigations have found  
            widespread violations of labor laws within the car wash  
            industry. These violations include hourly payments below the  
            minimum wage, hiring minors, operating without workers'  
            compensation insurance, and denying workers their meal and  
            rest breaks. 

            In response to various findings of violations, the Legislature  
            passed AB 1688 (Goldberg), Chapter 825/2003, which enacted  
            "The Car Wash Worker Bill." The provisions of the bill, which  
            were scheduled to expire on January 1, 2007, were extended  
            through 2009 by SB 1468 (Alarcon), Chapter 656/2006. That  
            measure also required the Labor Commissioner (LC) to report to  
            the Legislature no later than December 31, 2008, on the status  
            of labor law violations and enforcement in the car washing and  
            polishing industry. That report has not yet been produced.

           2)Rationale  . The sponsor of the bill (the California Labor  
            Federation) contends enforcement regulations are needed in the  
            carwash industry due to routine violations of labor laws that  
            are directed at the state's most vulnerable low-wage workers. 

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081