BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Mark DeSaulnier, Chair
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010 2009-2010 Regular
Session
Consultant: Alma Perez Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: SB 1230
Author: DeSaulnier
Version: As amended April 7, 2010
SUBJECT
Employment: posting requirements.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature require employers to post information
related to slavery and human trafficking at their worksites?
PURPOSE
To require the workplace posting of two toll-free anti-human
trafficking hotlines that provide services in support of the
elimination of slavery and human trafficking.
ANALYSIS
Under existing law , both state and federal, employers must meet
workplace posting obligations.
Existing state law requires California employers to post a
variety of employment-related information for employees,
including information relating to the payment of wages, hours
and working conditions, workers' compensation, and
discrimination in employment. Workplace postings are usually
available at no cost from the requiring agency. Employers are
required to conspicuously display the various posters in an area
frequented by employees where it may be easily read during the
workday. Additional posting requirements apply to some
workplaces.
Existing law also requires employers to provide specified
posters in various languages. Failure to comply with workplace
posting requirements is a misdemeanor and may be punishable by a
fine, imprisonment, or both. Each employer is required to take
necessary steps to insure that notices are not altered, defaced
or covered by other material.
Existing state law makes human trafficking a crime and allows a
victim of human trafficking to bring a civil action for actual
damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive
relief, any combination of those, or any other appropriate
relief. Under the existing Victims of Trafficking and Violence
Protection Act of 2000, the federal law acknowledges the crime
of human trafficking, and delineates various federal actions to
combat trafficking, punish perpetrators, and provides services
to victims of trafficking.
This Bill would require employers to post information related to
slavery and human trafficking, including information related to
two toll-free anti-human trafficking hotlines that provide
services in support of the elimination of slavery and human
trafficking.
Specifically, this bill would require:
The posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource
Center Hotline and the California Coalition to Abolish
Slavery and Trafficking hotline.
The Labor Commissioner to determine in what languages
the notice should be printed.
The Labor Commissioner to enforce the requirements of
this bill.
COMMENTS
1. Background on Human Trafficking:
Human trafficking is an unfortunate widespread form of
modern-day slavery and is one of the fastest growing criminal
industries in the world. Human trafficking involves the
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
recruitment, harboring, and/or transportation of people for
the purpose of forced or coerced labor. Through violence,
threats and coercion, these victims are forced to work in,
among other things, the sex trade, domestic labor, factories,
hotels, and agriculture. Every year, human traffickers
generate billions of dollars by exploiting those seeking to
cross international borders in search of a better life as well
as those vulnerable within the United States. Detecting human
trafficking is difficult as this crime thrives in secrecy and
on the social and physical isolation of its victims.
According to the U.S. Department of State, there is a wide
range of estimates that exist on the scope and magnitude of
modern-day slavery. The International Labor Organization
(ILO), which is the United Nations agency charged with
addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection
issues, estimates that there are at least 12.3 million adults
and children in forced labor, bonded labor, and commercial
sexual servitude at any given time. Of these victims, the ILO
estimates that 56 percent are women and girls.
The passage of the federal Victims of Trafficking and Violence
Protection Act of 2000, as well as the United Nations Palermo
Protocol, has helped to increase the awareness of human
trafficking at the international level. In 2005, the
Legislature enacted the California Trafficking Victims
Protection Act, AB 22 (Lieber) Chapter 240, which established
civil and criminal penalties for human trafficking and allowed
for forfeiture of assets derived from human trafficking. Also
in 2005, SB 180 by Senator Sheila Kuehl (Chapter 239)
established the California Alliance to Combat Trafficking and
Slavery (California ACTS) Task Force charged with conducting a
thorough review of California's response to human trafficking
and to report its finding to the Governor, Attorney General,
and the Legislature. In October 2007, the California
Department of Justice released the final report produced by
the California ACTS Task Force entitled "Human Trafficking in
California," which contained a comprehensive list of findings
and recommendations to combat human trafficking.
In December 2009, this Committee held a joint informational
hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee entitled,
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
"Everyone's Business: California's Role in Combating Human
Rights Violations in Product Supply Chains." The hearing
focused on the demand for cheap products and what could be
done in California to address problems with goods in our
supply chains that have been developed using forced or
exploited labor. As testimony at the hearing revealed, the
extent of the problem of human trafficking is massive. There
are now several pieces of legislation in California, including
this one, arising from awareness raised at that hearing.
2. Need for this bill?
Human trafficking is a problem that affects the lives of an
estimated 12.3 million adults worldwide. Because human
trafficking deprives people of freedom in every part of the
world, it is a serious threat to human rights. This problem
also threatens public health and the very safety and security
of nations. The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in
Persons (G/TIP), under the U.S. Department of State and led by
Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, provides tools to combat trafficking
in persons and assists in the coordination of anti-trafficking
efforts both worldwide and domestically.
In the United States, there are several toll-free anti-human
trafficking hotlines available and ready to respond to human
trafficking tips, training requests and questions on
anti-human trafficking resources. On their website, the
U.S. Department of State directs individuals to report a
trafficking victim or anti-trafficking information by calling
a toll-free hotline (1 (888) 373-7888) that is operated by the
National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC). This
toll-free hotline is funded primarily by the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS). This bill would require
the posting by employers of this national toll-free hotline,
in addition to a California specific hotline, at places of
employment.
3. Efforts in other States:
Similar efforts to require the posting of human trafficking
and hotline information have been enacted in other states in
recent years. In 2007, the Texas Legislature enacted laws
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
that resulted in the mandatory posting of the National Human
Trafficking Resource Center hotline. According to the NHTRC,
the hotline has consistently received more calls from Texas
than any other state. The NHTRC has referred the high volume
of tips to local entities in Texas resulting in increased
services to victims. Several states, including Oregon,
Maryland, Washington and others, are considering similar
efforts to help combat human trafficking.
4. Suggested Amendments :
Committee staff has received several calls from organizations
throughout different parts of the state offering information
on their work and efforts to rescue and restore victims of
trafficking. There are many organizations doing good work to
help address this terrible problem, and many of these also run
toll-free anti-human trafficking hotlines. Requiring
employers to post the hotline information of the many
organizations that run a line is unfeasible.
The Committee suggests that the author consider amending this
bill to require the posting of only the national toll-free
hotline run by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center
(NHTRC) in order to address this concern. In addition, the
author may wish to consider an amendment to emphasize that the
requirements of this bill can be met by the employer when
he/she has to next update his/her workplace postings.
5. Proponent Arguments :
According to proponents of the measure, the problem of human
trafficking is a much larger and more global issue than most
people grasp. According to the US Department of Health and
Human Services - after drug trafficking, human trafficking is
tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest
criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest
growing. According to proponents, experience in the field has
demonstrated that one of the best tools to combat human
trafficking is raising public awareness of the problem.
Proponents believe that this bill not only provides an
opportunity for many people to become aware of the issue
through employer signage, but provides a tool for action by
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
providing specific information about the hotlines.
Proponents also argue that in this globalized economy, the
race to the bottom is visible as free trade policies have
allowed corporations to jump from country to country in search
of the cheapest labor and least regulation. Proponents argue
that products are produced throughout the globe using forced
labor, child labor, indentured servitude, and other abusive
conditions. Even right here in California, they assert, the
underground economy thrives on wage theft, many domestic
workers are the victims of trafficking, and many workplaces
are sweatshops without the most basic worker protections.
Proponents argue that while the state of California cannot
always eradicate such labor conditions, it should provide
information to workers of their rights and protections
afforded them under the law in regard to human trafficking.
According to the author, while federal and state law
enforcement works to investigate the criminal networks
involved in human trafficking, local and state police and
community members, including neighbors, healthcare workers,
teachers, and shop keepers, among others, are most often in
the best position to recognize and report possible instances
of human trafficking. The author believes that the human
trafficking hotlines currently available to assist victims are
the most centralized outlet to process and respond to calls
for help. In addition, proponents argue that high visibility
and awareness of human trafficking hotlines gives workers the
resources they need to expose violations of the law, while at
the same time increasing the chances that potential human
trafficking will be reported, and that human traffickers will
be stopped.
6. Opponent Arguments :
None received to date.
SUPPORT
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST)
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Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Polaris Project
OPPOSITION
None received to date.
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Hearing Date: April 14, 2010 SB 1230
Consultant: Alma Perez Page 7
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations