BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 350
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 350 (Solorio) - As Introduced: April 27, 2011
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 5-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill expands existing law that requires janitorial and
building maintenance service contractors to be retained for 60
days following a new contract by providing this protection to
licensed security, landscape, window cleaning, food cafeteria
and dietary employees. Specifically, this bill:
1)Renames statute governing this area as the Displaced Property
Service Employee Opportunity Act. This measure also defines
"property services" as janitorial, building maintenance,
licensed security, landscape, window cleaning, food cafeteria
and dietary services.
2)Lengthens the amount of time from 60 to 90 days a successor
contractor or subcontractor is required to retain property
service employees.
3)Expands the definition of "employee" to specify the employee
has been employed by the contractor for at least four months
prior to receiving notification of contract termination.
4)Specifies a person who provides landscape services is an
employee only if he or she provides those services for at
least 15 hours per week at a single worksite. This measure
also defines "licensed security service" means services
rendered by a person covered under a valid collective
bargaining agreement and who is registered as a security
guard, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 350
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Potential increased state contract costs, likely in excess of
$150,000, to retain employees, as specified under this bill.
Currently, the state has some building maintenance contracts.
Existing statute also provides for a civil enforcement remedy.
COMMENTS
1)Background . SB 20 (Alarcon), Chapter 795, Statutes of 2001,
required all contractors and subcontractors awarded contracts
to provide janitorial or building maintenance services to
retain employees from the prior contractor or subcontractor
for a 60-day transition period. This requirement does not
apply if the successor contractor or subcontractor has
reasonable and sustained cause not to hire a particular
employee based on his or her performance or conduct while
working under the terminated contract.
Current law defines an employee as any person employed as a
service employee of a contractor/subcontractor who works at
least 15 hours per week and whose primary place of employment
is in the State of California under a contract to provide
janitorial and building maintenance services.
Existing law also prohibits the successor contractor or
subcontractor, during the 60-day transition period, from
discharging a retained employee without cause. Cause is
required to be based only on the performance or conduct of the
particular employee.
Statute also requires, at the end of the 60-day period, the
successor contractor or subcontractor to provide a written
performance evaluation to each retained employee. If the
evaluation is satisfactory, the successor contractor or
subcontractor is required to offer the employee continued
employment.
This measure proposes to expand these requirements to licensed
security, landscape, window cleaning, food cafeteria and
dietary employees and lengthen the transition period from 60
to 90 days.
2)Purpose . Proponents argue contracted property service workers
(i.e., janitorial, building maintenance, landscape, etc.) have
no employment protections when a property manager hires a new
contractor or subcontractor to provide these services.
AB 350
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According to the author, "California continues to face record
high unemployment levels, still in excess of 12% in many
communities, and the economy is not expected to rebound for
years. Property service workers who have diligently
maintained and secured business properties should be afforded
a measure of job stability when contractors are changed,
through no fault of their own."
This bill expands existing law that requires janitorial and
building maintenance service contractors to be retained for 60
days following a new contract by providing this protection to
licensed security, landscape, window cleaning, food cafeteria
and dietary employees.
3)Opposition . Opponents of this measure argue this bill does
little to mitigate the state's unemployment rate.
Specifically, the CalChamber, the California Apartment
Association, the California Manufacturing & Technology
Association, and the California Hotel & Lodging Association
state: "The subsequent contractor will be forced to either:
(1) displace its existing workforce to take on the new
employees; or (2) eliminate positions it would have opened to
new applicants in the industry, as those positions will be
filled by the prior contractor's employees."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081