BILL NUMBER: AB 1236 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fong
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 1391.1 add Article
2.5 (commencing with Section 2811) to Chapter 2 of Division 3
of the Labor Code, relating to employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1236, as amended, Fong. Working hours: minors.
Employment: hiring practices: electronic employment
verification.
The E-Verify Program of the United States Department of Homeland
Security, in partnership with the United States Social Security
Administration, enables participating employers to use the program,
on a voluntary basis, to verify that the employees they hire are
authorized to work in the United States.
The bill would prohibit the state, or a city, county, city and
county, or special district, from requiring an employer other than
one of those government entities to use an electronic employment
verification system except when required by federal law or as a
condition of receiving federal funds.
Existing law allows minors who are 16 years of age or older and
under the age of 18 years and enrolled in work experience or
cooperative vocational education programs approved by the State
Department of Education or in work experience education programs
conducted by private schools to work between the hours of 10 p.m. and
12:30 a.m., as provided.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to that provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) Federal law establishes an electronic employment verification
system, originally known as the Basic Pilot Program (enacted by
Section 404 of Public Law 104-208) and renamed in 2007 as the
E-Verify Program, as an experimental and temporary system available
to employers on a voluntary basis.
(b) A 2007 independent evaluation commissioned by the federal
Department of Homeland Security found that the electronic employment
verification database was still not sufficiently up to date to meet
requirements for accurate verification. This has led to employers
being unable to hire employees in a timely manner and kept workers
from earning wages.
(c) Mandatory use of an electronic employment verification program
would increase the costs of doing business in a difficult economic
climate. The United States Chamber of Commerce estimates that the net
societal cost of all federal contractors using the E-Verify Program
would amount to $10 billion a year, federally.
(d) California businesses would face considerable odds in
implementing such a program. Employers using the program report that
staff must receive additional training that disrupts normal business
operations. If E-Verify had been made mandatory for all employers in
2010, it would have cost businesses $2.7 billion, $2.6 billion of
which would have been borne by the small businesses, which drive our
economy.
(e) Employers report that the cost, technological demands, and
staff time that an electronic employment verification system requires
to use and implement come at a time when they are already
struggling.
(f) California's unemployment rate has risen to 11 percent. The
state must pursue all avenues in facilitating and incubating job
development and economic growth.
(g) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the state
maintain the intent of federal law by ensuring that private employers
retain the ability to choose whether to participate in the
electronic verification program.
SEC. 2. Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 2811)
is added to Chapter 2 of Division 3 of the Labor Code
, to read:
Article 2.5. Electronic Employment Verification Systems
2811. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Employment Acceleration Act of 2011.
2812. Except as required by federal law, or as a condition of
receiving federal funds, neither the state nor a city, county, city
and county, or special district shall require an employer to use an
electronic employment verification system, including under the
following circumstances:
(a) As a condition of receiving a government contract.
(b) As a condition of applying for or maintaining a business
license.
(c) As a penalty for violating licensing or other similar laws.
2813. For purposes of this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Electronic employment verification system" means an
employment verification system that allows employers to
electronically verify workers' employment authorization with the
federal government. This includes the Basic Pilot Program, enacted by
Section 404 of Public Law 104-208 and renamed in 2007 as the
E-Verify Program, and other pilot programs for electronic employment
eligibility confirmation. The term "electronic employment
verification system" does not include the I-9 Employment Eligibility
Verification form or any other employment eligibility systems that
are required by federal law.
(b) "Employer" means an employer other than the state, or a city,
county, city and county, or special district.
SECTION 1. Section 1391.1 of the Labor Code is
amended to read:
1391.1. A minor who is at least 16 years of age but less than 18
years of age and enrolled in work experience or a cooperative
vocational education program approved by the State Department of
Education or in a work experience education program conducted by a
private school may work after 10 p.m. but not later than 12:30 a.m.,
providing such employment is not detrimental to the health,
education, or welfare of the minor and the approval of the parent and
the work experience coordinator has been obtained. However, if a
minor described in this section works any time during the hours from
10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., he or she shall be paid for work during that
time at a rate which is not less than the minimum wage paid to
adults.