BILL NUMBER: AB 1374	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cedillo

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Section 1812.503 of the Civil Code, relating to
employment agencies.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1374, as introduced, Cedillo. Employment agencies.
   Existing law, the Employment Agency, Employment Counseling, and
Job Listing Services Act, requires an employment agency to maintain a
bond issued by a surety company admitted to do business in the
state.
    This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions.
   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.  Section 1812.503 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
   1812.503.  (a) Every employment agency subject to this title shall
maintain a bond issued by a surety company admitted to do business
in this state. The principal sum of the bond shall be three thousand
dollars ($3,000). A copy of the bond shall be filed with the
Secretary of State.
   (b) The bond required by this section shall be in favor of, and
payable to, the people of the State of California and shall be
conditioned that the person obtaining the bond  will
  shall  comply with this title and  will
  shall  pay all sums due any individual or group
of individuals when the person or his or her representative, agent,
or employee has received those sums. The bond shall be for the
benefit of any person or persons damaged by any violation of this
title or by fraud, dishonesty, misstatement, misrepresentation,
deceit, unlawful acts or omissions, or failure to provide the
services of the employment agency in performance of the contract with
the jobseeker, by the employment agency or its agents,
representatives, or employees while acting within the scope of their
employment.
   (c) (1) No employment agency shall conduct any business without
having a current surety bond in the amount prescribed by this title
and filing a copy of the bond with the Secretary of State.
   (2) Thirty days prior to the cancellation or termination of any
surety bond required by this section, the surety shall send a written
notice of that cancellation or termination to both the employment
agency and the Secretary of State, identifying the bond and the date
of cancellation or termination.
   (3) If any employment agency fails to obtain a new bond and file a
copy of that bond with the Secretary of State by the effective date
of the cancellation or termination of the former bond, the employment
agency shall cease to conduct any business unless and until a new
surety bond is obtained and a copy of that bond is filed with the
Secretary of State.
   (d) When a deposit has been made in lieu of the bond pursuant to
Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the person asserting
a claim against the deposit shall, in lieu of Section 996.430 of the
Code of Civil Procedure, establish the claim by furnishing evidence
to the Secretary of State of a money judgment entered by a court
together with evidence that the claimant is a person described in
subdivision (b).
   (e) When a claimant has established the claim with the Secretary
of State, the Secretary of State shall review and approve the claim
and enter the date of approval thereon. The claim shall be designated
an "approved claim."
   (f) When the first claim against a particular deposit has been
approved, it shall not be paid until the expiration of a period of
240 days after the date of its approval by the Secretary of State.
Subsequent claims that are approved by the Secretary of State within
the same 240-day period shall similarly not be paid until the
expiration of the 240-day period. Upon the expiration of the 240-day
period, the Secretary of State shall pay all approved claims from
that 240-day period in full unless the deposit is insufficient, in
which case each approved claim shall be paid a pro rata share of the
deposit.
   (g) When the Secretary of State approves the first claim against a
particular deposit after the expiration of a 240-day period, the
date of approval of that claim shall begin a new 240-day period to
which subdivision (f) shall apply with respect to any amount
remaining in the deposit.
   (h) After a deposit is exhausted, no further claims shall be paid
by the Secretary of State. Claimants who have had their claims paid
in full or in part pursuant to subdivision (f) or (g) shall not be
required to return funds received from the deposit for the benefit of
other claimants.
   (i) When a deposit has been made in lieu of a bond, the amount of
the deposit shall not be subject to attachment, garnishment, or
execution with respect to an action or judgment against the
employment agency, other than as to an amount as no longer needed or
required for the purpose of this title that would otherwise be
returned to the employment agency by the Secretary of State.
   (j) The Secretary of State shall retain a cash deposit for two
years from the date the Secretary of State receives written
notification from the assignor of the deposit that the assignor has
ceased to engage in the business of an employment agency or has filed
a bond pursuant to subdivision (a), provided that there are no
outstanding claims against the deposit. This written notice shall
include all of the following: (1) name, address, and telephone number
of the assignor; (2) name, address, and telephone number of the bank
at which the deposit is located; (3) account number of the deposit;
and (4) a statement whether the assignor is ceasing to engage in the
business of an employment agency or has filed a bond with the
Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall forward an
acknowledgment of receipt of the written notice to the assignor at
the address indicated therein, specifying the date of receipt of the
written notice and anticipated date of release of the deposit,
provided there are no outstanding claims against the deposit.
   (k) A judge of a superior court may order the return of the
deposit prior to the expiration of two years upon evidence
satisfactory to the judge that there are no outstanding claims
against the deposit or order the Secretary of State to retain the
deposit for a sufficient period beyond the two years pursuant to
subdivision (j) to resolve outstanding claims against the deposit
account.
   (  l  ) The Secretary of State shall charge a filing fee
not to exceed the cost of filing the bond or deposit filed in lieu of
a bond as set forth in Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
   (m) The Secretary of State shall enforce the provisions of this
chapter that govern the filing and maintenance of bonds and deposits
in lieu of bonds.