BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2099
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2099 (Cedillo)
As Introduced February 23, 2012
Majority vote
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT 5-1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Swanson, Alejo, Allen, | | |
| |Furutani, Yamada | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Morrell | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Increases the fine for specified wage and hour
violations from not less than $100, to not less than $250 and
makes a non substantive technical change.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that every employer or other person acting either
individually or as an officer, agent, or employee of another
person is guilty of a misdemeanor and is, punishable by a fine
of not less than $100 or by imprisonment for not less than 30
days, or by both, who does any of the following:
a) Requires or causes any employee to work for longer hours
than those fixed, or under conditions of labor prohibited
by an order of the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC);
b) Pays or causes to be paid to any employee a wage less
than the minimum fixed by an order of the IWC; and,
c) Violates or refuses or neglects to comply with specified
provisions of the law or any order or ruling of the IWC.
1)Provides for other fines and/or penalties for violations of
our state's labor laws.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, current monetary penalties
serve as an inadequate disincentive for wage and hour violations
AB 2099
Page 2
by employers. Existing laws set a fine of $100 for employers
who either require employees to work longer than fixed hours,
work under conditions prohibited by an order of the IWC, pay
employees less than minimum wage, or neglect to comply with
provisions of the Labor Code.
The author believes the fine was adequate when it was first
enacted, however it now needs to be raised to further discourage
employers from engaging in these serious violations.
Arguments in support: The California Rural Legal Assistance
Foundation (CRLAF) asserts that violations are commonly
committed by unscrupulous employers operating in the underground
economy and the current fine amount is too low to deter even
insignificant misconduct. CRLAF believes an increase in fines
for these crimes is essential if prosecutors are to have the
tools they need to address the massive scale of wage theft that
is involved in some of these cases. A good example is found in
the recent $2.2 million settlement of a CRLAF class action
lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of seasonal agricultural
workers. The employer and labor contractor, acting as joint
employers, were alleged to have systematically cheated the
workers of minimum wages and overtime wages. For the
above-stated reasons they support the bill.
Arguments in opposition: A broad coalition of employer groups
states that the Labor Code provision this bill seeks to amend,
already imposes a statutory penalty, despite the lack of any
specific intent on behalf of the employer or his or her agent to
violate the law. They also state, that specifically, the
penalty may be imposed simply on the basis that the employer
"neglected" to comply. "Neglect" is one of the lowest civil
standards of liability to prove and requires no evidence of
actual intent to do harm. Accordingly, an employer who is
trying to comply with California's wage and hour laws, even
seeks out direction from the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement for advice on how to comply, may still be subject to
this statutory penalty if a court ultimately determines the
employer failed to comply with a duty under the Labor Code or
Wage Orders. Finally, they believe that due to the risk of
liability and litigation under this existing provision of the
Labor Code, they are opposed to any increase in the statutory
penalty that may be imposed and there is no evidence that a
stronger deterrent is needed in the Labor Code than those that
AB 2099
Page 3
already exist.
Analysis Prepared by : Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916)
319-2091
FN: 0003211