BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2288|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2288
Author: Hernández (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/10/14
AYES: Jackson, Anderson, Lara, Leno, Monning, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Corbett
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/5/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Child Labor Protection Act of 2014
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill tolls the statute of limitations for
unlawful labor practices until a child worker attains the age of
majority. This bill also authorizes an award of treble damages
to an individual, who is discharged, threatened with discharge,
demoted, suspended, retaliated against, subjected to adverse
action, or in any other manner discriminated against in the
terms of conditions of his or her employment because he or she
filed a claim or civil action alleging a violation of the Labor
Code that arose while he or she was a minor, and increases civil
penalties.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Defines "minor" to mean any person under the age of 18 years
who is required to attend school and any person under the age
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of six years. A person under the age of 18 years who is not
required to attend school solely because that person is a
nonresident of California shall still be considered a minor.
2.Restricts the occupations in which minors may be employed and
the number of hours and times they may work. Distinctions are
made according to age, with special rules and exceptions in
some groups.
3.Generally protects individuals regarding wages, working hours,
and working conditions.
4.Protects individuals from unlawful discrimination for
reporting employment violations and provides a statute of
limitations for bringing a claim of discrimination within six
months of the occurrence of the violation.
5.Authorizes the Director of Industrial Relations to issue a
citation to a person in violation of any statutory provision
or rule or regulation relating to the employment of minors.
6.Requires a citation issued to a person in violation of labor
laws against minors to be classified into one of two specified
classes.
7.Generally provides a statute of limitations of three years for
a person to bring a claim based on statutory law, which
includes labor violations claims.
8.Tolls the statute of limitations for specified civil actions
involving claims made by a minor until the minor reaches the
age of majority.
This bill:
1.Enacts the Child Labor Protection Act of 2014 and provides
that the statute of limitations for claims involving labor law
violations be tolled until the individual allegedly aggrieved
by an unlawful practice attains the age of majority; this bill
declares that it is declaratory of existing law.
2.Provides that, in addition to other remedies available, an
individual who is discharged, threatened with discharge,
demoted, suspended, retaliated against, subjected to an
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adverse action, or in any other manner discriminated against
in the terms or conditions of his or her employment because
the individual filed a claim or civil action alleging a
violation of this code that arose while the individual was a
minor, whether the claim or civil action was filed before or
after the individual reached the age of majority, shall be
entitled to treble damages.
3.Increases the amount of a Class "A" civil penalty to an amount
not less than $25,000 and not exceeding $50,000 for each
violation against a child worker 12 years of age or younger.
Background
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act established wage, working
hour, and working condition protections for child workers.
California enacted similar provisions and has expanded these
protections over the years.
A recent study of child labor violations in the United States
called on states to increase child labor law protections.
(Human Rights Watch, Fields of Peril, Child Labor in US
Agriculture (2010).) To better protect child workers, this bill
would enact the Child Labor Protection Act of 2014 and extend
(toll) the statute of limitations for a child worker's labor
violation claims until the child reaches the age of 18,
authorize an award of treble damages for discrimination or
retaliation against a child worker who files a labor claim or
civil action, and increase civil penalties for violations that
put a child worker in imminent danger or present a substantial
probability that death or serious physical harm would result to
the child.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/11/14)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Conference of Machinists
California Conference of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
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California Teachers Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, District 9
Engineers & Scientists of California, IFPTE Local 20
International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Coast Division
Professional & Technical Engineers, IFPTE Local 21
UNITE HERE
Utility Workers Union of America, Local 132
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Some of the earliest labor laws in our nation were designed
to protect child laborers from exploitation and abusive
working conditions.
However, child labor law violations continue to be rampant
across many industries. In November 2011, Human Rights
Watch published a report on child labor in the United
States which exposed the fact that children as young as
seven are working on farms, often 10 or more hours per day
at the peak of harvest. In addition, the National Human
Trafficking Resource Center reported that from 2007 to
2013, 20 percent of calls to their hotline from California
reported labor trafficking, and nearly 30 percent of the
victims were minors.
Assembly Bill 2288 would strengthen current law to protect
children from child labor law abuses.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/5/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Logue, Mansoor, Melendez, Vacancy
AL:nl 6/12/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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