BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1098
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 1999
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Darrell Steinberg, Chair
AB 1098 (Romero) - As Introduced: February 25, 1999
SUMMARY : Establishes a public service jobs program in the
Employment Development Department (EDD). Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires EDD to administer a public service job program to
provide 10,000 jobs through contracts and cooperative
agreements with appropriate local public employing agencies.
2)Requires each employing agency to provide each program worker
with a full-time job that is comparable to the agency's other
employees and ensures the provision of supportive services,
such as child care and transportation, in coordination with
county welfare departments.
3)Requires program workers to receive a wage no less than $10
per hour or the prevailing wage, if higher, and the same
benefits as other employees of the employer doing comparable
work.
4)Requires program workers to be members of households with
incomes that do not exceed 50 percent of the median income of
a geographic area, and at least 50 percent of program workers
to be current General Assistance, California Work Opportunity
and Responsibility to Kids program (CalWORKs) or Supplemental
Security Income recipients, or to have been recipients within
the last three years.
5)Requires the public service jobs to involve a clear benefit to
local communities, including delivery of services to children,
elderly and disabled persons; promotion of neighborhood
well-being, the conservation, improvement or development of
natural resources; and the enhancement, preservation or
maintenance of public lands, water, schools or affordable
housing.
6)Requires EDD to develop a community needs assessment in each
community for which there is a proposal from a local agency to
operate a jobs project.
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7)Prohibits the displacement or partial displacement of any
current employee, a reduction in a current employee's hours or
benefits, or the filling of a vacant, established position.
8)Requires all program workers to be considered employees for
all purposes, including all health and safety laws, workers'
compensation, antidiscrimination laws, unemployment insurance
and collective bargaining laws.
9)Requires EDD to make annual reports to the Legislature
concerning the program's operation, including an analysis of
the impact of program participation on the overall welfare of
workers and their families.
EXISTING LAW : Contains programs in EDD for unemployment
compensation, job training, and job placement.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)A recent report by the Center for Continuing Study of the
California Economy identified approximately five million jobs
with minimal on-the-job training requirements. However, there
is a large pool of workers competing for those jobs, including
welfare recipients, unemployed workers and some "discouraged
workers" who will re-enter the California workforce. The
current economic growth in California, according to the study,
will not generate the needed 400,000 additional entry level
jobs for welfare recipients over the next five years. The
additional 80,000 jobs needed annually for welfare recipients,
which represents about 15 percent of the CalWORKs caseload,
will not be met by current job growth. At the current job
growth rate it is likely that the hiring of a welfare
recipient will result in someone else who is looking for a job
not being hired.
According to the study, California does not have a single
economy or just one labor market. Welfare recipients in
California live in regional economies with diverse
unemployment rates, job growth rates and labor market
conditions. Many counties have persistently high unemployment
rates above 10 percent, and relatively undiversified economies
that lack growth industries. Large urban regions also have
areas of continuously high unemployment. This bill would
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target job creation to rural, suburban, and urban regions that
are suffering from shortages in entry-level jobs.
2)The sponsors of the bill, Californians for Justice Education
Fund, surveyed 2,500 Californians in low-income areas and
found that respondents reported few jobs currently available
in their neighborhoods and that existing jobs are either
low-paying or offer no opportunity for advancement. The
survey results demonstrated broad support for the creation of
public service jobs.
3)This bill establishes a wage for the public service jobs at
$10 per hour. This amount approaches the "bare bones" working
family budget of $1,924 monthly necessary to make ends meet
according to a California Budget Project analysis.
A recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
found that studies from 10 past and current public job
creation initiatives demonstrate that public job creation is
an important tool for aiding disadvantaged workers and
depressed communities. The report found that the value of
work performed and services provided through public job
creation initiatives is quite significant, particularly when
project development and worksite selection is closely linked
to community needs. This bill requires that job projects be
selected based, in part, on whether the jobs produce a
demonstrable public benefit.
4)This bill ensures protections against displacing existing
workers by prohibiting the approval of any employment project
that would fill an existing vacant position with a project
worker, or one that would reduce a current worker's hours,
wages or benefits.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of Nurses
Asian Immigrant Women Advocates
Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency
California Church IMPACT
California Immigrant Welfare Collaborative
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California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Nurses Association
Californians For Justice
Catholic Bishops of California
Chinese for Affirmative Action
Coalition for Ethical Welfare Reform
Friends Committee on Legislation
Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union Local 2850, AFL-CIO
Labor Project for Working Families
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Linking Action Commitment and Education for Solidarity
Los Angeles Association of Community Organizations for Reform
Now
Low-Income Families' Empowerment through Education (LIFEtimeE)
National Organization for Women
People Organized to Win Employment Rights
South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council
Women's Economic Agenda Project
Women's Economic Agenda Project
Opposition
None registered.
Analysis Prepared by : Ralph Lightstone / L. & E. /
(916)319-2091