CALIFORNIA WORKER RIGHTS REFORMS PASS KEY HURDLE
June 23, 2014 by Peter McEntee
The California State Assembly recently passed two important pieces of legislation designed to help prevent the many abuses that low-wage workers face. Passage by the Assembly is just a first step, but an important step nonetheless. As an employment law firm in California that supports employment laws that protect workers we at Beeson, Tayer and Bodine are following these developments and provide this summary of the two pieces of employment legislation. AB 1897 will protect temporary employees by imposing on companies that contract for temporary labor liability for wage-and-hour and health-and-safety violations suffered by temporary-agency employees who work on the company’s premises. AB 2416 will help employees actually collect their wage claims against their employers.
AB 1897 will improve protections for employees who work for labor contractors and temp agencies. There is a current trend of companies relying on contractors or temp agencies to supply their labor needs even at the company’s own worksite. According to USAToday 2013 statistics, these workers make up 12% of everyone who has a job. This creates a real problem because the company and the contractors both deny liability for wage-and-hour violations and workplace safety violations, each pointing the finger at the other. The company uses this structure to avoid responsibility to the temp employees it uses to get its work done. AB 1897 addresses this problem by holding liable the companies that rely on temporary employees. The bill makes these companies responsible for wage-and-hour infractions committed against the temporary employees working on the company’s premises. Likewise, the bill holds companies responsible to ensure that health-and-safety rules are applied to temp employees working on the company’s premises. This will ensure that workers and state agencies can hold accountable companies that use temporary-agency labor.
The second bill, AB 2416, will protect employees from the increasing problem of wage theft and enhance the ability for employees to collect the money they are owed. A study by the National Employment Law Project and UCLA Labor Center shows that only about 17% of employees who secure judgments from the California Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement actually ever recover any money. AB 2416 allows employees who file claims for unpaid wages to place a temporary lien or hold on the employer’s assets while the claim is being processed. A lien enables an employee with a wage judgment to prevent an employer from closing shop or transferring assets to avoid paying the judgment. The bill also provides that if there is a judgment in favor of the employee that the personal property subject to the lien may be foreclosed upon or the Court may order that the property be sold or transferred to the Plaintiff.
Both of these bills are important in protecting low wage workers from their employer’s workplace violations. Both bills must still pass the Senate and be signed by the Governor before becoming law. Labor groups in California, including the Teamsters, have championed these important reforms that will protect all employees, particularly low-wage workers. The next step is for both bills to be heard by Senate committees and eventually to be voted on by the full Senate. We hope that these important measures make it through the process and become law implementing these workplace protections. For information on the recent NLRB joint employment ruling for staffing agency workers visit the BT&B employment law blog.
The material on this website is provided by Beeson, Tayer & Bodine for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented. Some of the articles are updated periodically, and are marked with the date of the last update. Again, readers should consult with their own legal counsel for the most current information and to obtain professional advice before acting on any of the information presented.
