Displaced janitors.

Existing law, the Displaced Janitor Opportunity Act, requires contractors and subcontractors, as defined, that are awarded contracts or subcontracts, on and after January 1, 2002, for janitorial or building maintenance services at a particular job site or sites, to retain, for a period of 60 days, certain employees who were employed at that site by the previous contractor or subcontractor. Under the act, a "contractor" means any person that employees 25 or more individuals and that enters into a service contract with the awarding authority. Existing law requires employees retained for that 60-day period to be offered continued employment if their performance during that 60-day period is satisfactory. This bill would, instead, define the term "contractor" to mean any person that employs janitor employees and that enters into a service contract with the awarding authority. The bill would make related changes to various definitions used in the act. This bill would extend the above-described timeframe for which a successor contractor or subcontractor is required to retain employees of a terminated contractor or subcontractor to 90 days. The bill would require the successor contractor or subcontractor, during the 90-day transition period, to maintain a preferential hiring list of eligible covered employees by seniority within job classifications. The bill would also require employees retained for the 90-day period to be offered continued employment if their performance during that 90-day period is satisfactory. The bill would require that offer to be contemporaneously shared with the union representing the employees, if applicable. Among other changes, the bill would require an awarding authority that enters into contracts or subcontracts for janitorial or building services to provide written notification to both the contractor and the union, if the employees are represented by a union, within 5 days of making the decision to terminate a service contract and to post a notice in a conspicuous location at the worksite. The bill would prescribe specified elements to be included in those notices, including the termination date of the service contract. Additionally, the bill would require a successor contractor or subcontractor to maintain the same number of hours and pay the same wages and benefits as those of the prior contractor or subcontractor. Existing law authorizes an employee who was not offered employment or was discharged in violation of these provisions to bring an enforcement action against a successor contractor or successor subcontractor in a court of competent jurisdiction. Existing law requires a court to award backpay to an employee if the court finds that the contractor or subcontractor has violated the act, in addition to other specified remedies. This bill would require a court to award treble damages for a violation, if it finds that a party's violation of the act was willful. The bill would additionally authorize the Labor Commissioner to enforce these provisions and to recover specified remedies on behalf of an aggrieved employee, including hiring and reinstatement rights. The bill would make an employer, agent of any employer, or other person who violates these provisions subject to specified civil penalties and liquidated damages, and would require the liquidated damages to be deposited into the Labor and Workforce Development Fund and paid to the employee as compensatory damages. The bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to promulgate and enforce rules and regulations and to issue determinations and interpretations.