This measure would urge the Congress of the United States and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to review federal commercial driver's license disqualification policies and consider reforms that allow greater flexibility for states and appropriate relief for drivers whose livelihoods are affected.
Existing law makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request by any employee to take up to 5 days of bereavement leave upon the death of a family member, as defined, to refuse to hire, or to discharge, demote, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, an individual because of the individual's exercise of the right to bereavement leave or because of the individual's giving information or testimony as to their own or another person's bereavement leave, or to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any of these rights, as specified. This bill would include a designated person identified by the employee, as specified, in the definition of "family member" and authorize an employer to limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for purposes of these provisions relating to bereavement leave.
Existing law provides that if a city council member is absent without permission from all regular city council meetings for a specified number of days from the last regular meeting they attended, their office becomes vacant and shall be filled as any other vacancy. This bill would require a city to establish a process for a city council member to notify the city clerk or other designated official in writing that they are taking parental leave, as defined, for 12 workweeks or longer if the city council member's city provides a parental leave period longer than 12 workweeks for their employees. The bill would exclude parental leave from counting toward the number of allowed absences allotted to each council member. The bill would prohibit the process from requiring a council member to make the declaration at a public hearing. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law, the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (Cal/WARN Act) , prohibits an employer from ordering a mass layoff, relocation, or termination at a covered establishment unless, 60 days before the order takes effect, the employer gives written notice of the order to the employees affected by the order and to the Employment Development Department and certain local officials. Existing law makes an employer who fails to give specified notice regarding a mass layoff, relocation, or termination subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 for each day of the employer's violation. This bill would revise the Cal/WARN Act to also require an employer giving notice of a mass layoff, relocation, or termination caused in whole or in substantial part by an artificial intelligence (AI) system or other automated technology replacing or automating employment positions to include certain information in the notice, including the job functions performed by workers that will be automated by AI or other automated technology. The bill would require the department to publish a summary of the notices received on its internet website and to post a quarterly statewide summary of technological displacements reported. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2028, to submit a report to the Legislature on artificial intelligence's effects on business hiring practices, including its impact on industries and occupations at the state and regional level. The bill would repeal the provision requiring that report on January 1, 2029.
This measure would proclaim July 21, 2026, as Black Women's Equal Pay Day in recognition of the need to eliminate the gender gap in earnings by African American women and to promote policies to ensure equal pay for all.
This measure would proclaim April 10, 2026, as Dolores Huerta Day in California and would encourage all public schools and educational institutions to conduct exercises remembering her, recognizing her accomplishments, and familiarizing pupils with her contributions to California.
Existing law requires the governing board of a school district, and the governing board of a community college district, to provide for a leave of absence from duty for a certificated employee or an academic employee of the district who is required to be absent from duty because of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and recovery from those conditions. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district, and the governing board of a community college district, to provide for a leave of absence from duty as it deems appropriate for a female employee in the classified service of the district who is required to be absent from duty because of pregnancy or convalescence following childbirth. Existing law authorizes a governing board to adopt rules and regulations about leaves of absence for classified employees for these purposes, and authorizes a governing board to provide in the rules and regulations whether the leave granted shall be with or without pay, as provided. This bill would delete the latter provisions authorizing a governing board of a school district and the governing board of a community college district to adopt those rules and regulations. The bill instead would require a public school employer to, for a certificated employee or an employee in the classified service of the public school employer, and would require a community college district to, for an academic employee or an employee in the classified service of the community college district, provide up to 14 weeks of a leave of absence with specified pay benefits for an employee who is required to be absent from duty because of pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery from those conditions, as provided. The bill would authorize the paid leave to begin before and continue after childbirth if the employee is actually disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or a related condition. The bill would prohibit a leave of absence taken pursuant to these provisions from being deducted from other leaves of absence, as provided, and would require public school employers and community college districts to maintain group health coverage for an employee who takes a leave of absence under these provisions for the duration of the leave of absence at the same level and under the same conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had not taken a leave of absence. The bill would prohibit any other eligibility requirements, including, but not limited to, minimum hours worked or length of service, before an employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or related medical conditions is eligible for a paid leave of absence under these provisions.
This California Senate Resolution designates September 21 as Landscapers Appreciation Day to honor the workers who maintain residential and commercial outdoor spaces. The bill highlights the significant role of landscapers in community beauty, environmental health, and wildfire prevention, while noting that many face challenges such as heat exposure, limited benefits, and informal employment arrangements. It formally supports policies aimed at uplifting both formal and informal landscaping workers and urges the Governor to issue a proclamation encouraging public observance of the day through educational activities.
Existing law, the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust Act, administered by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board (board) , establishes the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program (program) and the CalSavers Retirement Savings Trust (trust) . Under existing law, the trust consists of a program fund and an administrative fund with trust moneys that are continuously appropriated and administered by the CalSavers Retirement Savings Board for the purpose of promoting greater retirement savings for California private employees. Existing law requires eligible employers to offer a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement so that eligible employees may contribute a portion of their salary or wages to a retirement savings program account in the program, as specified. Existing law defines "eligible employer" as a person or entity engaged in a business, industry, profession, trade, or other enterprise in the state, whether for profit or not for profit, excluding, among others, specified federal, state, and local governmental entities, with at least one eligible employee and that satisfies certain requirements to establish or participate in a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement. This bill would enact the Savings Access and Vested Empowerment (SAVE) for All Workers Act, which would recast those provisions to expand that definition of "eligible employer" to include household employers, defined as those who have hired someone to work in or around their home for the benefit of their personal household and who provide the employee a W-2 federal tax form. By expanding eligibility under these provisions, the bill would remove a restriction limiting expenditure of funds and authorize the expenditure of continuously appropriated moneys for a new purpose, thereby making an appropriation. Existing law requires the board, subject to its authority and fiduciary duty, to design and implement the program. Existing law authorizes the board to provide for investment in myRAs. Existing law requires the program to include, as determined by the board, one or more payroll deduction IRA arrangements. Existing law provides the board with the power and authority to, among other things, make and enter into contracts necessary for the administration of the trust and to disseminate information concerning tax credits available to small business owners for allowing their employees to participate in the program and the federal Retirement Savings Contribution Credit (Saver's Credit) . This bill would eliminate the authority of the board to invest in myRAs and would make related conforming changes. The bill would require the program, with board approval, to establish an IRA on behalf of participants who are eligible to receive federal or state retirement benefits, as specified, and notify participants at least 30 days prior to the creation of the accounts. This bill would additionally authorize the board to assess the feasibility of multi-state or regional agreements to administer the program and to disseminate information concerning tax credits available to small business owners for allowing their employees to participate in the successor to the Saver's Credit, known as the Saver's Match. Existing law requires the board, prior to opening the program for enrollment, to establish a retirement investments clearinghouse on its internet website and a vendor registration process, if there is sufficient interest by vendors to participate and provide the necessary funding. Existing law requires vendors that would like to participate in the board's retirement investments clearinghouse and be listed on the board's internet website as a registered vendor to provide specified information to the board. This bill would eliminate the above-described requirement for the board to establish a retirement investments clearinghouse on its internet website and a vendor registration process, and would instead require vendors that would like to contract with the board to provide specified information to the board. The bill would make related conforming changes. Existing law authorizes an employer to choose to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program under the terms and conditions prescribed by the board. Existing law requires, by December 31, 2025, eligible employers with one or more eligible employees and do not offer a retirement savings program, as provided, to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program. Existing law authorizes the board to implement annual automatic escalation of employee contributions and prohibits contributions subject to automatic escalation from exceeding 8% of salary. Existing law provides the board the powers and duties necessary to administer the enforcement of employer compliance, as provided. This bill would, beginning December 31, 2027 and by December 31 of each calendar year, require eligible employers with one or more eligible employees, as described, who do not offer a retirement savings program, as specified, to have a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow employee participation in the program. The bill would instead prohibit contributions subject to automatic escalation from exceeding 10% of salary. The bill would require the board to notify participants of this increase in salary subject to automatic escalation. Existing law requires the board to issue to each employer who fails to allow its eligible employees to participate in the program, as provided, a notice of penalty application. Existing law requires each eligible employer that, without good cause, fails to allow its employees to participate in the program, as specified, after the board serves a final notice of penalty application, to be subject to a penalty of $250 per eligible employee and an additional penalty of $500 per eligible employee if noncompliance continues, as described. Existing law requires the Franchise Tax Board to issue a first notice of the imposition of a penalty to an eligible employer for failure to comply after the board informs the Franchise Tax Board of the eligible employer's noncompliance. Existing law requires amounts collected by the Franchise Tax Board for these purposes to be transmitted to the board for deposit in the trust. This bill would additionally subject each eligible employer that fails to allow its eligible employees to participate in the program after the above-described penalties have been assessed to a penalty of $500 per eligible employee. The bill would prohibit the penalties assessed from being imposed more than once every 180 days since the last violation. The bill would require the Franchise Tax Board to issue subsequent notices of imposition of penalties for noncompliance, as specified. By depositing additional penalties into the trust, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
Existing law requires the Employment Development Department, among other duties, to establish, in conjunction with other state entities, a systemwide policy of actively promoting the training of women in nontraditional occupations. Existing law defines "nontraditional occupations" as any job classification in which not more than 25% of the employees are women, according to the statistics of the United States Department of Labor. This bill would require the department to collect specified data on construction workers, including, among other data, the training and educational capacity to produce trained, certified, and licensed construction workers. This bill would also require the department to work with the Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Apprenticeship Standards to determine this capacity within state-registered construction preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs and to determine the number of construction preapprentices and apprentices in any given year who are women. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter, to report this data to the Legislature and post the report on its internet website.
