Existing law establishes the Employment Training Panel within the Employment Development Department and sets forth its powers and duties with respect to certain employment training programs. Existing law establishes the Employment Training Fund in the State Treasury, and requires that moneys in the fund be expended only for the purposes of the Employment Training Panel, except as provided. Existing law authorizes, with the approval of the Legislature, the fund or contributions to it to be used to pay interest charged on federal loans to the Unemployment Fund. This bill would instead prohibit moneys in the fund from being diverted, transferred, or otherwise used to pay interest charged on federal loans to the Unemployment Fund, or related liabilities, without the approval of the Legislature by statute and a public report justifying the necessity for the diversion, transfer, or use. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
Existing law, for purposes of unemployment insurance provisions, requires employers to make contributions with respect to unemployment insurance and disability insurance from the wages paid to their employees. Existing law establishes, within the state disability insurance program administered by the Employment Development Department, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement, as specified. This bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature that evaluates the quality of services provided by the department to the public with regard to unemployment and disability insurance. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2031.
Existing law requires the Employment Development Department to administer a program for the payment of unemployment compensation to the eligible unemployed. Existing law requires the department to periodically review policies and practices used to determine eligibility and benefits that result in delayed eligibility unemployment determinations or benefit payments and that fail to identify or prevent fraud. Existing law required the department to provide specified committees of the Legislature with a plan for assessing the effectiveness of its fraud prevention and detection tools by May 1, 2022, and to provide a report to those committees with an update on its progress on performing this assessment by July 1, 2022. Existing law requires the department to annually analyze and assess the effectiveness of its fraud prevention and detection tools and to submit this analysis and assessment to those committees, as specified. This bill would revise those annual requirements to, instead, require the department to analyze and assess the effectiveness of its fraud prevention and detection tools and to submit this analysis and assessment to those committees, biennially commencing on January 1, 2027.
Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification Existing law exempts certain occupations and business relationships from the application of the ABC test described above. Existing law, instead, provides that these exempt relationships are governed by the multifactor test previously adopted in the case of S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341. These exemptions include professional services provided by graphic designers, fine artists, content contributors, and various others, subject to meeting specified conditions. This bill would create an exemption for a merchandiser contracting with a bona fide business or hiring entity to provide stand-alone in-store inventory and product placement labor or services on behalf of retailers and brands in the consumer-packaged goods industry, as specified.
Existing law, as established in the case of Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (Dynamex) , creates a presumption that a worker who performs services for a hirer is an employee for purposes of claims for wages and benefits arising under wage orders issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission. Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for those purposes. Existing law establishes that, for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. This test is known as the "ABC" test, as described above. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of the ABC test described above. Existing law, instead, provides that these exempt relationships are governed by the multifactor test previously adopted in the case of S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d. This bill would extend the above-specified exemption to a sports coach for an elementary or secondary private school or local educational agency, as prescribed, and would define terms, including "sports coach," for these purposes.
(1) Existing law, as established in the case of Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (Dynamex) , creates a presumption that a worker who performs services for a hirer is an employee for purposes of claims for wages and benefits arising under wage orders issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission. Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for those purposes. Existing law establishes that, for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. This test is commonly known as the "ABC" test, as described above. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of Dynamex and the provisions described above. This bill would provide that mere ownership of a vehicle, including a personal vehicle or a commercial vehicle, used by a person in providing labor or services for remuneration does not make that person an independent contractor. The bill would state that this provision is declarative of existing law. (2) Existing law establishes the Motor Carrier Employer Amnesty Program administered by the Labor Commissioner and the Employment Development Department. Pursuant to the program, notwithstanding any law, a motor carrier performing drayage services may be relieved of liability for statutory or civil penalties associated with the misclassification of commercial drivers as independent contractors if the motor carrier enters into a settlement agreement with the commissioner, with the cooperation and consent of the department, prior to January 1, 2017, whereby the motor carrier agrees to classify all of its commercial drivers as employees, and the settlement agreement contains prescribed components, including, but not limited to, an agreement by the motor carrier to pay all wages, benefits, and taxes owed, if any. This bill would establish a similar program, known as the Construction Trucking Employer Amnesty Program, to be administered by the commissioner and the department. Under the bill, an eligible construction contractor would be relieved of liability for statutory or civil penalties, except as provided, associated with the misclassification of construction drivers as independent contractors, if the eligible construction contractor executes a settlement agreement negotiated with, or approved by, the commissioner prior to January 1, 2029, whereby the eligible construction contractor agrees to properly classify all drivers performing construction work on their behalf as employees and the settlement agreement contains prescribed components, including, but not limited to, an agreement by the construction contractor to pay all wages, benefits, and taxes owed, if any. If a construction driver declines to accept the terms of a settlement agreement, the bill would still require an eligible construction contractor to reclassify the construction driver as an employee and the construction driver would be precluded from pursuing a claim for civil or statutory penalties under specified provisions of law for a claim arising during the period of time covered by the settlement agreement. (3) Existing law requires an employer to indemnify their employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of their duties, or of their obedience to the directions of the employer, as provided. This bill would provide that the duty of an employer to indemnify their employee for all necessary expenses or losses applies to the use of a vehicle owned by an employee and used by that employee in the discharge of their duties. The bill would provide that, with respect to construction trucking, a commercial motor vehicle driver who owns the truck, tractor, trailer, or other commercial vehicle that they use in the discharge of their duties as an employee working for an employer would be entitled to reimbursement for the use, upkeep, and depreciation of that truck, tractor, trailer, or other commercial vehicle, as provided. The bill would state that specified provisions described above are declarative of existing law.
Existing unemployment compensation disability law requires workers to pay contribution rates based on, among other things, wages received in employment and benefit disbursement, for payment into the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury. That fund is continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions. Existing law establishes, within the above state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits for up to 8 weeks to workers who take time off work for prescribed purposes, including to care for a seriously ill family member. Existing law defines terms for its purposes, including family care leave and family member. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2028, expand eligibility for benefits under the paid family leave program to include individuals who take time off work to care for a seriously ill designated person. The bill would define designated person to mean any care recipient related by blood or whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship, and would make conforming changes to the definitions of the terms family care leave and family member. This bill would require an individual that requests for the first time family temporary disability insurance benefits to care for a designated person to identify the designated person and, under penalty of perjury, attest to how the individual is related by blood to the designated person, or how the individual's association with the designated person is the equivalent of a family relationship. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. By authorizing expenditures from the continuously appropriated fund for these expanded purposes, this bill would make an appropriation. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of the ABC test described above. Existing law, instead, provides that these exempt relationships are governed by the multifactor test previously adopted in the case of S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341. Existing law includes an exemption for services provided by a licensed manicurist, subject to the manicurist meeting specified conditions, and makes this exemption for licensed manicurists inoperative on January 1, 2025. This bill would delete the January 1, 2025, inoperative date, and, instead, until January 1, 2029, reapply the above-specified exemption to certain licensed manicurists. The bill would also require the Employment Development Department and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to, by June 1, 2026, report to the Legislature the annual number of allegations of misclassification or other specified violations involving licensed manicurists since January 1, 2020, as specified. Existing law also provides an exemption for a commercial fisher working on an American vessel, as defined. Existing law makes those commercial fishers eligible for unemployment insurance benefits subject to certain conditions, and requires the Employment Development Department to issue an annual report, on March 1, to the Legislature on the use of unemployment insurance in the commercial fishing industry, as provided. Existing law makes these various provisions related to commercial fishers working on an American vessel inoperative on January 1, 2026. This bill would extend the inoperative date to January 1, 2031, and, thereby, until January 1, 2031, reapply the above-specified exemption to those commercial fishers, as prescribed. The bill would change the above-described annual reporting date from March 1 to June 30.
