Existing law provides for a civil penalty, in addition to, and entirely independent and apart from other penalties, on every person who fails to pay the wages of each employee, as specified, including a provision prohibiting wage differential on the basis of sex, as provided in specified provisions of the Labor Code. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to recover that penalty as part of a hearing held to recover unpaid wages and penalties or in an independent civil action. Existing law requires that a specified percentage of the penalty recovered under that provision be paid into a fund within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency dedicated to educating employers about state labor laws and that the remainder be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund. This bill would also authorize the affected employee to bring an action to recover specified statutory penalties against the employer as part of a hearing held to recover unpaid wages. The bill would remove the authority for the Labor Commissioner to recover civil penalties in an independent civil action. The bill would also modify the list of statutes that a statutory penalty may be recovered for violation of by adding a provision relating to wages paid to an employee who is licensed under the Barbering and Cosmetology Act. The bill would authorize an employee to either recover statutory penalties under these provisions or to enforce civil penalties under a specified provision of the Labor Code Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, but not both, for the same violation.
Sponsored bills
Existing law defines the term "public works" for purposes of requirements regarding the payment of prevailing wages, the regulation of working hours, and the securing of workers' compensation for public works projects. Existing law requires that, except as specified, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, determined by the Director of Industrial Relations, be paid to workers employed on public works projects. Existing law makes a willful violation of laws relating to the payment of prevailing wages on public works a misdemeanor. This bill would expand the definition of public works to include work conducted during site assessment or feasibility studies. This bill would also specify that preconstruction work, including design, site assessment, feasibility studies, and land surveying, is deemed to be part of a public work, regardless of whether any further construction work is conducted. By expanding the application of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1720 of the Labor Code proposed by AB 520 to be operative only if this bill and AB 520 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 prohibits an employer, who is required by law to give an employee a rest period during a workday, from requiring the employee to work during the rest period. Existing law requires an employer to pay the employee one additional hour of pay, at the employee's regular rate of compensation, for each rest period not provided. Existing law requires employers to provide a reasonable amount of break time to employees desiring to express milk for the employee's infant child. Existing law also requires an employer to make reasonable efforts to provide the employee with the use of a room, or other location, other than a bathroom, in close proximity to the employee's work area, for the employee to express milk in private. Existing law exempts an employer from the break time requirement if the employer's operations would be seriously disrupted by providing that time to employees desiring to express milk. Existing law subjects employers who violate these provisions to a civil penalty of $100 per violation and authorizes the Labor Commissioner to issue citations for those violations. This bill would instead require an employer to provide a lactation room or location that includes prescribed features and would require an employer, among other things, to provide access to a sink and refrigerator in close proximity to the employee's workspace, as specified. The bill would deem denial of reasonable break time or adequate space to express milk a failure to provide a rest period in accordance with state law. The bill would prohibit an employer from discharging, or in any other manner discriminating or retaliating against, an employee for exercising or attempting to exercise rights under these provisions and would establish remedies that include filing a complaint with the Labor Commissioner. The bill would authorize employers with fewer than 50 employees to seek an exemption from the requirements of these provisions if the employer demonstrates that the requirement posed an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense, as specified. The bill would require an employer who obtains an exemption to make a reasonable effort to provide a place for an employee to express milk in private, as specified. The bill would require an employer to develop and implement a policy regarding lactation accommodation and make it available to employees, as specified.
(1) The Planning and Zoning Law authorizes a local agency, by ordinance, or, if a local agency has not adopted an ordinance, by ministerial approval, to provide for the creation of accessory dwelling units in single-family and multifamily residential zones in accordance with specified standards and conditions. Existing law requires any ordinance adopted by a local agency to comply with certain criteria, including that it require accessory dwelling units to be either attached to, or located within, the proposed or existing primary dwelling or detached if located within the same lot, and that it does not exceed a specified amount of total area of floor space. This bill would, instead, authorize the creation of accessory dwelling units in areas zoned to allow single-family or multifamily dwelling residential use. The bill would also revise the requirements for an accessory dwelling unit by providing that the accessory dwelling unit may be attached to, or located within, an attached garage, storage area, or other structure, and that it does not exceed a specified amount of total floor area. (2) Existing law generally authorizes a local agency to include in the ordinance parking standards for accessory dwelling units, including authorizing a local agency to require the replacement of parking spaces if a garage, carport, or covered parking is demolished to construct an accessory dwelling unit. Existing law also prohibits a local agency from imposing parking standards on an accessory dwelling unit if it is located within one-half mile of public transit. This bill would, instead, prohibit a local agency from requiring the replacement of parking spaces if a garage, carport, or covered parking is demolished to construct an accessory dwelling unit. The bill would also prohibit a local agency from imposing parking standards on an accessory dwelling unit that is located within one-half mile walking distance of public transit, and would define the term "public transit" for those purposes. (3) Existing law authorizes a local agency to establish minimum and maximum unit size limitations on accessory dwelling units, provided that the ordinance permits an efficiency unit to be constructed in compliance with local development standards. This bill would prohibit a local agency from establishing a minimum square footage requirement for either an attached or detached accessory dwelling unit that prohibits an efficiency unit, as defined. The bill would also prohibit a local agency from establishing a maximum square footage requirement for either an attached or detached accessory dwelling unit that is less than 850 square feet, and 1,000 square feet if the accessory dwelling unit contains more than one bedroom. The bill would also instead prohibit a local agency from establishing any other minimum or maximum size for an accessory dwelling unit, size based upon a percentage of the proposed or existing primary dwelling, or limits on lot coverage, floor area ratio, open space, and minimum lot size for either attached or detached dwelling units that prohibit at least an 800 square foot accessory dwelling unit that is at least 16 feet in height and with a 4-foot side and rear yard setbacks. (4) Existing law prohibits a local agency from utilizing standards to evaluate a proposed accessory dwelling unit on a lot that is zoned for residential use that includes a proposed or existing single-family dwelling other than the criteria described above, except that, among one other exception, a local agency may require an applicant for a permit to be an owner-occupant of either the primary or accessory dwelling unit as a condition of issuing a permit. This bill, until January 1, 2025, would instead prohibit a local agency from imposing an owner-occupant requirement as described above. (5) Existing law requires a local agency that has not adopted an ordinance governing accessory dwelling units to approve or disapprove the application ministerially and without discretionary review within 120 days after receiving the application. The bill would require a local agency, whether or not it has adopted an ordinance, to consider and approve an application, ministerially and without discretionary review, within 60 days after receiving a completed application. The bill would also provide that, if a local agency does not act on the application within that time period, the application shall be deemed approved. (6) Existing law requires fees for an accessory dwelling unit to be determined in accordance with the Mitigation Fee Act. Existing law also requires the connection fee or capacity charge for an accessory dwelling unit requiring a new or separate utility connection to be based on either the accessory dwelling unit's size or the number of its plumbing fixtures. This bill would prohibit a local agency, special district, or water corporation from imposing any impact fee, as specified, upon the development of an accessory dwelling unit less than 750 square feet, and would require any impact fees to be charged for an accessory dwelling unit of 750 square feet or more to be proportional to the square footage of the primary dwelling unit. The bill would revise the basis for calculating the connection fee or capacity charge specified above to either the accessory dwelling unit's square feet or the number of its drainage fixture unit values, as specified. (7) Existing law, for purposes of these provisions, defines "living area" as the interior habitable area of a dwelling unit including basements and attics, but not a garage or accessory structure. This bill would define "accessory structure" to mean a structure that is accessory and incidental to a dwelling located on the same lot. (8) Existing law requires a local agency to submit a copy of the adopted ordinance to the Department of Housing and Community Development and authorizes the department to review and comment on the ordinance. This bill would instead authorize the department to submit written findings to the local agency as to whether the ordinance complies with the statute authorizing the creation of an accessory dwelling unit, and, if the department finds that the local agency's ordinance does not comply with those provisions, would require the department to notify the local agency within a reasonable time. The bill would require the local agency to consider the department's findings and either amend its ordinance to comply with those provisions or adopt it without changes and include specified findings. If the local agency does not amend it ordinance or does not adopt those findings, the bill would require the department to notify the local agency and authorize it to notify the Attorney General that the local agency is in violation of state law, as provided. The bill would authorize the department to adopt guidelines to implement uniform standards or criteria to supplement or clarify the provisions authorizing accessory dwelling units. (9) Existing law requires the planning agency of each city and county to adopt a general plan that includes a housing element that identifies adequate sites for housing. Existing law authorizes the department to allow a city or county to do so by a variety of methods and also authorizes the department to allow a city or county to identify sites for accessory dwelling units, as specified. This bill would state that a local agency may count an accessory dwelling unit for purposes of identifying adequate sites for housing in accordance with those provisions. (10) Existing law, the State Housing Law, a violation of which is a crime, establishes statewide construction and occupancy standards for buildings used for human habitation. Existing law requires, for those purposes, that any building, including any dwelling unit, be deemed to be a substandard building when a health officer determines that any one of specified listed conditions exists to the extent that it endangers the life, limb, health, property, safety, or welfare of the public or its occupants. This bill would authorize the owner of an accessory dwelling unit built before January 1, 2020, or built on or after January 1, 2020, under specified circumstances, that receives a notice to correct violations or abate nuisances to request that the enforcement of the violation be delayed for 5 years if correcting the violation is not necessary to protect health and safety, as determined by the enforcement agency, subject to specified requirements. The bill would make conforming and other changes relating to the creation of accessory dwelling units. By increasing the duties of local agencies with respect to land use regulations, and because the bill would expand the scope of a crime under the State Housing Law, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (11) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65852.2 of the Government Code proposed by AB 68 and AB 881 to be operative only if this bill and either or both AB 68 and AB 881 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (12) 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 provides that generally if an employee is discharged or laid off, wages earned by the employee are due and payable immediately. Existing law provides specified requirements for certain occupations, including temporary services employees, employees engaged in the production or broadcasting of motion pictures, and employees at venues that host live theatrical or concert events. Existing law provides that an employee engaged in the production or broadcasting of motion pictures whose employment terminates is entitled to receive payment of wages earned at the time of termination by the next regular payday. Existing law provides for civil penalties for violations of these provisions. This bill would provide that an "events employee," as defined, whose employment terminates is entitled to receive payment of wages earned at the time of termination by the next regular payday, except as specified. The bill would provide that these provisions do not apply to the payment of wages of specified public employees. The bill would make conforming changes to the provisions requiring payment of wages due upon termination of employment. By expanding the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Sections 203, 203.1, and 220 of the Labor Code proposed by SB 671 to be operative only if this bill and SB 671 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. 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 establishes the California Conservation Corps and requires that young people participating in the corps program generally be engaged in projects that, among other things, preserve, maintain, and enhance environmentally important lands and waters. Existing law requires the director of the corps to establish a forestry corps program to accomplish certain objectives, including developing and implementing forest health projects, as provided, and establishing forestry corps crews. Existing law establishes the California Conservation Camp program to provide for the training and use of inmates and wards assigned to conservation camps to perform public conservation projects, including, but not limited to, forest fire prevention and control, forest and watershed management, recreation, fish and game management, soil conservation, and forest and watershed revegetation. This bill would authorize the director of the corps to establish the Education and Employment Reentry Program within the corps and to enroll in the program formerly incarcerated individuals who successfully served on a California Conservation Camp program crew and were recommended for participation as a program member by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The bill would prescribe program enrollment terms, and would require the director of the corps, in conjunction with the Employment Development Department, to prioritize developing and executing plans to assist program members in obtaining continued employment following participation in the program. The bill would also establish program activities and objectives, including, among others, assisting with the forestry corps program objectives. The bill would authorize the corps, subject to the discretion and approval of the director of the corps, to enter into a planning agreement with certain entities to develop reentry and job training opportunities for the formerly incarcerated individuals described above who do not otherwise qualify for corps enrollment under corps policies. The bill would make implementation of the program contingent upon an appropriation being made in the annual Budget Act or another statute for its purposes.
Under existing law, the information obtained in the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Code is for the exclusive use and information of the Director of Employment Development in the discharge of the director's duties and is not open to the public. However, existing law permits the use of the information for specified purposes, including to enable the California Workforce Development Board and other entities to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of specified workforce program performance outcomes as required and permitted by various state and federal laws, as specified. Existing law makes it a crime for any person to knowingly access, use, or disclose this confidential information without authorization. This bill would add a chief elected official of local workforce investment areas, as defined under federal law, to the list of entities permitted to use information obtained in the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Code for the purpose described above, and additionally to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of specified workforce program performance as required and permitted by various local laws, as specified. The bill would also require the Employment Development Department, among other things, to develop the minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of information for those purposes and a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information. The bill would require the department to approve or deny a request for disclosure of information within a specified time period and would require the department to make publicly available on its internet website specified information, including any denials for requests of disclosure of information. Because this bill would expand the group of persons who can be convicted for knowingly accessing, using, or disclosing this information without authorization, it would expand the scope of an existing crime and therefor impose a state-mandated local program. 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. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1095 of the Unemployment Insurance Code proposed by AB 1296 and AB 1340, to be operative only if this bill and either or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Existing law imposes an additional 3-year sentence for each prior separate prison term served by a defendant where the prior and current offense was a violent felony, as defined. For other felonies, existing law imposes an additional one-year term for each prior separate prison term or county jail felony term, except under specified circumstances. This bill would instead impose that additional one-year term served for each prior separate prison term served for a conviction of a sexually violent offense, as defined.
Existing law specifies that a hiring of residential real property, for a term not specified by the parties, is deemed to be renewed at the end of the term implied by law unless one of the parties gives written notice to the other of that party's intention to terminate. Existing law requires an owner of a residential dwelling to give notice at least 60 days prior to the proposed date of termination, or at least 30 days prior to the proposed date of termination if any tenant or resident has resided in the dwelling for less than one year, as specified. Existing law requires any notice given by an owner to be given in a prescribed manner, to contain certain information, and to be formatted, as specified. This bill would, with certain exceptions, prohibit an owner, as defined, of residential real property from terminating a tenancy without just cause, as defined, which the bill would require to be stated in the written notice to terminate tenancy when the tenant has continuously and lawfully occupied the residential real property for 12 months, except as provided. The bill would require, for certain just cause terminations that are curable, that the owner give a notice of violation and an opportunity to cure the violation prior to issuing the notice of termination. The bill, if the violation is not cured within the time period set forth in the notice, would authorize a 3-day notice to quit without an opportunity to cure to be served to terminate the tenancy. The bill would require, for no-fault just cause terminations, as specified, that the owner, at the owner's option, either assist certain tenants to relocate, regardless of the tenant's income, by providing a direct payment of one month's rent to the tenant, as specified, or waive in writing the payment of rent for the final month of the tenancy, prior to the rent becoming due. The bill would require the actual amount of relocation assistance or rent waiver provided to a tenant that fails to vacate after the expiration of the notice to terminate the tenancy to be recoverable as damages in an action to recover possession. The bill would provide that if the owner does not provide relocation assistance, the notice of termination is void. The bill would except certain properties and circumstances from the application of its provisions. The bill would require an owner of residential property to provide prescribed notice to a tenant of the tenant's rights under these provisions. The bill would not apply to residential real property subject to a local ordinance requiring just cause for termination adopted on or before September 1, 2019, or to residential real property subject to a local ordinance requiring just cause for termination adopted or amended after September 1, 2019, that is more protective than these provisions, as defined. The bill would void any waiver of the rights under these provisions. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2030. Existing law governs the hiring of residential dwelling units and requires a landlord to provide specified notice to tenants prior to an increase in rent. Existing law, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, prescribes statewide limits on the application of local rent control with regard to certain properties. That act, among other things, authorizes an owner of residential real property to establish the initial and all subsequent rental rates for a dwelling or unit that meets specified criteria, subject to certain limitations. This bill would, until January 1, 2030, prohibit an owner of residential real property from, over the course of any 12-month period, increasing the gross rental rate for a dwelling or unit more than 5% plus the percentage change in the cost of living, as defined, or 10%, whichever is lower, of the lowest gross rental rate charged for the immediately preceding 12 months, subject to specified conditions. The bill would prohibit an owner of a unit of residential real property from increasing the gross rental rate for the unit in more than 2 increments over a 12-month period, after the tenant remains in occupancy of the unit over a 12-month period. The bill would exempt certain properties from these provisions. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office to submit a report, on or before January 1, 2030, to the Legislature regarding the effectiveness of these provisions. The bill would provide that these provisions apply to all rent increases occurring on or after March 15, 2019. The bill would provide that in the event that an owner increased the rent by more than the amount specified above between March 15, 2019, and January 1, 2020, the applicable rent on January 1, 2020, shall be the rent as of March 15, 2019, plus the maximum permissible increase, and the owner shall not be liable to the tenant for any corresponding rent overpayment. The bill would authorize an owner who increased the rent by less than the amount specified above between March 15, 2019, and January 1, 2020, to increase the rent twice within 12 months of March 15, 2019, but not by more than the amount specified above. The bill would void any waiver of the rights under these provisions. The Planning and Zoning Law requires the owner of an assisted housing development in which there will be an expiration of rental restrictions to, among other things, provide notice of the proposed change to each affected tenant household residing in the assisted housing development subject to specified procedures and requirements, and to also provide specified entities notice and an opportunity to submit an offer to purchase the development prior to the expiration of the rental restrictions. This bill would authorize an owner of an assisted housing development, who demonstrates, under penalty of perjury, compliance with the provisions described above with regard to the expiration of rental restrictions, to establish the initial unassisted rental rate for units without regard to the cap on rent increases discussed above, but would require the owner to comply with the above cap on rent increases for subsequent rent increases in the development. The bill would authorize an owner of a deed-restricted affordable housing unit or an affordable housing unit subject to a regulatory restriction contained in an agreement with a government agency limiting rental rates that is not within an assisted housing development to establish the initial rental rate for the unit upon the expiration of the restriction, but would require the owner to comply with the above cap on rent increases for subsequent rent increases for the unit. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. The bill would void any waiver of the rights under these provisions. By requiring an owner of an assisted housing development to demonstrate compliance with specified provisions under penalty of perjury, this bill would expand the existing crime of perjury and thus would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.
(1) Existing law, the Dental Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of dentists by the Dental Board of California. Existing law makes it unprofessional conduct for a dentist to fail to obtain the written informed consent of a patient before administering general anesthesia and, until January 1, 2022, conscious sedation, and, for a minor, requires the written informed consent to include a statement that encourages the patient to explore all options available for the child's anesthesia for their dental treatment and consult with the child's dentist or pediatrician as needed. This bill would revise the content of the informed consent statement to specify that the patient is encouraged to consult with the child's dentist, pediatrician, or family physician as needed. (2) Existing law, the Nursing Practice Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of the practice of nursing by the Board of Registered Nursing and authorizes the board to issue a certificate to practice nurse-midwifery to a person who meets educational standards established by the board or the equivalent of those educational standards. Existing law authorizes the board to appoint a committee of qualified physicians and nurses, including obstetricians and nurse-midwives, to develop the necessary standards relating to educational requirements, ratios of nurse-midwives to supervising physicians, and associated matters. This bill would additionally authorize the committee to include family physicians. (3) Existing law, the Sexual Health Education Accountability Act, requires a sexual health education program to meet specified requirements, including that information be medically accurate, current, and objective. For purposes of this act, "medically accurate" means, in part, verified or supported by research conducted in compliance with scientific methods and published in peer review journals, and recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the relevant field, including the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This bill would modify the term "medically accurate" to additionally reference the American Academy of Family Physicians as a professional organization with the requisite experience. (4) Existing law precludes an infant under one month of age to be employed on a motion picture set or location unless a physician and surgeon who is certified in pediatrics by a specialty board provides written certification concerning the infant, including that the infant was carried to full term. This bill would additionally authorize the prescribed certification to be made by a physician and surgeon who is certified in family medicine by a specialty board. (5) Existing law, the Reproductive Rights Law Enforcement Act, requires the Attorney General to carry out certain functions relating to anti-reproductive-rights crimes in consultation with, among others, subject matter experts, and to convene an advisory committee that consists of members of the organizations identified as subject matter experts. This bill would include the American Academy of Family Physicians as subject matter experts for purposes of the act. (6) Existing law, the Song-Brown Health Care Workforce Training Act, defines a "family physician" as a primary care physician who renders continued comprehensive and preventative health care services to families and who has received specialized training in an approved family medicine residency for 3 years after graduation from an accredited medical school. Existing law generally refers to a physician and surgeon who specializes in family medicine as a family practice physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of "family physician" for purposes of the act to mean a primary care physician and surgeon who renders continued comprehensive and preventative health care services to individuals and families, and who has received the specialized training described above. The bill would apply the "family physician" definition to various provisions of law. The bill would refer to an individual who practices family medicine as a family physician and surgeon, and would make technical, conforming, and nonsubstantive changes. (7) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 1308.8 of the Labor Code proposed by AB 267 to be operative only if this bill and AB 267 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.