California Assembly Bill AB1562 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1562INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Committee on Labor and Employment (Monning (Chair), Eng, Furutani, Ma, and Portantino) MARCH 11, 2009 An act to amend Section 2929 of the Labor Code, relating to employment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1562, as introduced, Committee on Labor and Employment. Employment: garnishment of wages. Under existing law, an employer may not terminate an employee because garnishment of an employee's wages has been threatened or an employee's wages have been subjected to garnishment for the payment of one judgment. This bill would prohibit an employer from terminating an employee because garnishment of the employee's wages has been threatened or the employee's wages have been subjected to garnishment for the payment of 5 or fewer judgments at any one time. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 2929 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 2929. (a) As used in this section: (1) "Garnishment" means  any   a  judicial procedure through which the wages of an employee are required to be withheld for the payment of  any   a  debt. (2) "Wages" has the same meaning as that term has under Section 200. (b)  No   An  employer  may   shall not  discharge  any   an  employee by reason of the fact that the garnishment of  his   the employee's  wages has been threatened.  No   An  employer  may   shall not  discharge  any   an  employee by reason of the fact that  his   the employee's  wages have been subjected to garnishment for the payment of  one judgment   five or fewer judgments at any one time  . A provision of a contract of employment that provides an employee with less protection than is provided by this subdivision is against public policy and void. (c) Unless the employee has greater rights under the contract of employment, the wages of an employee who is discharged in violation of this section shall continue until reinstatement notwithstanding  such   his or her  discharge, but  such   the employee's  wages shall not continue for more than 30 days and shall not exceed the amount of wages earned during the 30 calendar days immediately preceding the date of the levy of execution upon the employee's wages which resulted in his  or her  discharge. The employee shall give notice to his  or her  employer of his  or her  intention to make a wage claim under this subdivision within 30 days after being discharged; and, if  he   the employee  desires to have the Labor Commissioner take an assignment of his  or her  wage claim, the employee shall file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner within 60 days after being discharged. The Labor Commissioner may  , in his discretion,  take assignment of wage claims under this subdivision as provided for in Section 96. A discharged employee shall not  be permitted to  recover wages under this subdivision if a criminal prosecution based on the same discharge has been commenced for violation of Section 304 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1674). (d) Nothing in this section affects any other  rights   right  the employee may have against his  or her  employer. (e) This section is intended to aid in the enforcement of the prohibition against discharge for garnishment of earnings provided in the Consumer Credit Protection Act of 1968 (15 U.S.C. Secs. 1671-1677) and shall be interpreted and applied in a manner which is consistent with the corresponding provisions of  such   that  act.