California Assembly Bill AB1669 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1669INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Roger Hernndez JANUARY 15, 2016 An act to amend Sections 1070 and 1071 of, and to amend the heading of Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 1070) of Part 3 of Division 2 of, the Labor Code, relating to employment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1669, as introduced, Roger Hernndez. Displaced employees: solid waste collection and transportation services contracts. Existing law requires a local government agency letting a public transit service contract out to bid to give a bidding preference for contractors and subcontractors who agree to retain for a specified period certain employees who were employed to perform essentially the same services by the previous contractor or subcontractor. Such a contractor or subcontractor must offer employment to those employees, except for reasonable and substantiated cause. Existing law requires a successor contractor or subcontractor that determines that fewer employees are needed than under the prior contract to retain qualified employees by seniority within the job classification. The existing contractor must provide prescribed information regarding employment under the existing service contract to the awarding authority, any entity that the awarding authority identifies as a bona fide bidder, and the successor contractor. This bill would add employees of solid waste collection and transportation contractors and subcontractors to those provisions. By requiring local agencies to give a bidding preference to those contractors and subcontractors, this bill 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The heading of Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 1070) of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Labor Code is amended to read: CHAPTER 4.6. PUBLIC TRANSIT  SERVICE   AND SOLID WASTE COLLECTION AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES  CONTRACTS SEC. 2. Section 1070 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 1070. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) That when public  transit  agencies  with jurisdiction over public transit or solid waste collection and transportation services  award contracts to operate bus and  rail   services   rail services, or to provide solid waste collection and transportation services,  to a new contractor, qualified employees of the prior contractor who are not reemployed by the successor contractor face significant economic dislocation as a result. (b) That those displaced employees rely unnecessarily upon the unemployment insurance system, public social services, and health programs, increasing costs to these vital government programs and placing a significant burden upon both the government and the taxpayers. (c) That it serves an important social purpose to establish incentives for contractors who bid  on  public transit  services   or solid waste collection and transportation service  contracts to retain qualified employees of the prior contractor to perform the same or similar work. SEC. 3. Section 1071 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 1071. The following definitions apply  throughout   to  this chapter: (a) "Awarding authority" means any local government agency, including any city, county, special district, transit district, joint powers authority, or nonprofit corporation that awards or otherwise enters into contracts for public transit  or solid waste collection and transportation  services performed within the State of California. (b) "Bidder" means any person who submits a bid to an awarding agency for a public transit  or solid waste collection and transportation  service contract or subcontract. (c) "Contractor" means any person who enters into a public transit  or solid waste collection and transportation  service contract with an awarding authority. (d) "Employee" means any person who works for a contractor or subcontractor under a contract. "Employee" does not include an executive, administrative, or professional employee exempt from the payment of overtime compensation within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 515 or any person who is not an "employee" as defined under Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 152(3)). (e) "Person" means any individual, proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation, limited liability company, trust, association, or other entity that may employ individuals or enter into contracts. (f) "Public transit services" means the provision of passenger transportation services to the general public, including paratransit service. (g) "Service contract" means any contract the principal purpose of which is to provide public transit  or solid waste collection and transportation  services through the use of service employees.  (h) "Solid waste" has the same meaning as defined in Section 40191 of the Public Resources Code.   (h)   (i)  "Subcontractor" means any person who is not an employee who enters into a contract with a contractor to assist the contractor in performing a service contract. SEC. 4. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.