California Assembly Bill AB795 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 795AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 15, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Low FEBRUARY 25, 2015 An act to  add Section 63.5 to   amend Section 90.5 of  the Labor Code, relating to employment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 795, as amended, Low. Employment: Department of Industrial Relations: wage  claims.   claims and retaliation complaints.  Existing law establishes  within  the Department of Industrial Relations  to, among other things, enforce labor laws, including wage claims   the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which is vested with the general duty of enforcing labor laws, including those relating to wage claims and employer retaliation. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner, defined as the Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, to establish and maintain a field enforcement unit in order to ensure that minimum labor standards are met. Existing law requires the commissioner to report annually to the Legislature, not later   than March 1, concerning the effectiveness of the field enforcement unit, as specified  . This bill would require the  department to report   Labor Commissioner to include in its report  to the Legislature,  for each office, the amount of time it takes for all wage claims to receive a preliminary hearing date   as described above, specified information on the status o   f wage claims and retaliation complaints, including the average amount of time it takes for a wage claim to receive a preliminary hearing and the current backlog of claims and   complaints  . 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 90.5 of the   Labor Code   is amended to read:  90.5. (a) It is the policy of this state to vigorously enforce minimum labor standards in order to ensure employees are not required or permitted to work under substandard unlawful conditions or for employers that have not secured the payment of compensation, and to protect employers who comply with the law from those who attempt to gain a competitive advantage at the expense of their workers by failing to comply with minimum labor standards. (b) In order to ensure that minimum labor standards are adequately enforced, the Labor Commissioner shall establish and maintain a field enforcement unit, which shall be administratively and physically separate from offices of the division that accept and determine individual employee complaints. The unit shall have offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, Sacramento, and any other locations that the Labor Commissioner deems appropriate. The unit shall have primary responsibility for administering and enforcing those statutes and regulations most effectively enforced through field investigations, including Sections 226, 1021, 1021.5, 1193.5, 1193.6, 1194.5, 1197, 1198, 1771, 1776, 1777.5, 2651, 2673, 2675, and 3700, in accordance with the plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subdivision (c). Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of this unit in enforcing any statute or regulation in the course of its investigations. (c) The Labor Commissioner shall adopt an enforcement plan for the field enforcement unit. The plan shall identify priorities for investigations to be undertaken by the unit that ensure the available resources will be concentrated in industries, occupations, and areas in which employees are relatively low paid and unskilled, and those in which there has been a history of violations of the statutes cited in subdivision (b), and those with high rates of noncompliance with Section 3700. (d) The Labor Commissioner shall annually report to the Legislature, not later than March 1, concerning the  effectiveness   following:   (1)     The effectiveness  of the field enforcement unit.  The   This part of the  report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:  (1)   (A)  The enforcement plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subdivision (c), and the rationale for the priorities identified in the plan.  (2)   (B)  The number of establishments investigated by the unit, and the number of types of violations found.  (3)   (C   )  The amount of wages found to be unlawfully withheld from workers, and the amount of unpaid wages recovered for workers.  (4)   (D   )  The amount of penalties and unpaid wages transferred to the General Fund as a result of the efforts of the unit.  (2) The status of wage claims and retaliation complaints. This part of the report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:   (A) The average amount of time it takes for a wage claim to receive a preliminary hearing.   (B) The number of determinations issued, the number of investigative hearings held, the number of complaints dismissed, and the number of complaints found valid, grouped by the year in which the complaints were filed.  (C) An update on the division's current backlog of wage claims and retaliation complaints.   (e) The report required by subdivision (d) shall be provided in compliance with the provisions of Section 9795 of the Government Code.   SECTION 1.   Section 63.5 is added to the Labor Code, immediately following Section 63, to read: 63.5. (a) The Department of Industrial Relations shall report to the Legislature, for each office, the amount of time it takes for all wage claims to receive a preliminary hearing date. (b) The report to the Legislature pursuant to this sections shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. (c) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2020, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.