BILL NUMBER: SB 1342INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Mendoza FEBRUARY 19, 2016 An act to add Section 1176.5 to the Labor Code, relating to wages. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1342, as introduced, Mendoza. Wages: investigations: subpoenas. Existing law authorizes the Industrial Welfare Commission to subpoena witnesses. Existing law provides that if a person fails to comply with an order or subpoena of the commission or a witness refuses to testify to any matter regarding which he or she may lawfully be interrogated before any wage board or the commission, it shall be the duty of the superior court to compel obedience in a manner by which such obedience could be compelled in a proceeding pending before the court. This bill would authorize a board of supervisors of a county or a legislative body of a city to delegate that board or body's authority to issue subpoenas, by resolution or ordinance, to a county or city officer or department head for the purpose of conducting investigations to enforce local wage laws. The bill would require these subpoenas to only be issued for purposes of obtaining records and testimony reasonably necessary to determine if a local wage ordinance was violated, to be reviewed by the county counsel or city attorney, and signed by the designated officer or department head before it is issued. The bill would provide that if any person so duly subpoenaed to appear and give evidence or to produce any books or papers before the designated officer or department head, neglects or refused to appear, or to produce any books or papers, as required by the subpoena, or refuses to testify or answer any questions that the designated officer or department head decides are proper and pertinent, he or she shall be in contempt, and the designated officer or department head shall report that fact to the judge of the superior court of the county. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) Wage theft is prevalent among immigrant and low-wage workers in California. (2) Los Angeles County, where approximately $26.6 million in wages are stolen from laborers every week, has been dubbed by some as the "wage theft capital" of the United States. (3) The Economic Roundtable and the University of California, Los Angeles, indicate that violations of wage laws in Los Angeles are pervasive, with 30 percent of low-wage workers in Los Angeles receiving less than the minimum wage and 88.5 percent of workers experiencing some sort of wage theft. (4) Wage theft can cause workers extreme financial hardship, making it harder for workers experiencing wage theft to take care of their families and contribute to the state economy. (5) According to the Milton Marks "Little Hoover" Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy, wage enforcement resources in California have not kept pace with increases in the number of employers and increased complexity of the employer-employee relationship. Local jurisdictions, including the City and County of San Francisco, the City of Los Angeles, and the County of Los Angeles, have addressed the need for additional wage enforcement resources by establishing local wage enforcement agencies. (6) In California, 14 local jurisdictions have enacted minimum wage ordinances. The majority of these jurisdictions have designated or created a local agency to enforce local wage laws. (7) Local wage enforcement is an effective means of combating wage theft. For example, San Francisco's Office of Labor Standards Enforcement recovered 90.5 percent of wages and interest owed to workers between 2003 and 2013. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this measure to promote honest pay for fair work by giving local wage enforcement programs all of the tools necessary to conduct successful wage claim investigations in order to recover unpaid back wages for hard working Californians. SEC. 2. Section 1176.5 is added to the Labor Code, to read: 1176.5. (a) (1) The board of supervisors of a county may delegate the board's authority to issue subpoenas, by resolution or ordinance, to a county officer or department head for the purpose of conducting investigations to enforce local wage laws. (2) The subpoena shall only be for purposes of obtaining records and testimony reasonably necessary to determine if a local wage ordinance was violated. The subpoena shall be reviewed by the county counsel and signed by the designated county officer or department head before it is issued. The subpoena shall be served in the same manner as subpoenas are served in civil actions. (3) If a county and a city contract for purposes of the county conducting investigations to enforce local wage laws within the boundaries of a city, that contract may provide a county officer or department head with the authority to issue subpoenas within the contracting city's boundaries with the same force and effect as if issued in unincorporated areas of that county. A subpoena issued pursuant to this subdivision shall be reviewed by the county counsel before being issued. (b) (1) The legislative body of a city may delegate that body's authority to issue subpoenas, by resolution or ordinance, to a county officer or department head for the purpose of conducting investigations to enforce local wage laws. (2) The subpoena shall only be for purposes of obtaining records and testimony reasonably necessary to determine if a local wage ordinance was violated. The subpoena shall be reviewed by the city attorney and signed by the designated city officer or department head before it is issued. The subpoena shall be served in the same manner as subpoenas are served in civil actions. (3) If a county and a city contract for purposes of the city conducting investigations to enforce local wage laws within the unincorporated areas of the county, that contract may provide a city officer or department head with the authority to issue subpoenas within the contracting county's unincorporated areas with the same force and effect as if issued within the city's boundaries. A subpoena issued pursuant to this subdivision shall be reviewed by the city attorney before being issued. (c) If any person duly subpoenaed pursuant to this section to appear and give evidence or to produce any books or papers before the designated officer or department head, neglects or refused to appear, or to produce any books or papers, as required by the subpoena, or refuses to testify or answer any questions that the designated officer or department head decides are proper and pertinent, he or she shall be in contempt, and the designated officer or department head shall report the that fact to the judge of the superior court of the county.