The most significant labor legislation enacted this year was the increase in the minimum wage: AB 1835 (Lieber) increasing the wage to $7.50 per hour on January 1, 2007, and to $8 per hour on January 1, 2008.
Other labor legislation enacted included SB 293 (Ducheny) restructuring and revising provisions related to the sate administration of and education services under the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 by a California Workforce Investment Board; SB 1428 (Scott) providing that any employing unit that is a motion picture payroll service company is to be treated as an employee of a motion production worker for purposes of unemployment compensation; SB 1468 (Alarcon) extending the sunset date on the Car Wash Worker Law for three years; SB 1690 (Romero) allowing the Employment Training Panel, on a limited basis, to fund the training of workers in seasonal industries; SB 1719 (Cedillo) allowing employees and employers in the live theater/concert industry to establish in their bona fide collective bargaining agreements time limits for payment of wages to discharged or laid off employees; AB 881 (Emmerson) requiring all licensed roofers to have workers’ compensation insurance; AB 2068 (Nava) enacting a specific set of medical guidelines for the provision of acupuncture treatment in the workers’ compensation system if the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation fails to do so; AB 2292 (Montanez) providing that death benefits due under workers’ compensation law does not have to be paid to the state when death benefits are paid to the estate of a deceased employee; and AB 3051 (Koretz) providing certainty, uniformity and predictability for employees and employers within the motion picture on the final payment of wages.
Vetoed labor legislation of note included SB 815 (Perata) revising the formula for computing payments for injuries causing permanent disability; SB 1213 (Dunn) allowing owner-operator truck drivers to engage for presupposes of collective bargaining; AB 1862 (Vargas) requiring the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation to conduct a study and submit a report on first aid treatment provided to workers who have sustained minor industrial injuries and illnesses and clarifying contracts for workers’ compensation related services; AB 1883 (De La Torre) establishing a workers’ compensation enforcement-of-coverage program designed to detect unlawfully uninsured employees; AB 1884 (Chu) granting eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits to workers who are prevented by their employers from entering the worksite during a trade dispute; AB 2209 (Pavley) prohibiting an agreement between an employer and an employee that prevents the employee from filing a claim for unemployment compensation benefits; AB 2287 (Chu) enacting a specific set of medical guidelines for the provision of acupuncture treatment in the workers’ compensation system if the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation fails to do so; AB 2327 (Arambula) requiring an employer who is a former labor contractor to disclose in the itemized statement furnished to employees the name and addresses of the legal entity that secured the employer’s services; AB 2536 (Montanez) eliminating an overtime exemption for specified personal attendants with certain exceptions; AB 2555 (Oropeza) increasing the damages for which an employer may be liable and requiring the employer to furnish each employee with a written statement; and AB 2593 (Keene) permitting parties in the transportation industry to establish by a collective bargaining agreement, specified requirements concerning meal periods.
