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AB-2913 Bracero workers: statute of limitations.(2001-2002)

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AB2913:v95#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 2913
CHAPTER 1070

An act to add Section 354.7 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to statutes of limitation, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 29, 2002. Approved by Governor  September 29, 2002. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2913, Firebaugh. Bracero workers: statute of limitations.
Existing law establishes certain statutes of limitations, which require actions to be brought within specified periods of time. Existing law establishes special statutes of limitations for particular actions, including those relating to claims of Holocaust victims and World War II slave labor and forced labor victims.
This bill would provide that a bracero, as defined, or an heir or beneficiary of a bracero, may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction relative to a claim arising out of a failure to pay savings fund amounts deducted from bracero wages between 1942 and 1950. The bill would provide that an action shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the otherwise applicable statute of limitation, provided the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2005.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) During the period from 1942 to 1950, inclusive, many braceros came to the United States to perform grueling work in the fields and on the railroads to relieve a wartime labor shortage. A portion of the braceros’ wages was withheld as a savings fund, to be paid to the braceros upon their return to Mexico, however, many braceros never received these moneys, and many of them were unaware that they were owed moneys, while others who sought payment were unable to obtain it.
(b) Many braceros came to work in California, and many subsequently returned to California and became residents or citizens of this state. California has a moral and public interest in assuring that braceros who are claiming entitlement to savings fund moneys are given a reasonable opportunity to claim their entitlement to wages withheld from them.
(c) To the extent that the statute of limitations applicable to claims for compensation is extended by this act, extension of the limitations period is intended to be applied retroactively, irrespective of whether a claim is otherwise barred by any applicable statute of limitations under any other provision of law, including Section 361 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

SEC. 2.

 Section 354.7 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to read:

354.7.
 (a) The following definitions govern the construction of this section:
(1) “Bracero” means any person who participated in the labor importation program known as the Bracero program between January 1, 1942, and January 1, 1950, pursuant to agreements between the United States and Mexico.
(2) “Savings fund” means funds withheld from the wages of braceros as savings to be paid to braceros upon their return to Mexico.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any bracero, or heir or beneficiary of a bracero, who has a claim arising out of a failure to pay or turn over savings fund amounts may bring a legal action or may continue a pending legal action to recover on that claim in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, which court shall be deemed a proper forum for that action until its completion or resolution.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any action brought by a bracero, or heir or beneficiary of a bracero, arising out of a failure to pay or turn over savings fund amounts shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the otherwise applicable statute of limitations, provided the action is filed on or before December 31, 2005.
(d) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

SEC. 3.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to provide just compensation to aging braceros, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.