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AB-817 Compensation: rest or recovery periods.(2017-2018)

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Date Published: 03/24/2017 04:00 AM
AB817:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 23, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 817

Introduced by Assembly Member Flora

February 15, 2017

An act to amend Section 90.5 of the Labor Code, relating to employment. An act to amend Section 226.7 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 817, as amended, Flora. Employment. Compensation: rest or recovery periods.
Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period mandated by an applicable statute, or applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC), the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, and establishes penalties for an employer’s failure to provide a mandated meal or rest or recovery period. Existing wage orders of the IWC require that a rest period be counted as hours worked, for which there shall be no deduction from wages. Existing law also requires a rest or recovery period mandated pursuant to a state law to be counted as hours worked, for which there shall be no deduction from wages.
This bill would permit an employer providing emergency medical services to the public to require employees to monitor and respond to pagers, radios, station alert boxes, intercoms, cell phones, or other communication methods during rest or recovery periods without penalty, to provide for the public health and welfare. The bill would require mandated rest or recovery periods interrupted for emergency response purposes to be rescheduled. The bill would state that it is declaratory of existing law.

Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to establish and maintain a field enforcement unit in order to ensure that minimum labor standards are adequately enforced.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this provision.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 226.7 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

226.7.
 (a) As used in this section, “recovery period” means a cooldown period afforded an employee to prevent heat illness.
(b) An employer shall not require an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period mandated pursuant to an applicable statute, or applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
(c) If an employer fails to provide an employee a meal or rest or recovery period in accordance with a state law, including, but not limited to, an applicable statute or applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest or recovery period is not provided.
(d) A rest or recovery period mandated pursuant to a state law, including, but not limited to, an applicable statute, or applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, shall be counted as hours worked, for which there shall be no deduction from wages. This subdivision is declaratory of existing law.
(e) An employer providing emergency medical services to the public may require employees to monitor and respond to pagers, radios, station alert boxes, intercoms, cell phones, or other communication methods during rest or recovery periods without penalty, to provide for the public health and welfare. Mandated rest or recovery periods interrupted for emergency response purposes shall be rescheduled. This subdivision is declaratory of existing law.

(e)

(f) This section shall not apply to an employee who is exempt from meal or rest or recovery period requirements pursuant to other state laws, including, but not limited to, a statute or regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

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)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 of the field enforcement unit. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1)The enforcement plan adopted by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to subdivision (c), and the rationale for the priorities identified in the plan.

(2)The number of establishments investigated by the unit, and the number of types of violations found.

(3)The amount of wages found to be unlawfully withheld from workers, and the amount of unpaid wages recovered for workers.

(4)The amount of penalties and unpaid wages transferred to the General Fund as a result of the efforts of the unit.