SEPTEMBER 2006

LEGISLATIVE/REGULATORY UPDATES

Status of Several Workplace Bills

In Employment Law Update, we frequently profile the status of bills as they wind their way through the Legislature. Here is a quick update on some of the employment-related bills now under consideration:

AB1835 and SB1162 – These bills proposed automatic minimum wage increases. Following the minimum wage agreement discussed above, it is likely that these bills will fail.

AB1884 and AB8809 – These bills would require California employers to either (1) provide unemployment insurance benefits to workers unemployed due to a strike, or (2) pay lost wages and benefits to workers who are unemployed due to a strike. These bills would essentially force an employer to subsidize a strike against it.

AB2217 – This bill would allow individual workers to request, and their employers to mutually agree to, a 4-day work week. The bill did not pass in the Assembly Labor & Employment Committee, but reconsideration has been granted.

NEXT: DLSE Updates Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual to Authorize an Employer to Deduct from an Exempt Employee’s Bank of Accrued Vacation or PTO for Partial-day Absences