California’s working families face tremendous risk in 2008 – risk of rising health care costs, risk of losing their jobs, their retirement benefits and their homes, and risk of eroded working conditions from a growing underground economy. The economy is on the brink of a major recession and our state budget faces a $16 billion deficit.
Unions built the middle class in this country and we continue to fight the growing economic inequality that working families face. But with anti-labor administrations, both in Washington, D.C. and in Sacramento, a National Labor Relations Board that actively undermines worker protections, and an entire industry of antiunion consultants that uses fear tactics to prevent workers from organizing, our ability to represent workers is under constant attack.
To stop this backslide, our 2008 legislative agenda focuses on Securing the Middle Class. We will not allow the gap between the haves and have-nots to grow unabated. We will not stand by as our members lose their homes and their benefits. Nor can we allow employers to misclassify their workers as independent contractors to increase profits and undermine employee protections.
California has the strongest worker protections in the United States. But these laws must be enforced fairly and consistently in order to be effective in helping workers get a foothold in today’s economy. As our workforce has grown, labor law enforcement resources have steadily declined, leaving more and more workers vulnerable and allowing unscrupulous employers to compete unfairly. We must vigorously enforce our state’s strong labor protections.
- Tax audits for scofflaw employers. (AB 2879 – Leno). Scofflaw employers steal millions of dollars from our state treasury by cheating on payroll, unemployment, workers’ comp, and business taxes. Too often, an employer who cheats on payroll taxes is more likely to cheat on other state taxes. This bill would require the Labor Agency and the Franchise Tax Board to develop protocols where certain labor law violations would trigger a tax audit of the employer.
- Know your rights – independent contractors. (SB 1490 – Padilla). More and more companies have cut labor costs by misclassifying their employees as independent contractors. This type of arrangement absolves employers from having to provide basic protections such as workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and health care. Too often, workers don’t know what is at risk when they become independent contractors. This bill would require employers to provide information to their independent contractors about what it means to be an independent contractor and what to do if they think they are misclassified.
- Joint liability for misclassification of independent contractors. (SB 1583 – Corbett). A cottage industry of consultants has burgeoned to advise employers on how to skirt the law and force their employees into independent contractor status. These consultants should be held liable for teaching employers how to misclassify their employees and SB 1583 would do so.
- Safety and security for California telephone customers. (AB 2232 – De La Torre). Currently, employees of telephone companies must complete a background check before entering the premises of a customer. Yet, independent contractors and employees of subcontractors don’t have to complete the same background check. AB 2232 would simply require an equivalent background check for all workers who enter customer premises.
- Abatement of workplace hazards. (AB 1988 – Swanson). Under current law, employers who are cited for health or safety violations can appeal to the CalOSHAAppeals Board. But during the appeals process, employers are not required to abate the violation. A backlog of 4,000 cases has resulted in delays of up to 24 months before the appeal is decided. During this time period, workers may face imminent danger from the same threats that led to the original citation. This bill would require employers to abate violations while their appeals are being deliberated.
- Fair meal period rules. (AB 1711 – Levine) The right of workers to take a guaranteed lunch break is fundamental, but the Schwarzenegger administration and some employer groups continue trying to undermine meal period rights. This bill would provide flexibility to employers on the timeframe for initiating meal periods; clarify which employees are eligible for “on-duty” meal periods; and establish a collective bargaining opt-out that allows our unions to bargain for meal periods that best suit our members’ needs.
California’s economy continues to grow in the shape of an hourglass, with jobs growing only at the highest and lowest ends of the wage spectrum. The middle class is disappearing as the housing crisis and rising unemployment rates drag down any progress families make. We must promote an economy where everyone gets a fair shake and a fair share.
- Relief from home foreclosures. (SB 926 – Perata, AB 1830 – Lieu) Hundreds of thousands of working families are at risk of losing their homes due to subprime lending practices. Families must be offered tools to help save their homes and standards for the lending industry must be established to prevent this type of crisis from happening again. These bills would protect working families today while imposing new standards on the industry to protect working families from predatory mortgage lending practices in the future.
- WARN Act modifications. (AB 1989 – Swanson). During this time of increased layoffs, plant closures, and job insecurity, working families need information about pending layoffs as soon as possible. The California WARN Act provides that notice. This bill would extend the required notice to employees, union officials, and local government agencies from 60 to 90 days, strengthen the contents of the required notice and allow employees to file claims for violation of the law with the Labor Commissioner and pursue their claims via the Labor Commissioner's administrative hearing process.
- Sub-minimum wage oversight Current law allows employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the minimum wage. Recent reports demonstrate that large corporate chains benefit from paying workers significantly less than the minimum $8 per hour. We will pursue administrative and legislative oversight of this practice to ensure that employers are not taking advantage of California’s most vulnerable residents in order to avoid paying fair wages.
IMPROVING HEALTH AND CONTAINING COSTS
Health care costs continue to rise, forcing workers to pay more and get less.We must work to contain health care costs and keep our workers healthy.
- Paid sick days. (AB 2716 – Ma) Over six million California workers, 40% of the state’s workforce, have no paid sick days. These workers are in the unenviable position of working while they are sick and exposing their coworkers to injury and illness. This bill would set a minimum standard for all employees to be eligible for a specified number of sick days.
- Health insurance rate regulation. (AB 1554 – Jones). The cost of health insurance is a black box, keeping purchasers in the dark about why their costs continue to rise at such a rapid pace and giving them no ability to fight increases. The state must play a more active role in reviewing the cost of health insurance and guaranteeing that prices are fair. This bill would give the state more control to review and regulate the rates that health insurers charge.
A FAIR WORKER’S COMPENSATION SYSTEM
Schwarzenegger’s reforms of the workers’ compensation system have slashed injured workers’ benefits by half and allowed insurance companies to reap record profits. Legislation must be pursued to rectify this injustice.
- Insurance rate oversight. (AB 2692 – Hernandez). Governor Schwarzenegger and a majority of the legislature last year supported establishing a medical loss ratio of 85% for health insurers. Such a loss ratio would require insurance companies to spend a minimum level of insurance premiums on benefits and limit their administrative costs and profits. Workers’ compensation insurance companies are currently paying out, on average, just 36 cents in benefits for every $1 dollar they take in premiums. These insurance companies should be subject to a minimum loss ratio or face regulatory oversight. This bill would require the Insurance Commissioner to set a loss ratio for workers’ comp insurers and, if a minimum loss ratio is not met, impose regulation.
- Workers’ compensation coverage database. (AB 507 –De La Torre). This bill would create a publicly accessible database with information on the workers’ compensation coverage provided by employers. Such information would allow: employees to submit a claim directly to the insurer; employers to check the insurance coverage of subcontractors; and, medical providers to bill insurers directly. This bill will help root out workers’ compensation fraud in the system.
- Pre-designation of treating physician. (SB 1338 – Migden). Our right to see our own doctors if we get injured on the job will expire on December 31, 2009 unless a new law is signed. This bill would delete that sunset date and allow injured workers to see their own physicians.
- Permanent disability benefits. Schwarzenegger administration regulations have slashed permanent disability (PD) benefits by 50%. Two bills to restore benefits have been vetoed in previous years. We will continue to fight to restore benefits to the most severely injured workers.
Workers’ rights have been consistently denied under the Bush-appointed National Labor Relations Board. Anti-union lawyers and consultants have built a cottage industry advising employers on how to stay “union free.”While we are limited in what we can do at the state level to protect and expand the right to organize, we will continue our efforts to educate our allies and policymakers about the broken National Labor Relations Act and the need for majority sign-up . We will do whatever we can to enact the Employee Free Choice Act, Contacts
- Angie Wei, Legislative Director (Workers' Compensation)
- Caitlin Vega, Legislative Advocate (Wage and Hour, Public Employees, Low Wage Worker Issues, Underground Economy, Right to Organize, Immigration)
- Jeremy Smith, Legislative Advocate (Family Leave, Worker Health and Safety, Offshoring, Election Reform, Labor Education, Green Jobs, Toxics in the Workplace)
- Emily Clayton, Policy Coordinator (Healthcare)
- Shawna Manning, Legislative Office Manager