The California Chamber of Commerce this week added three bills to its annual list of job killer legislation. The additions bring the 2021 job killer list to a total of 23 legislative bills that would place California employers and the state’s economy in harm’s way should they become law.
Two of the bills added this week would increase labor costs on employers and a third would establish a new private right of action.
So far this year, the CalChamber has identified 25 job killer bills. One was amended to remove its job killer provisions and another failed to pass its first legislative committee, bringing the current total to 23.
The three additions to the list are:
Workplace Safety
• AB 701 (Lorena Gonzalez; D-San Diego) New Private Right of Action, PAGA Litigation, and Regulations for Warehouses. Threatens warehouse employers with duplicative costly litigation by creating a new, independent private right of action, and a representative action under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), for failing to comply with vague standards. Additionally invites ongoing litigation by creating a rebuttable presumption of retaliation for any adverse employment action associated with an employee’s work performance, and compels duplicative and likely inconsistent regulations from both Labor Commissioner and Cal/OSHA regarding appropriate performance levels in warehouses.
Labor and Employment
• AB 650 (Muratsuchi; D-Torrance) Healthcare Workers: COVID-19 Bonuses. Imposes at least an estimated $6 billion in direct payroll costs on healthcare providers through mandatory bonuses retroactive to January 1, 2021, which will jeopardize access to affordable healthcare due to the billions of dollars the healthcare industry has lost during the pandemic. Prohibits healthcare providers from reducing staff even if they are unable to afford to continue to pay those bonuses.
Workers’ Compensation
• AB 1465 (Reyes; D-San Bernardino) Workers’ Compensation: Medical Provider Networks. Mandates creation of state-run Medical Provider Network for workers’ compensation claims, which will impose millions of dollars of costs on the current system as well as the state while reducing injured workers’ access to quality care.
The full job killer list can be found at www.calchamber.com/jobkillers.
