The Crush - September 2020 - 5

[ STATE FOCUS ]

Legislative Update: End-of-Session Report
By Michael Miiller
When the California Legislature kicked off the year in January,
Gov. Newsom and the legislators were optimistic. The state
had a healthy budget and the administration and lawmakers
were working cooperatively. Then a global pandemic hit, and
things dramatically changed. To make things worse, California
also experienced a declining economy, civil unrest and historic
wildfires. The Legislature found itself stretched thin in
responding to these simultaneous crises.
The Legislature was in chaos when it adjourned at midnight on
Aug. 31. Efforts by the Newsom Administration and business
groups to provide even nominal COVID-19 relief for businesses
failed. Tensions between the houses ultimately got in the way of
advancing social justice legislation. And Assemblymember Buffy
Wicks (D-Oakland), who is a new mom, was denied her right to
vote by proxy even though Democrat leadership claims family
leave is their high priority.
Below are the highlights of the actions taken on the most critical
bills during the final days of the 2020 legislative year. Bills in
italics are on the governor's desk. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign,
veto or allow bills to become law without his signature.
COVID-19 ›› The Legislature pushed for a package of COVID-19
bills that included hazard pay, enhanced sick leave, a conclusive
presumption for workers' comp and much more, some of which
singled out ag employees. The Legislature's general approach was
to view businesses as the social safety net during the pandemic.
CAWG worked with several organizations and legislators to
successfully push for legislation that instead recognizes that
employers and employees are all affected by the pandemic.	
SB 1159 (HILL) ›› provides for workers' compensation coverage
for workplace COVID-19 outbreak situations. Alternatively, AB
196 (Gonzalez) would have created a rebuttable presumption that
all COVID-19 employees are entitled to workers' compensation.
AB 2043 (R. RIVAS) ›› was amended substantially to address
all CAWG concerns and now simply creates an educational
campaign to inform ag employees of the dangers of COVID-19.
AB 685 (REYES) ›› creates a requirement for employers to
report COVID-19 employees to the California Department of
Public Health. However, by making the reports public, this bill
essentially shames employers who did everything they could to
protect employees.

AB 1066 (GONZALEZ) ››
provides that if an employer
receives a notice from the
Employment Development
Department (EDD) and fails to
provide employment records
within 10 days to resolve a claim
for unemployment insurance
(UI) benefits, the claimant will
be awarded the maximum UI
benefit amount. Ms. Gonzalez
asserts this is needed because of the high number of UI claims
due to COVID-19. However, in reality, EDD's system is broken
and this bill will just increase costs for employers, while doing
nothing to fix that broken system.
SB 729 (PORTANTINO) ›› would have provided an employee,
who is working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, shall
not recover civil penalties under the Private Attorneys General
Act (PAGA) for a missed meal or rest break. This was the product
of negotiations between the Newsom administration and the
California Chamber of Commerce. The bill failed to come up for
a vote on the last night of session because labor unions claimed
SB 729 would deny essential protections for employees during a
pandemic.
FAMILY LEAVE SB 1383 (JACKSON) ›› imposes a 12-week
employee leave mandate on very small employers and creates
the potential for a six-month leave mandate on larger employers.
Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) was the
deciding vote and he was quickly removed from his position as
the leader of the moderate Democrats caucus.
H-2A EMPLOYEES SB 1102 (MONNING) ›› requires
employers to give H-2A employees a bill of rights that is
prepared by the state labor commissioner. This bill seeks to create
a new right to compensation for travel time. This bill would
affect the outcome of two pending court cases on this very issue.
AB 107 (BUDGET TRAILER BILL) ›› prohibits an employer who
has even one H-2A employee from using any state funding to
build housing. This would include employer partnerships with
nonprofits to build housing. AB 107 also prohibits California
Department of Housing and Community Development from
inspecting any housing that is not funded by the state.

SEPTEMBER 2020 / 5
The Crush - September 2020

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