Private Sector Employees 2021 Bills

SB 338: Expands public posting of motor carriers with unpaid penalties for labor violations
Currently, the California Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement (“DLSE”) must post on its website a list of port drayage motor carriers (port transport companies) that have failed to pay off certain types of judgments, including judgments for failure to pay wages, payroll taxes, misclassification of employees, and other violations.  SB 388 expands the circumstances under which the DLSE must post these unpaid violations.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB338

AB 1506: Re-establishes the Borello test to determine whether newspaper carriers are independent contractors or employees
This bill provides that in order to determine whether newspaper distributors and carriers are employees or independent contractors, courts must use the legal test announced in the 1989 California Supreme Court decision called Borello v.  Department of Industrial Relations, rather than the “ABC Test” adopted by the state legislature 2019 (Assembly Bill 5).  The Borello test is considered less favorable to workers because it sets a higher standard for determining employment status.  Newspaper publishers and distributors who hire carriers must also annually file information about their workforces with the California Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA).  The Borello rule and the filing requirement will be effective until January 1, 2025 unless extended by the legislature.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1506

SB 646: Provides PAGA exemption for janitorial employees represented by a labor organization and requires janitorial companies to provide requested information
Under PAGA, an employee is able to bring a civil action to recover specified civil penalties that would otherwise be assessed and collected by the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, on behalf of the employee, for certain workplace violations. This bill would create an exception to PAGA by excluding janitorial employees represented by a labor organization who are employed by a janitorial contractor who registered with the commissioner as a proper service employer in 2020, and where the work is performed under a valid collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”). The CBA must contain certain provisions, such as a grievance and binding arbitration process, to redress violations. This bill would not apply to existing cases filed before the effective date of the bill.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB646

AB 450: Creates Paramedic Disciplinary Review Board for paramedics to appeal licensure decisions
Under existing law, the Emergency Medical Services Authority (“EMSA”) establishes training standards for emergency medical technicians and is responsible for issuing EMT-P licenses, among other things. This bill would create the Paramedic Disciplinary Review Board (“Board”), a seven member board that would review appeals from EMSA decisions regarding denials of licensure and decisions to impose licensure action. Under the bill, an employer of a paramedic would be required to report to the director of EMSA and the Board regarding suspension or termination of a paramedic for cause within 72 hours of the event, and would require the Board to consider employer-imposed discipline to make a final determination regarding appeals of licensure action.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB450