CalChamber Priority Labor/Employment Bills Set for Hearing Today
California Chamber of Commerce priority legislation scheduled to be considered today includes the following bills on the agenda of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee.
AB 1234 (Ortega; D-San Leandro) Creates New Penalty and Revises Wage Claim Procedures. Imposes new, automatic 30% penalty on all orders issued by the Labor Commissioner, which penalizes employers that exercise their due process rights. Also makes other burdensome changes to the existing claims process. CalChamber opposes. Cost Driver 2025.
AB 1331 (Elhawary; D-Los Angeles) Restricts Workplace Safety and Security Tools. Undermines workplace safety in every California workplace by effectively prohibiting the use of any surveillance technology in the workplace, including security cameras, cybersecurity systems, and anti-theft devices. CalChamber opposes. Cost Driver 2025.
AB 338 (Solache; D-Lakewood) Workforce Development: 2025 Wildfires. Upon appropriation, will provide funding to support workforce training and development in the aftermath of the devastating 2025 wildfires in Southern California. Prioritizes essential sectors such as construction, utilities, firefighting health care, education and social services. CalChamber supports.
AB 340 (Ahrens; D-Sunnyvale) Employee-Union Agent Evidentiary Privilege. Effectively creates a new, broad evidentiary privilege in the public sector that is one-sided and will preclude relevant evidence during litigation or workplace investigations. CalChamber opposes.
AB 692 (Kalra; D-San Jose) Restricts Employee Benefits. Prohibits benefits like hiring bonuses or tuition-assistance payment programs voluntarily offered by employers to incentivize and retain employees. CalChamber opposes.
AB 1336 (Addis; D-Morro Bay) Agricultural Workers’ Compensation Presumption. Creates workers’ compensation presumption that would require the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) to adjudicate agriculture Cal/OSHA claims and impose a presumption regardless of any causal link between the alleged occupational injury and a violation of any provision of heat-related standards. CalChamber opposes.
Staff Contact: Ashley Hoffman