AB 2738: Labor Code: alternative enforcement: occupational safety.

Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, administered by the Director of Industrial Relations, and vests it with various powers and duties to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment.

Existing law, until January 1, 2029, authorizes a public prosecutor, as defined, to prosecute an action through alternative enforcement procedures, for a violation of specified provisions of the Labor Code or to enforce those provisions independently. Existing law requires moneys recovered by public prosecutors under that code to be applied first to payments, such as wages, damages, and other penalties, due to affected workers. Existing law further requires all civil penalties recovered by a public prosecutor pursuant to those provisions to be paid to the General Fund of the state, unless otherwise specified. Existing law authorizes the court to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorneys fees and costs in an action under those provisions, as specified.

This bill would instead specify that all remedies available for violations of the Labor Code may be recovered in an action by a public prosecutor under those alternative enforcement procedures. The bill would require any remedies recovered to go first to workers to cover any unpaid wages, damages, or penalties owed to those workers, and any remaining civil penalties to go the General Fund of the state. The bill would further provide that a public prosecutor may enforce any other provision of the Labor Code as specifically authorized. The bill would instead require the court to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorneys fees and costs in an action under those provisions, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Division of Occupational Safety and Health in the Department of Industrial Relations, and charges the division with the enforcement of various laws affecting safe working conditions, including the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973. Existing law requires a contracting entity, as defined, to require an entertainment events vendor to certify for its employees and employees of its subcontractors that those individuals have complied with specified training, certification, and workforce requirements, including that employees involved in the setting up, operation, or tearing down of a live event at its public events venue, as defined, have completed prescribed trainings of the United States Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Existing law requires the division to enforce those provisions by issuing a citation and a notice of civil penalty against an entertainment events vendor, as specified, and to deposit those funds in the Occupational Safety and Health Fund.

This bill would require a contract that is subject to the above provisions to provide in writing that the entertainment events vendor will furnish, upon hiring for the live event pursuant to the contract, the contracting entity with specified information about the employees of those vendors and subcontractors and the trainings those employees have completed. The bill would subject the contract to a provision of the California Public Records Act that makes any executed contract for the purchase of goods or services by a state or local agency, including the price and terms of payment, a public record subject to disclosure under that act, as prescribed. The bill would authorize the contracting entity to use or disclose to third parties the specified information for the purpose of carrying out the contracting entitys duties under the contract but prohibit the use or disclosure of the information for unrelated purposes. The bill would expand the categories of entities subject to penalties for a violation of these provisions to also include a public events venue or contracting entity. Additionally, the bill would allow these provisions to be enforced by a public prosecutor pursuant to the alternative enforcement procedures noted above, subject to certain additional conditions. To the extent the bill would impose new requirements on local agencies with respect to the treatment of these contracts as public records, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.