AB 647: Grocery workers.

Existing law, upon change in control of a grocery establishment, requires an incumbent grocery employer, within 15 days after the execution of the transfer document, to provide to the successor grocery employer a list of eligible grocery workers, as specified, and requires the successor grocery employer to maintain a preferential hiring list of eligible grocery workers, to hire from that list for 90 days after the grocery establishment is fully operational and open to the public under the successor grocery employer, and to retain each eligible grocery worker hired for at least 90 days after their commencement date, except as specified. Existing law defines grocery establishment for purposes of these provisions as a retail store that is over 15,000 square feet that meets specified requirements, and excludes from the definition a retail store that has ceased operations for 6 months or more.

This bill would instead exclude a retail store that has ceased operations for 12 months or more, and would include distribution centers that meet specified requirements within the definition of grocery establishment, regardless of square footage. The bill would require an incumbent grocery employer to also provide the list of eligible grocery workers to any collective bargaining representatives, and would revise the employee information an incumbent grocery employer is required to provide to the successor grocery employer. The bill would authorize a successor grocery employer to obtain the list of eligible grocery workers from a collective bargaining representative if the incumbent grocery employer does not provide the information within 15 days. The bill would prohibit an employer from taking adverse action against an employee for seeking to enforce their rights. The bill would authorize an employee or employee representative to bring an action in the superior court and would specify remedies in that regard, including front pay or back pay and punitive damages, and would authorize the court to award reasonable attorneys fees and costs to the employee or employee representative who prevails in an enforcement action. The bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to enforce the provisions and would establish remedies in that regard. The bill would make an employer, agent of any employer, or other person who violates or causes to be violated the provisions, subject to civil penalties and liquidated damages, and would require the liquidated damages to be deposited into the Labor and Workforce Development Fund and paid to the employee as compensatory damages.

Existing law specifies that parties may, by collective bargaining agreement, provide that the agreement supersedes the provisions described above providing for employment protections for grocery workers.

This bill would require the agreement to explicitly set forth the requirements that are superseded.

This bill would also exempt certain incumbent grocery employers and successor grocery employers, based upon their total nationwide employment, from all of the above-described requirements.