Policy Update

by L.A. Area Chamber

State Debrief

AB 3216 (Kalra) Approved by the Assembly

The California State Assembly approved AB 3216 (Kalra) that will require businesses to expand paid family leave and leave of absence and impose Right of Recall and Worker Retention requirements. The leave requirements are imposed on all employers while the Right of Recall and Worker Retention provisions apply to hotel, event center, airport hospitality operation, building services to offices, retail or commercial buildings. The Chamber registered our opposition and sent a floor alert to the Assembly members of the Los Angeles County delegation. The author agreed to reduce the number of days of paid sick leave to three days. The main provisions are as follows:

• Requires an employer to provide an employee 24 hours or 3 days of paid sick leave during a state of emergency and runs concurrently with other paid sick leave benefits.
• Requires an employer to provide 12 weeks of leave of absence during a state of emergency related to public health.
• Expands definition of family care and medical leave for whom an employee can take paid leave.      
• Requires employers to rehire based on seniority with a 10-day response period.
• Enforcement would be through the Labor Code Private Attorney General Act (PAGA).
• There is an exemption for employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

The bill is headed to the Senate. The Chamber has signed on to the Cal Chamber opposition letter. We are coordinating closely with our statewide partners and our coalition of business organizations. Contact these state senators to share your concerns.

 

SB 939 (Wiener) Senate Appropriations Committee Remains in Suspense

The Senate Appropriations Committee chaired by Sen. Anthony Portantino adjourned the Committee meeting without voting on SB 939, which means the bill will remain in “suspense.” We do not anticipate any further action on this. This is great news and a big win for the business community.

The meeting was a vote-only meeting where the committee decided which bills will come off the suspense file. We submitted our coalition letter to committee members and met with the offices for Sens. Patricia Bates, Brian Jones and Steven Bradford. In our recent meeting with Sen. Portantino, we expressed our concern on SB 939. Thank you to all of you who contacted our state legislators.

 

Los Angeles City Council

The Los Angeles City Council approved the drafting of an ordinance for the November 2020 election for voters to approve a vacancy tax. There are many concerns and unanswered questions about the exact provisions of the ballot measure, and the Council has until July 1 to adopt ballot language.