Bill Text: CA AB1767 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Assembly Bill 1767

Introduced

Bill Title: Labor contracts.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed) 2023-07-06 - In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1767 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1767-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1767

Introduced by Committee on Labor and Employment (Assembly Members Kalra (Chair), Flora (Vice Chair), Chen, Haney, Ortega, and Reyes)

March 20, 2023

An act to amend Section 2810 of the Labor Code, relating to labor contracts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1767, as introduced, Committee on Labor and Employment. Labor contracts.

Existing law generally prohibits a person or entity from entering into a contract for labor or services with specified types of contractors, if the person or entity knows or should know that the contract does not include sufficient funds to allow the contractor to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws governing the labor or services to be provided. Existing law establishes a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof regarding violations of this prohibition. For these presumptions to apply, existing law requires a contract with a specified type of contractor for labor or services to be in writing, in a single document, and contain specified provisions, including the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the person or entity seeking labor or services and the contractor through whom the labor or services are to be provided.

This bill would additionally require the contract provisions to include the email addresses of the person or entity seeking labor or services and the contractor through whom the labor or services are to be provided.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 2810 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

2810.

(a) A person or entity shall not enter into a contract or agreement for labor or services with a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor, ~~where~~ if the person or entity knows or should know that the contract or agreement does not include funds sufficient to allow the contractor to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws or regulations governing the labor or services to be provided.

(b) There is a rebuttable presumption affecting the burden of proof that there has been no violation of subdivision (a) ~~where~~ if the contract or agreement with a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor meets all of the requirements in subdivision (d).

(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to a person or entity who executes a collective bargaining agreement covering the workers employed under the contract or agreement, or to a person who enters into a contract or agreement for labor or services to be performed on ~~that~~ the person’s home residences, provided that a family member resides in the residence or residences for which the labor or services are to be performed for at least a part of the year.

(d) To meet the requirements of subdivision (b), a contract or agreement with a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor for labor or services shall be in writing, in a single document, and contain all of the following provisions, in addition to any other provisions that may be required by regulations adopted by the Labor Commissioner from time to time:

(1) The ~~name, address,~~ names, addresses, telephone numbers, and ~~telephone number~~ email addresses of the person or entity and the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor through whom the labor or services are to be provided.

(2) A description of the labor or services to be provided and a statement of when those services are to be commenced and completed.

(3) The employer identification number for state tax purposes of the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor.

(4) The workers’ compensation insurance policy number and the name, address, and telephone number of the insurance carrier of the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor.

(5) The vehicle identification number of any vehicle that is owned by the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor and used for transportation in connection with any service provided pursuant to the contract or agreement, the number of the vehicle liability insurance policy that covers the vehicle, and the name, address, and telephone number of the insurance carrier.

(6) The address of any real property to be used to house workers in connection with the contract or agreement.

(7) The total number of workers to be employed under the contract or agreement, the total amount of all wages to be paid, and the date or dates when those wages are to be paid.

(8) The amount of the commission or other payment made to the construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor for services under the contract or agreement.

(9) The total number of persons who will be utilized under the contract or agreement as independent contractors, along with a list of the current local, state, and federal contractor license identification numbers that the independent contractors are required to have under local, state, or federal laws or regulations.

(10) The signatures of all parties, and the date the contract or agreement was signed.

(e) (1) To qualify for the rebuttable presumption set forth in subdivision (b), a material change to the terms and conditions of a contract or agreement between a person or entity and a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor must be in writing, in a single document, and contain all of the provisions listed in subdivision (d) that are affected by the change.

(2) If a provision required to be contained in a contract or agreement pursuant to paragraph (7) or (9) of subdivision (d) is unknown at the time the contract or agreement is executed, the best estimate available at that time is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subdivision (d). If an estimate is used in place of actual figures in accordance with this paragraph, the parties to the contract or agreement have a continuing duty to ascertain the information required pursuant to paragraph (7) or (9) of subdivision (d) and to reduce that information to writing in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (1) once that information becomes known.

(f) A person or entity who enters into a contract or agreement referred to in subdivisions (d) or (e) shall keep a copy of the written contract or agreement for a period of not less than four years following the termination of the contract or agreement. Upon the request of the Labor Commissioner, any person or entity who enters into the contract or agreement shall provide to the Labor Commissioner a copy of the provisions of the contract or agreement, and any other documentation, related to paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (d). Documents obtained pursuant to this section are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(g) (1) An employee aggrieved by a violation of subdivision (a) may file an action for damages to recover the greater of all of the employee’s actual damages or two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per employee per violation for an initial violation and one thousand dollars ($1,000) per employee for each subsequent violation, and, upon prevailing in an action brought pursuant to this section, may recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. An action under this section shall not be maintained unless it is pleaded and proved that an employee was injured as a result of a violation of a labor law or regulation in connection with the performance of the contract or agreement.

(2) An employee aggrieved by a violation of subdivision (a) may also bring an action for injunctive relief and, upon prevailing, may recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

(h) The phrase “construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor” includes any person, as defined in this code, whether or not licensed, who is acting in the capacity of a construction, farm labor, garment, janitorial, security guard, or warehouse contractor.

(i) (1) The term “knows” includes the knowledge, arising from familiarity with the normal facts and circumstances of the business activity engaged in, that the contract or agreement does not include funds sufficient to allow the contractor to comply with applicable laws.

(2) The phrase “should know” includes the knowledge of any additional facts or information that would make a reasonably prudent person undertake to inquire whether, taken together, the contract or agreement contains sufficient funds to allow the contractor to comply with applicable laws.

(3) A failure by a person or entity to request or obtain any information from the contractor that is required by any applicable statute or by the contract or agreement between them, constitutes knowledge of that information for purposes of this section.

(j) For the purposes of this section, “warehouse” means a facility the primary operation of which is the storage or distribution of general merchandise, refrigerated goods, or other products.