(September 3, 2019) Assembly and Senate fiscal committees sent five California Chamber of Commerce-opposed job killer bills along for further consideration by the entire membership of both houses on Friday.

Two bills were amended and amendments are pending on two others.

Job Killer Bills Advancing

AB 51 (Gonzalez; D-San Diego): Bans arbitration agreements made as a condition of employment. Banning such agreements benefits the trial attorneys, not the employer or employee. Governor Brown vetoed a similar measure last year and stated it “plainly violates federal law.”

AB 1066 (Gonzalez; D-San Diego): Passed Senate Appropriations Committee with amendments: Allows employees on strike to receive unemployment benefits if the strike lasts more than four weeks, incentivizing strikes, burdening employers, and potentially affecting the solvency of California’s UI fund.

AB 1080 (Gonzalez; D-San Diego): Amendments Pending: Provides CalRecycle with broad authority to develop and impose costly and unrealistic new mandates on manufacturers of all single-use packaging and certain single-use plastic consumer products under an unrealistic compliance time frame.

SB 1 (Atkins; D-San Diego): Passed Assembly Appropriations Committee with amendments: Gives certain state agencies unfettered authority to adopt rules and regulations when the agency, in its discretion, determines that the federal rules and regulations in effect on January 19, 2017 are “less protective” than existing federal law. It further increases the potential for costly litigation by creating new private rights of action under California law.

SB 54 (Allen; D-Santa Monica): Amendments Pending: Provides CalRecycle with broad authority to develop and impose costly and unrealistic new mandates on manufacturers of all single-use packaging and certain single-use plastic consumer products under an unrealistic compliance time frame.