California 2011-2012 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 459 — Employment: independent contractors.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 706, Statutes of 2011.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 16, 2011. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 70% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 11 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law prescribes comprehensive requirements relating to minimum wages, overtime compensation, and standards for working conditions for the protection of employees applicable to an employment relationship. This bill would prohibit willful misclassification, as defined, of individuals as independent contractors. The bill also would prohibit charging individuals who have been mischaracterized as independent contractors a fee or making deductions from compensation, as specified, where those acts would have violated the law if the individuals had not been mischaracterized. The bill would authorize the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to assess specified civil penalties from, and would require the agency to take other specified disciplinary actions against, persons or employers violating these prohibitions. It would also require the agency to notify the Contractors' State License Board of a violator that is a licensed contractor, and require the board to initiate an action against the licensee. The bill would authorize an individual to file a complaint, as specified, to request the Labor Commissioner to issue a determination that a person or employer has violated these prohibitions with regard to the individual filing the complaint. The bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to assess civil and liquidated damages against a person or employer based on a determination that the person or employer has violated these prohibitions. This bill would provide that a person who, for money or other valuable consideration, knowingly advises an employer to treat an individual as an independent contractor to avoid employee status for the individual shall be jointly and severally liable with the employer if the individual is not found to be an independent contractor. This bill would exempt from the provisions regarding joint and several liability a person who provides advice to his or her employer or an attorney who provides legal advice in the course of practicing law.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 706, Statutes of 2011.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:30 a.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 22. Noes 14. Page 2412.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 51. Noes 26. Page 2988.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read third time and amended. (Ayes 49. Noes 26. Page 2824.)

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 5.) (August 17).

  11. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  12. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 3.) (June 28).

  14. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 4. Noes 2.) (June 22). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  15. Referred to Coms. on L. & E. and JUD.

  16. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  17. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 24. Noes 12. Page 1274.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  18. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  19. Ordered to second reading.

  20. Read third time and amended.

  21. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  22. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 3. Page 1117.) (May 26).

  23. Set for hearing May 26.

  24. Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  25. Set for hearing May 9.

  26. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 3. Noes 1. Page 765.) (April 26). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  27. Set for hearing April 26.

  28. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 643.) (April 13). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  29. Set for hearing April 13.

  30. Re-referred to Coms. on L. & I.R. and JUD.

  31. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  32. Referred to Com. on RLS.

  33. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 19.

  34. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Corbett · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 6 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Corbett

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Unfinished Business SB459 Corbett Concurrence

Passed 22 Yea · 14 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 201304
Democratic 2000
Republican 0100
Total 221404
% of votes cast 55%35%0%10%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Yee — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Kehoe — Yea
Liu — Yea
Simitian — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
De León — Yea
Negrete McLeod — Yea
Wyland — Nay
Fuller — Nay
Cannella — Nay
Runner — Nay
Rubio — Not Voting
Blakeslee — Nay
Corbett — Yea
Correa — Not Voting
Dutton — Nay
Leno — Yea
Lieu — Not Voting
Vargas — Yea
Walters — Nay
Wright — Yea
Alquist — Yea
Anderson — Nay
Harman — Nay
Huff — Nay
Pavley — Yea
Price — Yea
Emmerson — Nay
Evans — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Beth Gaines — Not Voting
Bill Berryhill — Nay
La Malfa — Nay
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SB 459 Corbett Senate Third Reading By GATTO

Passed 51 Yea · 26 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 502403
Democratic 1000
Republican 0200
Total 512603
% of votes cast 64%33%0%4%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Hagman — Nay
Yamada — Yea
Feuer — Yea
Butler — Yea
Fuentes — Yea
Fong — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Allen — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Hall — Yea
Campos — Yea
Portantino — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Hayashi — Yea
Hill — Yea
Cedillo — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Huffman — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Chesbro — Yea
Davis — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Lara — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
Monning — Yea
Perea — Yea
Solorio — Yea
Swanson — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Fletcher — Nay
Gorell — Not Voting
Halderman — Nay
Jeffries — Nay
Carter — Not Voting
Conway — Nay
Cook — Nay
Donnelly — Nay
Knight — Nay
Logue — Nay
Miller — Nay
Morrell — Nay
Olsen — Nay
Silva — Nay
Valadao — Nay
Wagner — Nay
Achadjian — Nay
Alejo — Yea
Beall — Yea
Block — Yea
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brownley — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Harkey — Nay
Huber — Yea
Ma — Yea
Mansoor — Nay
Nestande — Nay
Nielsen — Not Voting
Norby — Nay
Pan — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Smyth — Nay
Torres — Yea
Williams — Yea
Eng — Yea
Furutani — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Garrick — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
Bonnie Lowenthal — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SB 459 Corbett Senate Third Reading By GATTO Amend By GATTO Set #1

Passed 49 Yea · 26 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 0200
Unaffiliated 482405
Democratic 1000
Total 492605
% of votes cast 61%33%0%6%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Halderman — Nay
Butler — Yea
Hill — Yea
Fong — Yea
Allen — Yea
Carter — Yea
Cedillo — Yea
Swanson — Yea
Williams — Yea
Fuentes — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Ma — Yea
Perea — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Portantino — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Hall — Yea
Hayashi — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Beall — Yea
Chesbro — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
Pan — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Campos — Yea
Hagman — Nay
Harkey — Nay
Logue — Nay
Conway — Nay
Smyth — Nay
Valadao — Nay
Fletcher — Nay
Jeffries — Nay
Knight — Nay
Donnelly — Nay
Miller — Nay
Morrell — Nay
Nestande — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Norby — Nay
Bonilla — Not Voting
Furutani — Not Voting
Gorell — Not Voting
Achadjian — Nay
Alejo — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Block — Yea
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brownley — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Huber — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Huffman — Yea
Lara — Yea
Mansoor — Nay
Monning — Yea
Olsen — Nay
Silva — Nay
Solorio — Yea
Torres — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Wieckowski — Yea
Cook — Nay
Eng — Yea
Feuer — Yea
Davis — Not Voting
Garrick — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Not Voting
Bonnie Lowenthal — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 12 Yea · 5 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 11500
Democratic 1000
Total 12500
% of votes cast 71%29%0%0%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Hall — Yea
Campos — Yea
Fuentes — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Davis — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Hill — Yea
Norby — Nay
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Harkey — Nay
Lara — Yea
Nielsen — Nay
Solorio — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Gatto — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading

Passed 24 Yea · 12 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 221104
Democratic 2000
Republican 0100
Total 241204
% of votes cast 60%30%0%10%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Yee — Yea
Wyland — Nay
Hancock — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
De León — Yea
Negrete McLeod — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Cannella — Nay
Evans — Yea
Fuller — Nay
Runner — Not Voting
Corbett — Yea
Kehoe — Yea
Blakeslee — Not Voting
Dutton — Nay
Liu — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Simitian — Yea
Walters — Nay
Wright — Yea
Alquist — Yea
Anderson — Nay
Harman — Nay
Huff — Not Voting
Leno — Yea
Price — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Vargas — Yea
Emmerson — Nay
Correa — Not Voting
DeSaulnier — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
La Malfa — Nay
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 6 Yea · 3 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6300
Total 6300
% of votes cast 67%33%0%0%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Kehoe — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Runner — Nay
Steinberg — Yea
Alquist — Yea
Price — Yea
Walters — Nay
Emmerson — Nay

Official roll call →

Placed on Appropriations Suspense file.

Passed 9 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 9000
Total 9000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Runner — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Price — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Walters — Yea
Alquist — Yea
Kehoe — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Emmerson — Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 459 do?
Existing law prescribes comprehensive requirements relating to minimum wages, overtime compensation, and standards for working conditions for the protection of employees applicable to an employment relationship. This bill would prohibit willful misclassification, as defined, of individuals as independent contractors. The bill also would prohibit charging individuals who have been mischaracterized as independent contractors a fee or making deductions from compensation, as specified, where those acts would have violated the law if the individuals had not been mischaracterized. The bill would authorize the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to assess specified civil penalties from, and would require the agency to take other specified disciplinary actions against, persons or employers violating these prohibitions. It would also require the agency to notify the Contractors' State License Board of a violator that is a licensed contractor, and require the board to initiate an action against the licensee. The bill would authorize an individual to file a complaint, as specified, to request the Labor Commissioner to issue a determination that a person or employer has violated these prohibitions with regard to the individual filing the complaint. The bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to assess civil and liquidated damages against a person or employer based on a determination that the person or employer has violated these prohibitions. This bill would provide that a person who, for money or other valuable consideration, knowingly advises an employer to treat an individual as an independent contractor to avoid employee status for the individual shall be jointly and severally liable with the employer if the individual is not found to be an independent contractor. This bill would exempt from the provisions regarding joint and several liability a person who provides advice to his or her employer or an attorney who provides legal advice in the course of practicing law.
Who sponsors SB 459?
SB 459 is sponsored by Corbett.
What is the current status of SB 459?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 16, 2011. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 459?
Track SB 459 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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