California 2017-2018 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 306 — Retaliation actions: complaints: administrative review.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 460, Statutes of 2017.

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  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 13, 2017. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 72% · 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.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 4 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

(1) Existing law prohibits a person from discharging or otherwise discriminating, retaliating, or taking any adverse action against any employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant engaged in specified protected conduct. Under existing law, an aggrieved employee or applicant is entitled to reinstatement or employment and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by acts of the employer in violation of this prohibition, and may file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (division) . Existing law requires a discrimination complaint investigator to investigate, and submit a report on, each complaint to the Labor Commissioner; authorizes the commissioner to designate specified officers to review the report; and authorizes the commissioner to hold an investigative hearing on the report if, after reviewing the report, the commissioner determines that a hearing is necessary. This bill would authorize the division to commence an investigation of an employer, with or without a complaint being filed, when specified retaliation or discrimination is suspected during the course of a wage claim or other specified investigation being conducted by the Labor Commissioner. The bill would also authorize the commissioner, upon finding reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in or is engaging in a violation, to petition a superior court for prescribed injunctive relief. The bill would require a court, if an employee has been discharged or faced adverse action for raising a claim of retaliation for asserting rights under any law under the jurisdiction of the commissioner, to order appropriate injunctive relief on a showing that reasonable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred. The bill would provide that temporary injunctive relief under these provisions would not prohibit an employer from disciplining or terminating an employee for conduct that is unrelated to the claim of the retaliation. (2) Existing law requires the commissioner, if the commissioner determines a violation has occurred, to direct the respondent to cease and desist from, and to remedy, the violation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to bring a civil action against a respondent that does not comply with such an order. Existing law authorizes a complainant, if the commissioner does not promptly bring an action, to bring an action in court for a writ of mandate to compel the commissioner to bring an action. The bill would also authorize the commissioner to issue citations directing specific relief to persons determined to be responsible for violations. The bill would establish review procedures, including procedures for requesting a hearing before a hearing officer for the commissioner and for a petition for a writ of mandate. The bill would authorize the commissioner to adopt regulations to establish hearing procedures. The bill would subject an employer who willfully refuses to comply with a final order pursuant to the bill to prescribed civil penalties payable to the affected employee. (3) Existing law prohibits an employer from discharging an employee or in any manner discriminating, retaliating, or taking any adverse action against any employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant has engaged in protected conduct, as specified. Existing law provides that an employee who made a bona fide complaint, and was consequently discharged or otherwise suffered an adverse action, is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for an employer to willfully refuse to reinstate or otherwise restore an employee who is determined by a specified procedure to be eligible for reinstatement. Existing law subjects a person who violates these provisions to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. The bill would authorize an employee who is bringing a civil action under these provisions to also seek injunctive relief from the court. The bill would provide notice procedures and criteria for the court to evaluate in granting or denying the application for injunction. The bill would provide that injunctive relief granted under these provisions is not stayed pending appeal.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 460, Statutes of 2017.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 25. Noes 14. Page 2840.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 45. Noes 29. Page 3205.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read third time and amended.

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 5.) (September 1).

  11. Coauthors revised.

  12. August 23 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  13. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (July 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  14. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.

  15. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (June 20). Re-referred to Com. on L. & E.

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

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

  18. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 25. Noes 14. Page 1268.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  19. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  20. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 1181.) (May 25).

  21. Set for hearing May 25.

  22. May 15 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  23. Set for hearing May 15.

  24. May 8 hearing postponed by committee.

  25. Set for hearing May 8.

  26. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 1. Page 854.) (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 L. & I.R. (Ayes 5. Noes 1. Page 746.) (April 18). Re-referred to Com. on L. & I.R.

  29. Set for hearing April 18.

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

  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 16.

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

Sponsors

  • Gonzalez Fletcher · Cosponsor
  • Hertzberg · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on · 13 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Hertzberg

Co-sponsors (1)

  • Gonzalez Fletcher

Not signed on (120)

120 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 120 →

"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 SB306 Hertzberg et al. Concurrence

Passed 25 Yea · 14 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 211301
Democratic 4100
Total 251401
% of votes cast 63%35%0%3%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Nay
Beall — Yea
Hill — Yea
Moorlach — Nay
Newman — Yea
Cannella — Nay
Dodd — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Portantino — Yea
De León — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Allen — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Bates — Nay
Bradford — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Lara — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
Monning — Yea
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Pan — Yea
Roth — Not Voting
Skinner — Yea
Vidak — Nay
Wieckowski — Yea
Wilk — Nay
Fuller — Nay
Glazer — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
Mark Stone — Nay
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Nay
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

SB 306 Hertzberg Senate Third Reading By GONZALEZ FLETCHER

Passed 45 Yea · 29 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 332203
Democratic 12102
Republican 0600
Total 452905
% of votes cast 57%37%0%6%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Acosta — Nay
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Nay
Harper — Nay
Holden — Yea
Levine — Yea
Low — Yea
Mathis — Nay
Medina — Yea
Melendez — Nay
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Voepel — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Wood — Yea
Gray — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Maienschein — Nay
O'Donnell — Not Voting
Obernolte — Nay
Chávez — Nay
Cooley — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Daly — Not Voting
Steinorth — Nay
Baker — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Friedman — Yea
Burke — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Chau — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Mayes — Nay
Fong — Nay
Salas — Nay
McCarty — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Chu — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Dababneh — Yea
Frazier — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Mark Stone — Yea
Travis Allen — Nay
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Not Voting
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Not Voting
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Nay
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 11 Yea · 5 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 8401
Democratic 3000
Republican 0100
Total 11501
% of votes cast 65%29%0%6%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Bigelow — Nay
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Nay
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Fong — Nay
Gray — Not Voting
Chau — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

labor
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 306 do?
(1) Existing law prohibits a person from discharging or otherwise discriminating, retaliating, or taking any adverse action against any employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant engaged in specified protected conduct. Under existing law, an aggrieved employee or applicant is entitled to reinstatement or employment and reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by acts of the employer in violation of this prohibition, and may file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (division) . Existing law requires a discrimination complaint investigator to investigate, and submit a report on, each complaint to the Labor Commissioner; authorizes the commissioner to designate specified officers to review the report; and authorizes the commissioner to hold an investigative hearing on the report if, after reviewing the report, the commissioner determines that a hearing is necessary. This bill would authorize the division to commence an investigation of an employer, with or without a complaint being filed, when specified retaliation or discrimination is suspected during the course of a wage claim or other specified investigation being conducted by the Labor Commissioner. The bill would also authorize the commissioner, upon finding reasonable cause to believe that any person has engaged in or is engaging in a violation, to petition a superior court for prescribed injunctive relief. The bill would require a court, if an employee has been discharged or faced adverse action for raising a claim of retaliation for asserting rights under any law under the jurisdiction of the commissioner, to order appropriate injunctive relief on a showing that reasonable cause exists to believe a violation has occurred. The bill would provide that temporary injunctive relief under these provisions would not prohibit an employer from disciplining or terminating an employee for conduct that is unrelated to the claim of the retaliation. (2) Existing law requires the commissioner, if the commissioner determines a violation has occurred, to direct the respondent to cease and desist from, and to remedy, the violation, as specified. Existing law authorizes the commissioner to bring a civil action against a respondent that does not comply with such an order. Existing law authorizes a complainant, if the commissioner does not promptly bring an action, to bring an action in court for a writ of mandate to compel the commissioner to bring an action. The bill would also authorize the commissioner to issue citations directing specific relief to persons determined to be responsible for violations. The bill would establish review procedures, including procedures for requesting a hearing before a hearing officer for the commissioner and for a petition for a writ of mandate. The bill would authorize the commissioner to adopt regulations to establish hearing procedures. The bill would subject an employer who willfully refuses to comply with a final order pursuant to the bill to prescribed civil penalties payable to the affected employee. (3) Existing law prohibits an employer from discharging an employee or in any manner discriminating, retaliating, or taking any adverse action against any employee or applicant for employment because the employee or applicant has engaged in protected conduct, as specified. Existing law provides that an employee who made a bona fide complaint, and was consequently discharged or otherwise suffered an adverse action, is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for an employer to willfully refuse to reinstate or otherwise restore an employee who is determined by a specified procedure to be eligible for reinstatement. Existing law subjects a person who violates these provisions to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. The bill would authorize an employee who is bringing a civil action under these provisions to also seek injunctive relief from the court. The bill would provide notice procedures and criteria for the court to evaluate in granting or denying the application for injunction. The bill would provide that injunctive relief granted under these provisions is not stayed pending appeal.
Who sponsors SB 306?
SB 306 is sponsored by Gonzalez Fletcher and Hertzberg.
What is the current status of SB 306?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 13, 2017. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 306?
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