California 2019-2020 Regular Session Status: Enacted 1 R cosponsors

AB 51 — Employment discrimination: enforcement.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 711, Statutes of 2019.

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 03, 2018. 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.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (1 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 9 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 imposes various restrictions on employers with respect to contracts and applications for employment. A violation of those restrictions is a misdemeanor. Existing law creates the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which is under the direction of the Labor Commissioner, and generally commits to the commissioner the authority and responsibility for the enforcement of employment laws. This bill would prohibit a person from requiring any applicant for employment or any employee to waive any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of any provision of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) or other specific statutes governing employment as a condition of employment, continued employment, or the receipt of any employment-related benefit. The bill would also prohibit an employer from threatening, retaliating or discriminating against, or terminating any applicant for employment or any employee because of the refusal to consent to the waiver of any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of specific statutes governing employment. The bill would establish a specific exemption from those prohibitions. Because a violation of these prohibitions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. FEHA makes specified employment and housing practices unlawful and provides procedures for enforcement by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. FEHA authorizes a person alleging a violation of specified provisions of the act relating to employment discrimination to submit a verified complaint to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and requires the department to take actions to investigate and conciliate that complaint. FEHA authorizes the department to bring a civil action on behalf of the person who submitted the complaint upon the failure to eliminate an unlawful practice under these provisions. FEHA requires the department to issue a right-to-sue notice to a person who submitted the complaint if certain conditions occur, and FEHA requires a person who has been issued a right-to-sue notice to bring an action within one year from when the department issued that notice. This bill would additionally make violations of the prohibitions described above, relating to the waiver of rights, forums, or procedures, unlawful employment practices under FEHA. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 711, Statutes of 2019.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

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

  4. In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.

  5. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 26. Noes 11. Page 2572.).

  6. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  7. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (August 30).

  8. In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  9. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 1.) (July 9). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  10. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (June 19). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  11. Referred to Coms. on L., P.E. & R. and JUD.

  12. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  13. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 47. Noes 20. Page 1784.)

  14. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  15. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 5.) (May 16).

  16. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  17. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  18. Read second time and amended.

  19. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 3.) (March 19).

  20. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (March 6). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

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

  22. From printer. May be heard in committee January 3.

  23. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 12 voted No

Sponsors (1)

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

3rd Reading AB51 Gonzalez By Jackson

Passed 26 Yea · 11 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 18801
Democratic 8002
Republican 0300
Total 261103
% of votes cast 65%28%0%8%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Rubio — Yea
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Beall — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hill — Yea
Roth — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Allen — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Pan — Yea
Moorlach — Nay
Borgeas — Nay
Bates — Nay
Morrell — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Chang — Nay
Glazer — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Nay
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Not Voting
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Not Voting
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass

Passed 5 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4100
Democratic 1000
Republican 0100
Total 5200
% of votes cast 71%29%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Wieckowski — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Hill — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Bates — Nay
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5000
Democratic 1000
Republican 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Yea
Hill — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 7 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Unaffiliated 2001
Republican 0100
Total 7101
% of votes cast 78%11%0%11%
How each member voted (9)
Member Party Vote
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Borgeas — Not Voting
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Gonzalez, Lena A. Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

AB 51 Gonzalez Assembly Third Reading

Passed 47 Yea · 20 Nay · 13 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 18304
Unaffiliated 291108
Republican 0601
Total 4720013
% of votes cast 59%25%0%16%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Gonzalez — Yea
Chau — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Holden — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Ting — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Yea
Levine — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Low — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Burke — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Wood — Yea
Medina — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Chu — Yea
Weber — Yea
Salas — Nay
Brough — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Diep — Nay
Voepel — Nay
Obernolte — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Mayes — Not Voting
Gray — Not Voting
Frazier — Not Voting
Daly — Not Voting
Smith — Not Voting
Cooley — Not Voting
O'Donnell — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Not Voting
Fong, Mike Democratic Nay
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Not Voting
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Nay
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Nay
Ramos, James C. Democratic Not Voting
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Not Voting
Wicks, Buffy 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
Patterson, Joe Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 13 Yea · 5 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 6100
Unaffiliated 7400
Total 13500
% of votes cast 72%28%0%0%
How each member voted (18)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Chau — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Brough — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Diep — Nay
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Nay
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 9 Yea · 3 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6200
Democratic 3000
Republican 0100
Total 9300
% of votes cast 75%25%0%0%
How each member voted (12)
Member Party Vote
Chiu — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Holden — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Chau — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Mark Stone — Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights 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 AB 51 do?
Existing law imposes various restrictions on employers with respect to contracts and applications for employment. A violation of those restrictions is a misdemeanor. Existing law creates the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, which is under the direction of the Labor Commissioner, and generally commits to the commissioner the authority and responsibility for the enforcement of employment laws. This bill would prohibit a person from requiring any applicant for employment or any employee to waive any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of any provision of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) or other specific statutes governing employment as a condition of employment, continued employment, or the receipt of any employment-related benefit. The bill would also prohibit an employer from threatening, retaliating or discriminating against, or terminating any applicant for employment or any employee because of the refusal to consent to the waiver of any right, forum, or procedure for a violation of specific statutes governing employment. The bill would establish a specific exemption from those prohibitions. Because a violation of these prohibitions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. FEHA makes specified employment and housing practices unlawful and provides procedures for enforcement by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing. FEHA authorizes a person alleging a violation of specified provisions of the act relating to employment discrimination to submit a verified complaint to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and requires the department to take actions to investigate and conciliate that complaint. FEHA authorizes the department to bring a civil action on behalf of the person who submitted the complaint upon the failure to eliminate an unlawful practice under these provisions. FEHA requires the department to issue a right-to-sue notice to a person who submitted the complaint if certain conditions occur, and FEHA requires a person who has been issued a right-to-sue notice to bring an action within one year from when the department issued that notice. This bill would additionally make violations of the prohibitions described above, relating to the waiver of rights, forums, or procedures, unlawful employment practices under FEHA. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Who sponsors AB 51?
AB 51 is sponsored by Gonzalez, Jeff (Republican).
What is the current status of AB 51?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 03, 2018. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 51?
Track AB 51 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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