AB 237 (Patel, D-San Diego)
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Passed the Senate Public Safety Committee on July 1. Aug. 18 hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 237 would make it a crime for a person to willfully threaten to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury to another person at specified locations, including medical facilities.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
AB 339 (Ortega, D-Hayward)
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Passed the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee on July 9. Aug. 18 hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 339 would require local public agencies to provide recognized employee organizations with a minimum of 60 days’ written notice before issuing requests for proposals or renewing or extending existing contracts that affect job classifications represented by these organizations. Amendments taken in the Assembly Appropriations Committee revise when the “meet and confer” would be required to occur.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
AB 340 (Ahrens, D-Cupertino)
Oppose Through Coalition
Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15. Aug. 18 hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 340 would prohibit a public agency employer from asking any employee or their union representative about communications concerning workplace matters that are made in confidence between the employee and their representative.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
AB 485 (Ortega, D-Hayward)
Oppose Unless Amended
Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15. Aug. 18 hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 485 would require the California Department of Public Health to deny a new license or renewal of an existing license for any hospital that has an outstanding judgment for nonpayment of wages. The state public health officer could exempt a hospital employer from the bill’s requirements upon determining that denying, suspending, or revoking the hospital’s license, permit, or renewal would either violate constitutional law or have imminent or substantial adverse effects on public health or safety.
Senate Judiciary Committee Oppose Unless Amended Letter
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
AB 692 (Kalra, D-San Jose)
Oppose Through Coalition
Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15. To be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 692 would make unlawful and void employment-related contracts entered into on or after Jan. 1, 2026, in which an employer requires an employee to pay for work-related training programs if the employment relationship ends before an agreed upon time. Amendments taken in the Assembly Appropriations Committee permit an employer to require that an employee repay tuition reimbursement if they are terminated for gross misconduct.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
AB 1221 (Bryan, D-Culver City)
Oppose Through Coalition
Held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file on May 23.
AB 1221 would require an employer to provide its workers with a detailed written notice at least 30 days before introducing a workplace surveillance tool. The bill would also prohibit employers from using workplace surveillance tools — including any that incorporate facial, gait, or emotion recognition — and place restrictions on transferring, selling, or licensing worker data to a third party.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
AB 1331 (Elhawary, D-Los Angeles)
Oppose Through Coalition
Passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 15. To be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1331 would limit the use of workplace surveillance tools in specified employee designated areas, including employee cafeterias and lounges. It would also give workers the right to leave behind workplace surveillance tools that are either on their person or in their possession when entering these areas or during off-duty hours. The bill would allow for the limited use of video-only surveillance in areas where employees take breaks and prohibit an employer from reviewing the video surveillance absent certain conditions.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
AB 1371 (Sharp-Collins, D-La Mesa)
Oppose Through Coalition
Failed to pass the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee by the deadline and is now a two-year bill.
AB 1371 would allow an employee, acting in good faith, to refuse to perform an assigned task if it would violate a health or safety standard or if the employee has a reasonable apprehension that performing the assigned task would result in injury or illness to self or to other employees. The author does not intend to move the bill this year.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
SB 7 (McNerney, D-Stockton)
Oppose Through Coalition
Passed the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee on July 16. To be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 7 would require an employer that uses automated decision systems (ADS) for purposes of making employment-related decisions to provide written notice to its employees about how the ADS is used. This bill would also prohibit an employer from relying primarily on an ADS when making employment-related decisions, allow an employee to appeal any employment-related decisions involving the use of ADS, and create a private right of action — including civil penalties in the amount of $500 per violation.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
SB 238 (Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles)
Oppose Through Coalition
July 16 hearing in the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee postponed by the author. Two-year bill.
SB 238 would require an employer to annually provide a detailed notice to the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) of all workplace surveillance tools in use. The bill would also require DIR to make the notice public on its website.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
SB 294 (Reyes, D-San Bernardino)
Neutral as Amended
Passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee on July 8. To be heard in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 294 would require an employer to provide a written notice of workers’ rights under federal and state law to new employees upon hire and annually to each current employee, in addition to existing posting requirements of the same rights. Failure to comply with the notice requirement would subject an employer to a possible civil penalty of up to $500 per employee for each violation.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
SB 310 (Wiener, D-San Francisco)
Oppose Through Coalition
Ordered to the Senate inactive file at the request of the author. Two-year bill.
SB 310 would allow workers to recover penalties through an independent civil action when their employer either fails to pay wages on time or doesn’t pay wages at all.
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank
SB 747 (Wiener, D-San Francisco)
Oppose Through Coalition
Ordered to the Senate inactive file at the request of the author. Two-year bill.
SB 747 would require a covered employer to report to the Department of Industrial Relations the confidential compensation it provides to behavioral health and medical-surgical employees.Any associated data would be shared with the Department of Health Care Access and Information and Department of Managed Health Care; this data would be confidential and not made publicly available.The bill would also allow a court to impose civil penalties on employers: up to $100 per employee for the first violation and up to $200 per employee for any subsequent violations.
Senate Labor Committee Coalition Oppose Letter
Senate Appropriations Committee Coalition Oppose Letter
Kalyn Dean
Erika Frank