Each year the California Chamber of Commerce releases a list of job killer bills to identify legislation that it says will decimate economic and job growth in California. The CalChamber tracks the bills throughout the rest of the legislative session and works to educate legislators about the serious consequences these bills will have on the state.

Following the April 29 deadline for legislation to be referred to fiscal committees, several bills identified by the California Chamber of Commerce as job killers will not be advancing this year. The 2022 list now consists of 12 bills, including two carry-over proposals from 2021. CalChamber monitors changes in legislation and will add bills to the list as appropriate.

The good news is that the proposal for a 32 hour work week in California seems to no longer be a problem.  AB 2932 (Low; D-Campbell) significantly increases labor costs by imposing an overtime pay requirement after 32 hours and other requirements that are impossible to comply with, exposing employers to litigation under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). In Assembly Labor and Employment Committee. Failed deadline to move from policy committee to fiscal committee, April 29, 2022.

One bill remains on the Workers’ Compensation section of the list. SB 213 (Cortese; D-San Jose) significantly increases workers’ compensation costs for public and private hospitals by presuming certain diseases and injuries are caused by the workplace and establishes an extremely concerning precedent for expanding presumptions into the private sector. 2021 carry-over bill.

And there are several employment law related proposals that remain on the Job Killer list.

AB 2095 (Kalra; D-San Jose) places new onerous administrative burdens on employers by requiring annual reporting of wage and hour data and employee benefits on an employer’s entire United States workforce that will unfairly criticize employers for lawful conduct by publishing that data on the Labor and Workforce Development Agency’s website and using such data to rank employers and deny them state opportunities, and will subject employers to frivolous litigation and settlement demands.

AB 2182 (Wicks; D-Oakland) imposes new burdens on employers to accommodate any employee with family responsibilities, which will essentially include a new, uncapped protected leave for employees to request time off and exposes employers to costly litigation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act by asserting that any adverse employment action was in relation to the employee’s family responsibilities, rather than a violation of employment policies.

AB 2188 (Quirk; D-Hayward) risks workplace safety by promoting marijuana use to a protected class under California’s discrimination law, on par with national origin or religion. Also effectively prohibits pre-employment drug testing, harming employers’ ability to keep their workplace safe and drug free. In addition, would prohibit use of traditional marijuana tests, such as urine and hair testing, and compel employers to utilize saliva-based testing.

SB 1044 (Durazo; D-Los Angeles) allows employees to leave work or refuse to show up to work if employee subjectively feels unsafe regardless of existing health and safety standards or whether employer has provided health and safety protections and subjects employers to costly Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuits if they dispute the employee’s decision or need to have another employee take over any job duties.

AB 2289/ ACA 8 (Lee; D-San Jose) seeks to impose a massive tax increase upon all forms of personal property or wealth despite California already having the highest income tax in the country. This tax increase will drive high-income earners and job creators out of the State as well as the revenue they contribute to the General Fund.

Cal Chamber of Commerce Updates 2022 Legislative Job Killer List