citation: LAB § 450

text:
(a) No employer, or agent or officer thereof, or other person, may compel or coerce any employee, or applicant for employment, to patronize his or her employer, or any other person, in the purchase of any thing of value.

(b) For purposes of this section, to compel or coerce the purchase of any thing of value includes, but is not limited to, instances where an employer requires the payment of a fee or consideration of any type from an applicant for employment for any of the following purposes:

(1) For an individual to apply for employment orally or in writing.

(2) For an individual to receive, obtain, complete, or submit an application for employment.

(3) For an employer to provide, accept, or process an application for employment.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 442, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1999.)

article: 4. Purchases

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 3. Privileges and Perquisites > 4. Purchases


kind: section

code: LAB

citation: LAB § 451

text: Any person, or agent or officer thereof, who violates this article is guilty of a misdemeanor.

history: (History: Enacted by Stats. 1937, Ch. 90.)

division: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION

chapter: 3. Privileges and Perquisites

article: 4. Purchases


citation: LAB § 452

text: Nothing in this article shall prohibit an employer from prescribing the weight, color, quality, texture, style, form and make of uniforms required to be worn by his employees.

article: 4. Purchases


citation: LAB § 500

text:
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Workday” and “day” mean any consecutive 24-hour period commencing at the same time each calendar day.

(b) “Workweek” and “week” mean any seven consecutive days, starting with the same calendar day each week. “Workweek” is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours, seven consecutive 24-hour periods.

(c) “Alternative workweek schedule” means any regularly scheduled workweek requiring an employee to work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 134, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2000.)

chapter: 1. General

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 1. General


citation: LAB § 510

text:
(a) Eight hours of labor constitutes a day’s work. Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for an employee. Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay for an employee. In addition, any work in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the regular rate of pay of an employee. Nothing in this section requires an employer to combine more than one rate of overtime compensation in order to calculate the amount to be paid to an employee for any hour of overtime work. The requirements of this section do not apply to the payment of overtime compensation to an employee working pursuant to any of the following:

(1) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to Section 511.

(2) An alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to Section 514.

(3) An alternative workweek schedule to which this chapter is inapplicable pursuant to Section 554.

(b) Time spent commuting to and from the first place at which an employee’s presence is required by the employer shall not be considered to be a part of a day’s work, when the employee commutes in a vehicle that is owned, leased, or subsidized by the employer and is used for the purpose of ridesharing, as defined in Section 522 of the Vehicle Code.

(c) This section does not affect, change, or limit an employer’s liability under the workers’ compensation law.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 134, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2000.)


citation: LAB § 511

text:
(a) Upon the proposal of an employer, the employees of an employer may adopt a regularly scheduled alternative workweek that authorizes work by the affected employees for no longer than 10 hours per day within a 40-hour workweek without the payment to the affected employees of an overtime rate of compensation pursuant to this section. A proposal to adopt an alternative workweek schedule shall be deemed adopted only if it receives approval in a secret ballot election by at least two-thirds of affected employees in a readily identifiable work unit. The regularly scheduled alternative workweek proposed by an employer for adoption by employees may be a single work schedule that would become the standard schedule for workers in the work unit, or a menu of work schedule options, from which each employee in the unit would be entitled to choose. Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of Section 500, the menu of work schedule options may include a regular schedule of eight-hour days that are compensated in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 510. Employees who adopt a menu of work schedule options may, with employer consent, move from one schedule option to another on a weekly basis.

(b) An affected employee working longer than eight hours but not more than 12 hours in a day pursuant to an alternative workweek schedule adopted pursuant to this section shall be paid an overtime rate of compensation of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay of the employee for any work in excess of the regularly scheduled hours established by the alternative workweek agreement and for any work in excess of 40 hours per week. An overtime rate of compensation of no less than double the regular rate of pay of the employee shall be paid for any work in excess of 12 hours per day and for any work in excess of eight hours on those days worked beyond the regularly scheduled workdays established by the alternative workweek agreement. Nothing in this section requires an employer to combine more than one rate of overtime compensation in order to calculate the amount to be paid to an employee for any hour of overtime work.

(c) An employer shall not reduce an employee’s regular rate of hourly pay as a result of the adoption, repeal, or nullification of an alternative workweek schedule.

(d) An employer shall make a reasonable effort to find a work schedule not to exceed eight hours in a workday, in order to accommodate any affected employee who was eligible to vote in an election authorized by this section and who is unable to work the alternative schedule hours established as the result of that election. An employer shall be permitted to provide a work schedule not to exceed eight hours in a workday to accommodate any employee who was hired after the date of the election and who is unable to work the alternative schedule established as the result of that election. An employer shall explore any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance of an affected employee that conflicts with an adopted alternative workweek schedule, in the manner provided by subdivision (j) of Section 12940 of the Government Code.

(e) The results of any election conducted pursuant to this section shall be reported by an employer to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within 30 days after the results are final.

(f) Any type of alternative workweek schedule that is authorized by this code and that was in effect on January 1, 2000, may be repealed by the affected employees pursuant to this section. Any alternative workweek schedule that was adopted pursuant to Wage Order Number 1, 4, 5, 7, or 9 of the Industrial Welfare Commission is null and void, except for an alternative workweek providing for a regular schedule of no more than 10 hours’ work in a workday that was adopted by a two-thirds vote of affected employees in a secret ballot election pursuant to wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission in effect prior to 1998. This subdivision does not apply to exemptions authorized pursuant to Section 515.

(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), an alternative workweek schedule in the health care industry adopted by a two-thirds vote of affected employees in a secret ballot election pursuant to Wage Order Numbers 4 and 5 in effect prior to 1998 that provided for workdays exceeding 10 hours but not exceeding 12 hours in a day without the payment of overtime compensation shall be valid until July 1, 2000. An employer in the health care industry shall make a reasonable effort to accommodate any employee in the health care industry who is unable to work the alternative schedule established as the result of a valid election held in accordance with provisions of Wage Order Number 4 or 5 that were in effect prior to 1998.

(h) Notwithstanding subdivision (f), if an employee is voluntarily working an alternative workweek schedule providing for a regular work schedule of not more than 10 hours’ work in a workday as of July 1, 1999, an employee may continue to work that alternative workweek schedule without the entitlement of the payment of daily overtime compensation for the hours provided in that schedule if the employer approves a written request of the employee to work that schedule.

(i) For purposes of this section, “work unit” includes a division, a department, a job classification, a shift, a separate physical location, or a recognized subdivision thereof. A work unit may consist of an individual employee as long as the criteria for an identifiable work unit in this section is met.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 88. (SB 1038) Effective June 27, 2012.)


citation: LAB § 512

text:
(a) An employer shall not employ an employee for a work period of more than five hours per day without providing the employee with a meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that if the total work period per day of the employee is no more than six hours, the meal period may be waived by mutual consent of both the employer and employee. An employer shall not employ an employee for a work period of more than 10 hours per day without providing the employee with a second meal period of not less than 30 minutes, except that if the total hours worked is no more than 12 hours, the second meal period may be waived by mutual consent of the employer and the employee only if the first meal period was not waived.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the Industrial Welfare Commission may adopt a working condition order permitting a meal period to commence after six hours of work if the commission determines that the order is consistent with the health and welfare of the affected employees.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a commercial driver employed by a motor carrier transporting nutrients and byproducts from a commercial feed manufacturer subject to Section 15051 of the Food and Agricultural Code to a customer located in a remote rural location may commence a meal period after six hours of work, if the regular rate of pay of the driver is no less than one and one-half times the state minimum wage and the driver receives overtime compensation in accordance with Section 510.

(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to an employee in the wholesale baking industry who is subject to an Industrial Welfare Commission wage order and who is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for a 35-hour workweek consisting of five 7-hour days, payment of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for time worked in excess of seven hours per day, and a rest period of not less than 10 minutes every two hours.

(d) If an employee in the motion picture industry or the broadcasting industry, as those industries are defined in Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order Numbers 11 and 12, is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for meal periods and includes a monetary remedy if the employee does not receive a meal period required by the agreement, then the terms, conditions, and remedies of the agreement pertaining to meal periods apply in lieu of the applicable provisions pertaining to meal periods of subdivision (a) of this section, Section 226.7, and Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order Numbers 11 and 12.

(e) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to an employee specified in subdivision (f) if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The employee is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement.

(2) The valid collective bargaining agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees, and expressly provides for meal periods for those employees, final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning application of its meal period provisions, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and a regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage rate.

(f) Subdivision (e) applies to each of the following employees:

(1) An employee employed in a construction occupation.

(2) An employee employed as a commercial driver.

(3) An employee employed in the security services industry as a security officer who is registered pursuant to Chapter 11.5 (commencing with Section 7580) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, and who is employed by a private patrol operator registered pursuant to that chapter.

(4) An employee employed by an electrical corporation, a gas corporation, a water corporation, or a local publicly owned electric utility.

(g) The following definitions apply for the purposes of this section:

(1) “Commercial driver” means an employee who operates a vehicle described in Section 260 or 462 of, or subdivision (b) of Section 15210 of, the Vehicle Code.

(2) “Construction occupation” means all job classifications associated with construction by Article 2 (commencing with Section 7025) of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, including work involving alteration, demolition, building, excavation, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, improvement, and repair, and any other similar or related occupation or trade.

(3) “Electrical corporation” has the same meaning as provided in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code.

(4) “Gas corporation” has the same meaning as provided in Section 222 of the Public Utilities Code.

(5) “Local publicly owned electric utility” has the same meaning as provided in Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities Code.

(6) “Water corporation” has the same meaning as provided in Section 241 of the Public Utilities Code.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 95, Sec. 1. (SB 693) Effective January 1, 2026.)


text:
(a) An employee directly employed by an employer shall be entitled to one unpaid 30-minute meal period on shifts over 5 hours and a second unpaid 30-minute meal period on shifts over 10 hours, as provided by Section 512.

(1) The employee may waive a meal period in accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 512 and paragraph (D) of Section 11 of Wage Order Number 4 or paragraph (D) of Section 11 of Wage Order Number 5 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(2) On-duty meal periods may be provided in accordance with paragraph (A) of Section 11 of Wage Order Number 4 or paragraph (A) of Section 11 of Wage Order Number 5 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(b) An employee who is directly employed by an employer shall be entitled to a rest period based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of 10 minutes net rest time per 4 hours or major fraction thereof, as provided by Wage Order Number 4 and Wage Order Number 5 of the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(c) If an employer fails to provide to an employee a meal period or rest period in accordance with this section, the employer shall pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest period is not provided.

(d) This section does not apply to an employee directly employed by an employer who is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that provides for meal and rest periods, and, if the employee does not receive a meal or rest period as required by the agreement, includes a monetary remedy that, at a minimum, is equivalent to one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest period is not provided.

(e) As used in this section:

(1) “Employee” means an employee who provides direct patient care or supports direct patient care in a general acute care hospital, clinic, or public health setting.

(2) “Employer” means the state, political subdivisions of the state, counties, municipalities, and the Regents of the University of California.

(3) “General acute care hospital” means a health facility as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 845, Sec. 2. (SB 1334) Effective January 1, 2023.)


text:
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including applicable wage orders, the requirement to provide a meal or rest period pursuant to an applicable statute, regulation, ordinance, standard, or order shall not apply to an airline cabin crew employee if the employee meets either of the following conditions:

(1) The employee is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.) and that agreement contains any provision addressing meal and rest periods for airline cabin crew employees.

(2) The employee is part of a craft or class of employees that is represented by a labor organization pursuant to the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.) but is not yet covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement described in paragraph (1). This paragraph shall apply for the first 12 months that the craft or class of employees is represented by a labor organization and may apply for longer than the first 12 months only if agreed upon in writing by the employer and the labor organization representing the employee’s craft or class.

(b) For purposes of this section, a collective bargaining agreement “contains any provision addressing meal and rest periods” if the agreement contains any provision providing for meal and rest periods; providing compensation in lieu of meals, or per diem, which may be in lieu of meals; or providing a recognition of a right to eat on board an aircraft during the course of a duty day.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing December 5, 2022, a person shall not file a new legal action by or on behalf of a person covered by a collective bargaining agreement meeting the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) asserting a claim for alleged meal or rest break violations.

(d) This section shall not affect a settlement agreement or final judgment of any civil action brought by an airline cabin crew employee, or class thereof, against an employer on a claim of a meal or rest break violation.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 2, Sec. 1. (SB 41) Effective March 23, 2023.)


text:
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, if the Industrial Welfare Commission adopts or amends an order that applies to an employee of a public agency who operates a commercial motor vehicle, it may exempt that employee from the application of the provisions of that order which relate to meal periods or rest periods, consistent with the health and welfare of that employee, if he or she is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement.

(b) “Commercial motor vehicle” for the purposes of this section has the same meaning as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 15210 of the Vehicle Code.

(c) “Public agency” for the purposes of this section means the state and any political subdivision of the state, including any city, county, city and county, or special district.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 327, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)


citation: LAB § 513

text: If an employer approves a written request of an employee to make up work time that is or would be lost as a result of a personal obligation of the employee, the hours of that makeup work time, if performed in the same workweek in which the work time was lost, may not be counted towards computing the total number of hours worked in a day for purposes of the overtime requirements specified in Section 510 or 511, except for hours in excess of 11 hours of work in one day or 40 hours in one workweek. An employee shall provide a signed written request for each occasion that the employee makes a request to make up work time pursuant to this section. An employer is prohibited from encouraging or otherwise soliciting an employee to request the employer’s approval to take personal time off and make up the work hours within the same week pursuant to this section.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 134, Sec. 7. Effective January 1, 2000.)


citation: LAB § 514

text: Sections 510 and 511 do not apply to an employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of the employees, and if the agreement provides premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked and a regular hourly rate of pay for those employees of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 148, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2002.)


text:
(a) Sections 510, 511, and 512 do not apply to a person who is covered by a contract to play baseball at the minor league level with a labor organization that has at least 10 years of experience representing baseball players and who is compensated pursuant to the terms of a valid collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, working conditions of employees, payment for time worked during the off-season and spring training, and final and binding arbitration of disputes.

(b) (1) By three months after the effective date of this section, the Department of Industrial Relations shall amend and republish Wage Order No. 10-2001 to provide that Sections 3 to 7, inclusive, and Sections 9 to 12, inclusive, of the wage order do not apply to a person subject to this section.

(2) An amendment and republication pursuant to this section are exempt from the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), and from the procedures described in Sections 1177, 1178.5, 1181, 1182, and 1182.1.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 866, Sec. 2. (SB 332) Effective October 13, 2023.)


citation: LAB § 515

text:
(a) The Industrial Welfare Commission may establish exemptions from the requirement that an overtime rate of compensation be paid pursuant to Sections 510 and 511 for executive, administrative, and professional employees, if the employee is primarily engaged in the duties that meet the test of the exemption, customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment in performing those duties, and earns a monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for full-time employment. The commission shall conduct a review of the duties that meet the test of the exemption. The commission may, based upon this review, convene a public hearing to adopt or modify regulations at that hearing pertaining to duties that meet the test of the exemption without convening wage boards. Any hearing conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be concluded not later than July 1, 2000.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section and in subdivision (g) of Section 511, nothing in this section requires the commission to alter an exemption from provisions regulating hours of work that was contained in a valid wage order in effect in 1997. Except as otherwise provided in this division, the commission may review, retain, or eliminate an exemption from provisions regulating hours of work that was contained in a valid wage order in effect in 1997.

(c) For the purposes of subdivision (a), “full-time employment” means employment in which an employee is employed for 40 hours per week.

(d) (1) For the purpose of computing the overtime rate of compensation required to be paid to a nonexempt full-time salaried employee, the employee’s regular hourly rate shall be140th of the employee’s weekly salary.

(2) Payment of a fixed salary to a nonexempt employee shall be deemed to provide compensation only for the employee’s regular, nonovertime hours, notwithstanding any private agreement to the contrary.

(e) For the purposes of this section, “primarily” means more than one-half of the employee’s worktime.

(f) (1) In addition to the requirements of subdivision (a), a registered nurse employed to engage in the practice of nursing shall not be exempted from coverage under the orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, unless he or she individually meets the criteria for exemptions established for executive or administrative employees.

(2) This subdivision does not apply to any of the following:

(A) A certified nurse midwife who is primarily engaged in performing duties for which certification is required pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 2746) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

(B) A certified nurse anesthetist who is primarily engaged in performing duties for which certification is required pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 2825) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

(C) A certified nurse practitioner who is primarily engaged in performing duties for which certification is required pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 2834) of Chapter 6 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

(D) Nothing in this paragraph shall exempt the occupations set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) from meeting the requirements of subdivision (a).

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 820, Sec. 2. (AB 2103) Effective January 1, 2013.)


text:
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), an employee in the computer software field shall be exempt from the requirement that an overtime rate of compensation be paid pursuant to Section 510 if all of the following apply:

(1) The employee is primarily engaged in work that is intellectual or creative and that requires the exercise of discretion and independent judgment.

(2) The employee is primarily engaged in duties that consist of one or more of the following:

(A) The application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications.

(B) The design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing, or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to user or system design specifications.

(C) The documentation, testing, creation, or modification of computer programs related to the design of software or hardware for computer operating systems.

(3) The employee is highly skilled and is proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, or software engineering. A job title shall not be determinative of the applicability of this exemption.

(4) The employee’s hourly rate of pay is not less than thirty-six dollars ($36.00) or, if the employee is paid on a salaried basis, the employee earns an annual salary of not less than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for full-time employment, which is paid at least once a month and in a monthly amount of not less than six thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($6,250). The department shall adjust both the hourly pay rate and the salary level described in this paragraph on October 1 of each year to be effective on January 1 of the following year by an amount equal to the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

(b) The exemption provided in subdivision (a) does not apply to an employee if any of the following apply:

(1) The employee is a trainee or employee in an entry-level position who is learning to become proficient in the theoretical and practical application of highly specialized information to computer systems analysis, programming, and software engineering.

(2) The employee is in a computer-related occupation but has not attained the level of skill and expertise necessary to work independently and without close supervision.

(3) The employee is engaged in the operation of computers or in the manufacture, repair, or maintenance of computer hardware and related equipment.

(4) The employee is an engineer, drafter, machinist, or other professional whose work is highly dependent upon or facilitated by the use of computers and computer software programs and who is skilled in computer-aided design software, including CAD/CAM, but who is not engaged in computer systems analysis, programming, or any other similarly skilled computer-related occupation.

(5) The employee is a writer engaged in writing material, including box labels, product descriptions, documentation, promotional material, setup and installation instructions, and other similar written information, either for print or for onscreen media or who writes or provides content material intended to be read by customers, subscribers, or visitors to computer-related media such as the World Wide Web or CD-ROMs.

(6) The employee is engaged in any of the activities set forth in subdivision (a) for the purpose of creating imagery for effects used in the motion picture, television, or theatrical industry.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 89. (SB 1038) Effective June 27, 2012.)


text:
(a) Section 510 shall not apply to any employee who is a licensed physician or surgeon, who is primarily engaged in duties that require licensure pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, and whose hourly rate of pay is equal to or greater than fifty-five dollars ($55.00). The department shall adjust this threshold rate of pay each October 1, to be effective the following January 1, by an amount equal to the percentage increase in the California Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

(b) The exemption provided in subdivision (a) shall not apply to an employee employed in a medical internship or resident program or to a physician employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement pursuant to Section 514.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 90. (SB 1038) Effective June 27, 2012.)


text:
(a) If an employee is employed to provide instruction for a course or laboratory at an independent institution of higher education, the employee shall be classified as employed in a professional capacity under Wage Order No. 4-2001 of the Industrial Welfare Commission, or under Wage Order No. 5-2001 of the Industrial Welfare Commission, and shall be exempt from paragraphs (2), (3), and (9) of subdivision (a) of Section 226, and Sections 510 and 512, when all of the following apply:

(1) The employee is employed in a professional capacity. For the purpose of this section, an employee shall be considered to be employed in a professional capacity under Wage Order No. 4-2001 or Wage Order No. 5-2001, notwithstanding clauses (a) and (d) of subparagraph (3) of paragraph (A) of Section 1 of Wage Order 4 and clauses (a) and (d) of subparagraph (3) of paragraph (B) of Section 1 of Wage Order 5, if:

(A) The employee is primarily engaged in an occupation commonly recognized as a learned or artistic profession; and

(B) The employee customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment in the performance of duties set forth in subparagraph (A).

(C) For the purposes of this paragraph, “learned or artistic profession” means an employee who is primarily engaged in the performance of:

(i) Work requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field or science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study, as distinguished from a general academic education and from an apprenticeship, and from training in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes, or work that is an essential part of or necessarily incident to any of the above work; or

(ii) Work that is original and creative in character in a recognized field of artistic endeavor, as opposed to work which can be produced by a person endowed with general manual or intellectual ability and training, and the result of which depends primarily on the invention, imagination, or talent of the employee or work that is an essential part of or necessarily incident to any of the above work; and

(iii) Whose work is predominantly intellectual and varied in character, as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work, and is of such character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time.

(2) The employee is paid on a salary basis, as defined by Section 541.602 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and receives one of the following minimum compensations:

(A) A monthly salary equivalent to no less than two times the state minimum wage for employment in which the employee is employed for at least 40 hours per week.

(B) When employed per course or laboratory, a salary for a course or laboratory that is calculated on the basis of classroom hours as set forth in subdivision (b).

(C) When employed under a collective bargaining agreement, payment pursuant to that collective bargaining agreement, if the classification of employment in a professional capacity is expressly included in the collective bargaining agreement in clear and unambiguous terms. The requirements of Section 514 that mandate provisions of a collective bargaining agreement shall not apply.

(b) The minimum salary required by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall be calculated using classroom hours as follows:

(1) The minimum payment that is calculated using classroom hours shall encompass payment for all classroom or laboratory time, preparation, grading, office hours, and other course- or laboratory-related work for that course or laboratory and no separate payment shall be required. The following minimum rates shall be used in this calculation:

(A) For each classroom hour in 2020: one hundred seventeen dollars ($117).

(B) For each classroom hour in 2021: one hundred twenty-six dollars ($126).

(C) For each classroom hour in 2022: one hundred thirty-five dollars ($135).

(D) For each classroom hour in 2023 and each year thereafter: a percentage increase to the rate described in subparagraph (C) that is equal to the percentage increase to the state minimum wage calculated in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 1182.12.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a laboratory, art studio course, clinical course, or other nonlecture course has more classroom hours than a lecture-based course with the same number of units at the institution, the minimum salary required by subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) for the laboratory, art studio course, clinical course, or other nonlecture course shall be that of the lecture-based course with the same number of units.

(3) The minimum rate of pay for per course or laboratory compensation is for course-related work only. Employees shall be compensated separately for other non-course-related work on behalf of the employer, which shall not affect the employee’s classification as an exempt employee.

(c) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Classroom hour” means the time spent in the primary forum of the course or laboratory, regardless of whether the forum is inperson or virtual.

(2) “Independent institution of higher education” means a nonpublic, higher education institution that grants undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, or both, and that is formed as a nonprofit corporation before January 1, 2023, and is accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 158, Sec. 1. (AB 3105) Effective January 1, 2025.)


text:
(a) Section 510 does not apply to an individual employed as a teacher at a private elementary or secondary academic institution in which pupils are enrolled in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.

(b) For purposes of this section, “employed as a teacher” means that the employee meets all of the following requirements:

(1) The employee is primarily engaged in the duty of imparting knowledge to pupils by teaching, instructing, or lecturing.

(2) The employee customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment in performing the duties of a teacher.

(3) On and after July 1, 2017, the employee earns the following amount:

(A) For a full-time employee, the greater of the following:

(i) No less than 100 percent of the lowest salary offered by any school district to a person who is in a position that requires the person to have a valid California teaching credential and is not employed in that position pursuant to an emergency permit, intern permit, or waiver.

(ii) The equivalent of no less than 70 percent of the lowest schedule salary offered by the school district or the county office of education in which the private elementary or secondary academic institution is located to a person who is in a position that requires the person to have a valid California teaching credential and is not employed in that position pursuant to an emergency permit, intern permit, or waiver.

(B) For a part-time employee, the proportional amount of the salary identified in subparagraph (A) that is equal to the proportion of the full-time instructional schedule for which the part-time employee is employed.

(4) The employee has attained at least one of the following levels of professional advancement:

(A) A baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited institution of higher education.

(B) Current compliance with the requirements established by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, or the equivalent certification authority in another state, for obtaining a preliminary or alternative teaching credential.

(c) When budgeting for a future school year, a private elementary or secondary academic institution may determine the salary requirements in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) by referring to school salary schedules in effect for up to 12 months prior to the start of the school year.

(d) This section does not apply to any tutor, teaching assistant, instructional aide, student teacher, day care provider, vocational instructor, or other similar employee.

(e) The exemption established in subdivision (a) is in addition to, and does not limit or supersede, any exemption from overtime established by a Wage Order of the Industrial Welfare Commission for persons employed in a professional capacity, and does not affect any exemption from overtime established by that commission pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 515 for persons employed in an executive or administrative capacity.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 99, Sec. 1. (SB 621) Effective January 1, 2018.)


citation: LAB § 516

text:
(a) Except as provided in Section 512, the Industrial Welfare Commission may adopt or amend working condition orders with respect to break periods, meal periods, and days of rest for any workers in California consistent with the health and welfare of those workers.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), or any other law, including Section 512, the health care employee meal period waiver provisions in Section 11(D) of Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders 4 and 5 were valid and enforceable on and after October 1, 2000, and continue to be valid and enforceable. This subdivision is declarative of, and clarifies, existing law.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 506, Sec. 2. (SB 327) Effective October 5, 2015.)


citation: LAB § 517

text:
(a) The Industrial Welfare Commission shall, at a public hearing to be concluded by July 1, 2000, adopt wage, hours, and working conditions orders consistent with this chapter without convening wage boards, which orders shall be final and conclusive for all purposes. These orders shall include regulations necessary to provide assurances of fairness regarding the conduct of employee workweek elections, procedures for employees to petition for and obtain elections to repeal alternative workweek schedules, procedures for implementation of those schedules, conditions under which an adopted alternative workweek schedule can be repealed by the employer, employee disclosures, designations of work, and processing of workweek election petitions pursuant to Parts 2 and 4 of this division and in any wage order of the commission and such other regulations as may be needed to fulfill the duties of the commission pursuant to this part.

(b) Prior to July 1, 2000, the Industrial Welfare Commission shall conduct a review of wages, hours, and working conditions in the ski industry, commercial fishing industry, and health care industry, and for stable employees in the horseracing industry. Notwithstanding subdivision (a) and Sections 510 and 511, and consistent with its duty to protect the health, safety, and welfare of workers pursuant to Section 1173, the commission may, based upon this review, convene a public hearing to adopt or modify regulations at that hearing pertaining to the industries herein, without convening wage boards. Any hearing conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be concluded not later than July 1, 2000.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 515, prior to July 1, 2000, the commission shall conduct a review of wages, hours, and working conditions of licensed pharmacists. The commission may, based upon this review, convene a public hearing to adopt or modify regulations at that hearing pertaining to licensed pharmacists without convening wage boards. Any hearing conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be concluded not later than July 1, 2000.

(d) Notwithstanding sections 1171 and subdivision (a) of Section 515, the Industrial Welfare Commission shall conduct a review of wages, hours, and working conditions of outside salespersons. The commission may, based upon this review, convene a public hearing to adopt or modify regulations at that hearing pertaining to outside salespersons without convening wage boards. Any hearing conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be concluded not later than July 1, 2000.

(e) Nothing in this section is intended to restrict the Industrial Welfare Commission in its continuing duties pursuant to Section 1173.

(f) No action taken by the Industrial Welfare Commission pursuant to this section is subject to the requirements of Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346) of Chapter 3.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(g) All wage orders and other regulations issued or adopted pursuant to this section shall be published in accordance with Section 1182.1.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 134, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2000.)


citation: LAB § 550

text: As used in this chapter “day’s rest” applies to all situations whether the employee is engaged by the day, week, month, or year, and whether the work performed is done in the day or night time.

history: (History: Enacted by Stats. 1937, Ch. 90.)


citation: LAB § 551

text: Every person employed in any occupation of labor is entitled to one day’s rest therefrom in seven.


citation: LAB § 552

text: No employer of labor shall cause his employees to work more than six days in seven.


citation: LAB § 553

text: Any person who violates this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor.


citation: LAB § 554

text:
(a) Sections 551 and 552 do not apply to cases of emergency or to work performed in the protection of life or property from loss or destruction, or to any common carrier engaged in or connected with the movement of trains. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent an accumulation of days of rest when the nature of the employment reasonably requires that the employee work seven or more consecutive days, if in each calendar month the employee receives days of rest equivalent to one day’s rest in seven. The requirement respecting the equivalent of one day’s rest in seven shall apply, notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter relating to collective bargaining agreements, where the employer and a labor organization representing employees of the employer have entered into a valid collective bargaining agreement respecting the hours of work of the employees, unless the agreement expressly provides otherwise.

(b) In addition to the exceptions specified in subdivision (a), the Chief of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement may, when in his or her judgment hardship will result, exempt any employer or employees from the provisions of Sections 551 and 552.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 313, Sec. 1. (AB 1066) Effective January 1, 2017.)


citation: LAB § 555

text: Sections 550, 551, 552 and 554 of this chapter are applicable to cities which are cities and counties and to the officers and employees thereof.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1955, Ch. 624.)


citation: LAB § 556

text: Sections 551 and 552 shall not apply to any employer or employee when the total hours of employment do not exceed 30 hours in any week or six hours in any one day thereof.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 134, Sec. 13. Effective January 1, 2000.)


citation: LAB § 558

text:
(a) Any employer or other person acting on behalf of an employer who violates, or causes to be violated, a section of this chapter or any provision regulating hours and days of work in any order of the Industrial Welfare Commission shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows:

(1) For any initial violation, fifty dollars ($50) for each underpaid employee for each pay period for which the employee was underpaid in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages.

(2) For each subsequent violation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each underpaid employee for each pay period for which the employee was underpaid in addition to an amount sufficient to recover underpaid wages.

(3) Wages recovered pursuant to this section shall be paid to the affected employee.

(b) If upon inspection or investigation the Labor Commissioner determines that a person had paid or caused to be paid a wage for overtime work in violation of any provision of this chapter, any provision regulating hours and days of work in any order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, or any applicable local overtime law, the Labor Commissioner may issue a citation. The procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations or civil penalties issued by the Labor Commissioner for a violation of this chapter shall be the same as those set out in Section 1197.1.

(c) In a jurisdiction where a local entity has the legal authority to issue a citation against an employer for a violation of any applicable local overtime law, the Labor Commissioner, pursuant to a request from the local entity, may issue a citation against an employer for a violation of any applicable local overtime law if the local entity has not cited the employer for the same violation. If the Labor Commissioner issues a citation, the local entity shall not cite the employer for the same violation.

(d) The civil penalties provided for in this section are in addition to any other civil or criminal penalty provided by law.

(e) This section does not change the applicability of local overtime wage laws to any entity.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 783, Sec. 1. (AB 970) Effective January 1, 2016.)


text:
(a) Any employer or other person acting on behalf of an employer, who violates, or causes to be violated, any provision regulating minimum wages or hours and days of work in any order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, or violates, or causes to be violated, Sections 203, 226, 226.7, 1193.6, 1194, or 2802, may be held liable as the employer for such violation.

(b) For purposes of this section, the term “other person acting on behalf of an employer” is limited to a natural person who is an owner, director, officer, or managing agent of the employer, and the term “managing agent” has the same meaning as in subdivision (b) of Section 3294 of the Civil Code.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the definition of employer under existing law.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 803, Sec. 10. (SB 588) Effective January 1, 2016.)


citation: LAB § 600

text:
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates:

(a) “Railroad” means any steam railroad, electric railroad, or railway, operated in whole or in part in this State.

(b) “Railroad corporation” means a corporation or receiver operating a railroad.

(c) “Trainman” means a conductor, motorman, engineer, fireman, brakeman, train dispatcher, or telegraph operator, employed by or working in connection with a railroad.

chapter: 2. Railroads

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 2. Railroads


citation: LAB § 601

text: No railroad corporation or any officer, agent or representative of such corporation shall require or knowingly permit any trainman to be on duty for a longer period than 12 consecutive hours.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 896, Sec. 1.)


citation: LAB § 602

text: Whenever any trainman has been continuously on duty for 12 hours he shall be relieved and not required or permitted again to go on duty or perform any work for the railroad corporation until he has had at least 10 consecutive hours off duty.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 896, Sec. 2.)


citation: LAB § 603

text: No trainman who has been on duty 12 hours in the aggregate in any 24-hour period shall be required or permitted to continue or again go on duty without having had at least 8 consecutive hours off duty.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 896, Sec. 3.)


citation: LAB § 604

text: No person who by the use of the telegraph or telephone, dispatches, reports, transmits, receives or delivers orders pertaining to or affecting train movements shall be required or permitted to be on duty for a longer period than nine hours in any twenty-four hours, in towers, offices, places and stations continuously operated night and day, nor for a longer period than thirteen hours in towers, offices, places and stations operated only during the daytime. In case of emergency, however, the persons referred to in this section may be permitted to be on duty for four additional hours in a twenty-four hour period. Such additional duty shall not be required or permitted on more than three days in any week.


citation: LAB § 605

text: Any railroad corporation that violates any of the provisions of this chapter is liable to the state in a penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each offense. The penalty shall be recovered and suit therefor shall be brought in the name of the state in a court of competent jurisdiction in any county into or through which said railroad may pass. The suit may be brought either by the Attorney General of the state or under his or her direction by the district attorney of any county in the state into or through which said railroad passes.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 329, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 2004.)


citation: LAB § 606

text: Any officer, agent or representative of any railroad corporation who violates any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense, or confinement in the county jail for not less than 10 nor more than 60 days, or both. Such person so offending may be prosecuted under this section, either in the county where he is at the time of commission of the offense, or in any county where such employee has been permitted or required to work in violation of this chapter.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1092, Sec. 193. Effective September 27, 1983. Operative January 1, 1984, by Sec. 427 of Ch. 1092.)


citation: LAB § 607

text: This chapter shall not apply in any case of casualty, unavoidable accident, or act of God; nor where the delay was the result of a cause not known to, and which could not have been foreseen by, the railroad corporation, or its officer or agent in charge of a trainman at the time the trainman left a terminal. This chapter shall not apply to the crews of wrecking, or relief trains.


citation: LAB § 750

text:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no employee may be employed for a period that exceeds eight hours within any 24-hour period and the hours of employment of any workday shall be consecutive, excluding intermissions for meals, for all persons who are employed or engaged in work in any of the following:

(1) Underground mines.

(2) Smelters and plants for the reduction or refining of ores or metals.

(b) No provision of this chapter applies to quarries or other operations for the extraction of nonmetallic minerals, including, but not limited to, sand, gravel, and rock.

(c) No provision of this chapter applies to an employee who is employed in an executive, administrative, or professional capacity, or employed as an outside salesperson.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 903, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1996.)

chapter: 3. Smelters and Underground Workings

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 3. Smelters and Underground Workings


text:
Notwithstanding Section 750, an employee may be employed for a period that exceeds eight hours within a 24-hour period, under the circumstances specified in subdivision (a), (b), or (c), as follows:

(a) If the employer and a labor organization representing employees of the employer have entered into a valid collective bargaining agreement that expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of the employees.

(b) If a two-thirds majority of the affected employees of that employer whose hours are regulated by this chapter have voted in an election to adopt a policy that specifies periods of work that may exceed eight hours in a 24-hour period, and the employer adopts that policy, subject to all of the following conditions:

(1) The agreement adopted with respect to that policy reflects the results of the election.

(2) The election is conducted, at the expense of the employer, with the use of secret ballots, during regular working hours. Upon the written request of an employee to his or her employer, or to the Labor Commissioner, made no later than 10 days prior to the date set for the election, the employer shall cause the election to be conducted by a neutral third party with experience in conducting employee elections. If such a written request is made to the commissioner pursuant to this paragraph, the commissioner shall not disclose the identity of the employee and shall notify the employer, no later than five days prior to the date set for the election, that the election is required to be conducted by a neutral third party. Such an election may be conducted by utilizing mail ballots.

(3) All employees of that employer whose hours are regulated by this chapter and who have become employed by that employer within 24 hours of the time the election is commenced are eligible to vote in the election.

(4) The policy shall be effective for the period specified therein, not exceeding 12 months.

(5) No later than 14 days prior to the date set for an election, the employer shall do all of the following:

(A) Provide a written notice to the affected employees that describes the effects the proposed work schedule would have on the employees’ wages, hours, and benefits, and the employees’ rights under this chapter, including the right to request that the election be conducted by a neutral third party pursuant to this section, and to file a complaint against the employer pursuant to this chapter.

(B) Provide a written statement to the affected employees, prepared by a neutral source knowledgeable in health and safety matters and unaffiliated with the employer, that explains any health and safety considerations of extended work shifts.

(C) Hold informational meetings for the affected employees on each shift during the regular working hours of the affected employees. At each of these meetings, the employer shall explain the effect of the proposed policy on the hours and compensation of the employees. Written notice of the time, date, place, and purpose of these informational meetings shall be conspicuously posted in at least three locations throughout the mine site for at least seven consecutive days before the date of the meetings. Written notice of the time, date, place, and purpose of the election shall be posted in the same manner and for the same period. Failure to comply with the procedural requirements of this paragraph shall void the results of the election for purposes of this section.

(6) Any employer that establishes a regular scheduled workday pursuant to this subdivision shall make a reasonable attempt to place an employee, who was eligible to participate in the election that authorized an extended workday schedule and who is unable or unwilling to work the extended schedule, in an alternative work assignment that the employee is capable of performing. An employer shall not be required to offer an alternative work assignment to an employee if an alternative work assignment that the employee is capable of performing is not available or if the employee commenced his or her employment after the election.

(c) On the day a scheduled change of shift takes effect.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 903, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1996.)


citation: LAB § 751

text: In the case of an emergency where life or property is in imminent danger, the work shift may be extended during the continuance of the emergency.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 903, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 1996.)


text: Where emergency repairs to, or maintenance or replacement of, machinery or equipment are necessary for the continuous operation thereof, the hours that an employee may be engaged in performing the emergency repairs, maintenance, or replacement, may, during the pendency of the emergency, exceed the period specified in Section 750.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 903, Sec. 4. Effective January 1, 1996.)


text:
(a) Notwithstanding Section 750, the period of employment may exceed eight hours in any 24-hour period if the employee is paid at the overtime rate of pay for hours worked in excess of that employee’s regularly scheduled shift and for hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a seven-day period. Unless regularly scheduled shifts are established pursuant to Section 750.5, overtime rates of pay shall be paid for all hours worked in excess of those hours prescribed by Section 750 as the maximum allowable hours of employment.

(b) All work performed in any workday in excess of the scheduled hours established by an agreement pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 750.5 up to and including 12 hours, or in excess of 40 hours in a workweek, shall be compensated at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of compensation. All work performed in any workday in excess of 12 hours shall be compensated at double the employee’s regular rate of compensation. No hours that are compensated at either one and one-half times, or double, the regular rate of compensation shall be included in determining the number of hours an employee has worked in a workweek for purposes of computing premium compensation.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 903, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 1996.)


citation: LAB § 752

text:
(a) Any affected employee, or his or her representative, may file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner concerning the conduct of an election pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 750.5 within 14 days following notice of the outcome of the election. The Labor Commissioner shall investigate the complaint and shall invalidate the election if the commissioner finds that misconduct has occurred that could have affected the outcome of the election. If the election is invalidated, the commissioner shall prohibit the employer from conducting a similar election for a period of 12 months.

(b) Any employer, or representative of an employer, that violates Section 750 or 751.8 shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows:

(1) For any initial violation that is intentionally committed, one hundred dollars ($100) for each affected employee for each violation for each pay period.

(2) For each subsequent violation for the same offense, two hundred dollars ($200) for each violation for each affected employee for each pay period, regardless of whether the initial violation is intentionally committed.

(c) If the Labor Commissioner determines that an employer has failed to comply with paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section 750.5, the Labor Commissioner shall order the employer to comply. The order, in appropriate cases, shall include provisions for reinstatement and backpay.

(d) An employer shall not retaliate in any way against an employee for exercising any right pursuant to this chapter.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 329, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2004.)


text: The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any provision of this chapter or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 903, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 1996.)


citation: LAB § 800

text: Every person operating a sawmill, shakemill, shinglemill, logging camp, planing mill, veneer mill, plywood plant or any other type of plant or mill which processes or manufactures any lumber, lumber products or allied wood products, in this State shall allow his employees a period of not less than one-half hour for the midday meal, between the third and fifth hours of each day’s shift after the start thereof.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1959, Ch. 717.)

chapter: 4. Lumber Industries

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 4. Lumber Industries


citation: LAB § 801

text: Any person, or agent or officer thereof who violates any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than four hundred dollars ($400).

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1092, Sec. 195. Effective September 27, 1983. Operative January 1, 1984, by Sec. 427 of Ch. 1092.)


citation: LAB § 850

text: No person employed to sell at retail drugs and medicines or to compound physicians’ prescriptions shall perform any work in any store, dispensary, pharmacy, laboratory, or office for more than an average of nine hours per day, or for more than 108 hours in any two consecutive weeks or for more than 12 days in any two consecutive weeks, except that any registered pharmacist may be so employed and may perform such work for the full period of time permitted by this section.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1955, Ch. 435.)

chapter: 5. Pharmacies

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 5. Pharmacies


citation: LAB § 851

text: No person employing another person to sell at retail drugs and medicines or to compound physicians’ prescriptions shall require or permit such employee to perform any work in any store, dispensary, pharmacy, laboratory, or office for more than an average of nine hours per day, or for more than 108 hours in any two consecutive weeks or for more than 12 days in any two consecutive weeks, except that any registered pharmacist may be so employed and may perform such work for the full period of time permitted by this section.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1955, Ch. 436.)


text: Except on Sundays and holidays, and except for a period of time for meals, not to exceed one hour in length, the hours of work permitted per day by this chapter shall be consecutive. This section does not apply to hospitals employing only one person to compound physicians’ prescriptions.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 1939, Ch. 567.)


citation: LAB § 852

text: The employer shall apportion the periods of rest to be taken by an employee so that the employee will have one complete day of rest during each week.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1939, Ch. 567.)


citation: LAB § 853

text: Any person who violates any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than forty dollars ($40) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment for not exceeding 60 days, or both.

history: (History: Amended by Stats. 1983, Ch. 1092, Sec. 196. Effective September 27, 1983. Operative January 1, 1984, by Sec. 427 of Ch. 1092.)


citation: LAB § 854

text: The provisions of this chapter shall not apply in any case of emergency. The word “emergency” shall be construed as being accident, death, sickness or epidemic.

history: (History: Enacted by Stats. 1937, Ch. 90.)


citation: LAB § 855

text: The provisions of this chapter are enacted as a measure for the protection of the public health.


citation: LAB § 856

text: The Labor Commissioner shall enforce this chapter.


citation: LAB § 857

text: This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Phase-In Overtime for Agricultural Workers Act of 2016.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 313, Sec. 2. (AB 1066) Effective January 1, 2017.)

chapter: 6. Agriculture

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 6. Agriculture


citation: LAB § 858

text:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Agricultural employees engage in back-breaking work every day.

(b) Few occupations in today’s America are as physically demanding and exhausting as agricultural work.

(c) In 1938, the United States Congress enacted the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 201 et seq.), which excluded agricultural workers from wage protections and overtime compensation requirements.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact the Phase-In Overtime for Agricultural Workers Act of 2016 to provide any person employed in an agricultural occupation in California, as defined in Order No. 14-2001 of the Industrial Welfare Commission (revised 07-2014) with an opportunity to earn overtime compensation under the same standards as millions of other Californians.


citation: LAB § 859

text: For purposes of this chapter, “employed in an agricultural occupation” has the same meaning as in Order No.14-2001 of the Industrial Welfare Commission (revised 07-2014).


citation: LAB § 860

text:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 500):

(a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2019, except as provided in paragraph (2), any person employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be employed more than nine and one-half hours in any one workday or work in excess of 55 hours in any one workweek, unless the employee receives one and one-half times that employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over nine and one-half hours in any workday or over 55 hours in any workweek.

(2) This subdivision shall apply to an employer who employs 25 or fewer employees commencing January 1, 2022.

(b) (1) Commencing January 1, 2020, except as provided in paragraph (2), any person employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be employed more than nine hours in any one workday or work in excess of 50 hours in any one workweek, unless the employee receives one and one-half times that employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over nine hours in any workday or over 50 hours in any workweek.

(2) This subdivision shall apply to an employer who employs 25 or fewer employees commencing January 1, 2023.

(c) (1) Commencing January 1, 2021, except as provided in paragraph (2), any person employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be employed more than eight and one-half hours in any one workday or work in excess of 45 hours in any one workweek, unless the employee receives one and one-half times that employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight and one-half hours in any workday or over 45 hours in any workweek.

(2) This subdivision shall apply to an employer who employs 25 or fewer employees commencing January 1, 2024.

(d) (1) Commencing January 1, 2022, except as provided in paragraph (2), any person employed in an agricultural occupation shall not be employed more than eight hours in any one workday or work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek, unless the employee receives one and one-half times that employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight hours in any workday or over 40 hours in any workweek.

(2) This subdivision shall apply to an employer who employs 25 or fewer employees commencing January 1, 2025.


citation: LAB § 861

text: Except as set forth in Section 860 and subdivision (a) of Section 862, all other provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 500) regarding compensation for overtime work shall apply to workers in an agricultural occupation commencing January 1, 2017.


citation: LAB § 862

text:
(a) Beginning January 1, 2022, except as provided in subdivision (c), and consistent with Section 510, any work performed by a person, employed in an agricultural occupation, in excess of 12 hours in one day shall be compensated at the rate of no less than twice the employee’s regular rate of pay.

(b) Consistent with Section 861, notwithstanding subdivision (a) or Section 863, the other provisions of Section 510 shall be applicable to workers in an agricultural occupation commencing January 1, 2019.

(c) Subdivision (a) shall apply to an employer who employs 25 or fewer employees commencing January 1, 2025.


citation: LAB § 863

text:
(a) Notwithstanding Section 860 or 862, the Governor may temporarily suspend scheduled phase in of the overtime requirements set forth in Section 860, or subdivision (a) of Section 862 only if the Governor suspends scheduled minimum wage increases pursuant to clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of, and subparagraph (B) of, paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 1182.12.

(b) If the Governor makes a final determination to temporarily suspend scheduled phase in of the overtime requirements set forth in Section 860 or subdivision (a) of Section 862 for the following year, all implementation dates applicable to Section 860 and subdivision (a) of Section 862 that are suspended subsequent to the September 1 final determination date, consistent with clause (i) of subparagraph (A) of, and subparagraph (B) of, paragraph (3) of subdivision (d) of Section 1182.12, shall be postponed by an additional year, but the full implementation of the overtime requirements set forth in Section 860 or subdivision (a) of Section 862 shall in no event be later than January 1, 2022. The Governor’s temporary suspension under this section shall be by proclamation.

(c) The Governor’s authority to suspend the scheduled overtime requirements under this section shall end upon the phase in of the overtime requirements contained in subdivision (d) of Section 860, the phase in of the overtime requirements contained in subdivision (c) of Section 862, or January 1, 2025, whichever occurs first.


citation: LAB § 864

text: The Department of Industrial Relations shall update Wage Order No. 14-2001 to be consistent with this chapter, except that any existing provision in Wage Order 14-2001 providing greater protections or benefits to agricultural employees shall continue in full force and effect, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter.


citation: LAB § 880

text: This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Emergency Ambulance Employee Safety and Preparedness Act.

history: (History: Added November 6, 2018, by initiative Proposition 11, Sec. 1. Effective December 19, 2018.)

chapter: 7. Emergency Ambulance Services

article: 1. Title

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 7. Emergency Ambulance Services > 1. Title


citation: LAB § 881

text:
The people of the State of California find and declare the following:

(a) California has the nation’s largest population, third largest landmass, and is prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, wildfires, and floods. These circumstances demand a well-trained emergency ambulance workforce.

(b) In California, private companies provide the primary emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic services for 74 percent of state residents. Unfortunately, catastrophes like natural disasters, active shooters, and mass casualty incidents occur far too frequently throughout the state and nation. Like all other first responders, emergency ambulance employees such as EMTs and paramedics must be adequately trained and available to respond to all types of crises and pleas for help.

(c) Private companies that employ emergency ambulance employees such as EMTs and paramedics should be required to provide compensated yearly training to prepare them to handle active shooter and mass casualty incidents, in addition to natural disasters.

(d) It takes a special type of person to be an emergency ambulance employee like an EMT or paramedic dedicated to serve, protect, and provide lifesaving services for their fellow neighbors around the clock. Emergency ambulance employees such as EMTs and paramedics often witness traumatic events. Employers should provide mental health services to emergency ambulance employees.

(e) Emergency ambulance employees such as EMTs and paramedics work hard and can be called into action at any time during their work shift to provide lifesaving care. Therefore, it is important that they receive adequate meal and rest time to remain at their peak performance.

article: 2. Findings and Declarations

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 7. Emergency Ambulance Services > 2. Findings and Declarations


citation: LAB § 882

text: The purpose of the Emergency Ambulance Employee Safety and Preparedness Act is to enhance public health and safety by ensuring that emergency ambulance employees such as EMTs and paramedics receive adequate training, meal and rest time, and mental health benefits and are available to respond to 911 emergency-type requests for medical assistance at all times.

article: 3. Statement of Purpose

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 7. Emergency Ambulance Services > 3. Statement of Purpose


citation: LAB § 883

text:
Training.

(a) In addition to other minimum employment qualifications and certifications, every emergency ambulance employee shall annually receive employer-paid training in each of the following areas:

(1) Responding to active shooter and mass casualty incidents.

(2) Responding to natural disasters.

(3) Preventing violence against emergency ambulance employees and patients.

(b) The training required by subdivision (a) shall be provided free of charge to emergency ambulance employees. Emergency ambulance employees shall be compensated at their regular hourly rate of pay while participating in training required by subdivision (a).

(c) The training required to be provided pursuant to this section shall be generally comparable in content, scope, and quality to courses offered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Management Institute or National Training and Education Division, or both.

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 7. Emergency Ambulance Services > 4. Emergency Ambulance Employee Safety and Preparedness


citation: LAB § 884

text:
Mental Health.

(a) Every emergency ambulance employee shall receive employer-paid mental health and wellness education within 30 days of being hired and shall receive employer-paid mental health and wellness education each calendar year thereafter. Mental health and wellness education shall inform emergency ambulance employees of available mental health treatments and support services and provide general information regarding common mental health illnesses.

(b) Every emergency ambulance employee shall be entitled to employer-paid mental health services through an employee assistance program (EAP). The EAP coverage shall provide up to 10 mental health treatments per issue, per calendar year.

(c) Every emergency ambulance employee that qualifies for or is eligible to receive employer-provided health insurance shall have access to health insurance plans that offer long-term mental health treatment services.

(d) For purposes of this section, “issue” means episodes of mental health conditions such as stress, depression, grief, loss, relationship struggles, substance abuse, parenting challenges, and other mental health conditions as described within the EAP.

article: 4. Emergency Ambulance Employee Safety and Preparedness


citation: LAB § 885

text:
Meal and Rest Periods.

(a) All emergency ambulance employees are hereby entitled to meal and rest periods as prescribed elsewhere by the Industrial Welfare Commission.

(b) Emergency ambulance employees shall be compensated at their regular hourly rate of pay during meal and rest periods.


citation: LAB § 886

text:
Staffing for Meal Periods.

(a) (1) An emergency ambulance provider shall not require an emergency ambulance employee to take a meal period during the first or last hour of a work shift and must allow an emergency ambulance employee to space multiple meal periods during a work shift at least two hours apart.

(2) An emergency ambulance provider shall manage staffing at levels sufficient to provide enough inactivity in a work shift for emergency ambulance employees to meet the requirements of this subdivision.

(b) Any meal period that does not comply with paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall not be counted towards the meal periods an employee is entitled to during his or her work shift.


citation: LAB § 887

text:
Communication to Protect Public Health and Safety.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary:

(a) In order to maximize protection of public health and safety, emergency ambulance employees shall remain reachable by a portable communications device throughout the entirety of each work shift.

(b) If an emergency ambulance employee is contacted during a meal or rest period, that particular meal or rest period shall not be counted towards the meal and rest periods the employee is entitled to during his or her work shift.

(c) If an emergency ambulance employee is not contacted during a meal or rest period, that particular meal or rest period shall be counted towards the meal and rest periods the employee is entitled to during his or her work shift.


citation: LAB § 888

text:
Definitions.

As used in this chapter, all of the following definitions apply:

(a) “Emergency ambulance employee” means a person who meets both of the following requirements:

(1) Is an emergency medical technician (EMT), dispatcher, paramedic, or other licensed or certified ambulance transport personnel who contributes to the delivery of ambulance services.

(2) Is employed by an emergency ambulance provider.

(b) “Emergency ambulance provider” means an employer that provides ambulance services, but not including the state, or any political subdivision thereof, in its capacity as the direct employer of a person meeting the description contained in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(c) “Contacted” means receiving a message or directive over a portable communications device that requires a response. A bare requirement to carry a portable communications device and remain reachable does not constitute being “contacted.”

(d) “Portable communications device” means a pager, radio, station alert box, intercom, cellular telephone, or other communications method.

(e) “Work shift” means designated hours of work by an emergency ambulance employee, with a designated beginning time and quitting time, including any periods for meals or rest.


citation: LAB § 889

text: Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, Sections 887 and 888 are declaratory of, and do not alter or amend, existing California law and shall apply to any and all actions pending on, or commenced after, October 25, 2017, alleging a violation of Section 11090 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations (Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Order No. 9-2001) or any amended, successor, or replacement law, regulation, or IWC order.


citation: LAB § 890

text: The Legislature may amend this chapter by a statute passed in each house of the Legislature by rollcall vote entered in the journal, four-fifths of the membership concurring, provided that the statute is consistent with, and furthers the purposes of, this chapter. No bill seeking to amend this chapter may be passed or become a statute unless the bill has been printed and distributed to the Members of the Legislature, and published on the Internet, in its final form, for at least 12 business days prior to its passage in either house of the Legislature.

article: 5. Amendment

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 7. Emergency Ambulance Services > 5. Amendment


citation: LAB § 920

text: As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, “promise” includes promise, undertaking, contract, or agreement, whether written or oral, express or implied.

chapter: 1. Contracts Against Public Policy

path: 2. EMPLOYMENT REGULATION AND SUPERVISION > 1. Contracts Against Public Policy


citation: LAB § 921

text:
Every promise made after August 21, 1933, between any employee or prospective employee and his employer, prospective employer or any other person is contrary to public policy if either party thereto promises any of the following:

(a) To join or to remain a member of a labor organization or to join or remain a member of an employer organization,

(b) Not to join or not to remain a member of a labor organization or of an employer organization,

(c) To withdraw from an employment relation in the event that he joins or remains a member of a labor organization or of an employer organization.

Such promise shall not afford any basis for the granting of legal or equitable relief by any court against a party to such promise, or against any other persons who advise, urge, or induce, without fraud or violence or threat thereof, either party thereto to act in disregard of such promise.


citation: LAB § 922

text: Any person or agent or officer thereof who coerces or compels any person to enter into an agreement, written or verbal, not to join or become a member of any labor organization, as a condition of securing employment or continuing in the employment of any such person is guilty of a misdemeanor.


citation: LAB § 923

text:
In the interpretation and application of this chapter, the public policy of this State is declared as follows:

Negotiation of terms and conditions of labor should result from voluntary agreement between employer and employees. Governmental authority has permitted and encouraged employers to organize in the corporate and other forms of capital control. In dealing with such employers, the individual unorganized worker is helpless to exercise actual liberty of contract and to protect his freedom of labor, and thereby to obtain acceptable terms and conditions of employment. Therefore it is necessary that the individual workman have full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of his own choosing, to negotiate the terms and conditions of his employment, and that he shall be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or in self-organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection.


text:
(a) (1) All of the provisions of this section shall be liberally construed to ensure that all workers in California can effectively vindicate their fundamental rights to full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, free from retaliation or intimidation by their employer.

(2) The rights described in this subdivision mean that a worker shall be allowed to engage in collective action, to organize, form, join, or assist labor organizations, and, when they choose to do so collectively through selected or designated bargaining representatives, to engage in effective and expeditious collective bargaining that results in a collective bargaining agreement addressing their terms and conditions of employment.

(3) The state and its political subdivisions shall not, directly or indirectly, deny, burden, or abridge the rights described in this subdivision except as necessary to serve a compelling state interest achieved by the least restrictive means.

(b) (1) A worker who meets the description in subparagraph (A) or (B) may petition the Public Employment Relations Board to protect and enforce the rights described in subdivision (a).

(A) The worker is employed in a position that is, or would have been, subject to the National Labor Relations Act as of January 1, 2025, but they lose coverage under the National Labor Relations Act because the National Labor Relations Act is repealed, narrowed, or its enforcement enjoined in a case involving that worker, whether through legislative, executive, or judicial action, and the worker is not otherwise covered by the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.) or by any law that subjects them to the jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Board, aside from this section, or the Agricultural Labor Relations Board.

(B) The worker is employed in a position which is or would be subject to the National Labor Relations Act as of January 1, 2025, but the National Labor Relations Board has expressly or impliedly ceded jurisdiction. The National Labor Relations Board will be deemed to have ceded jurisdiction to the states if any of the following conditions are satisfied as of January 1, 2026:

(i) For cases where a certification of the results of an election, including a certification of representative, or administrative law judge decision has been issued, or where challenges or objections to a representation election are pending before the National Labor Relations Board, when there is a lack of a quorum of the National Labor Relations Board, or when the National Labor Relations Board has lost its independence as a result of the Supreme Court finding that National Labor Relations Board members are unconstitutionally protected from removal or when the continued processing of a case is enjoined by a court due to constitutional challenges to the board’s structure or authority.

(ii) For cases where no certification or complaint or decision has been issued, when there are processing delays resulting in the worker’s case remaining pending before a regional director for more than six months without the issuance of a complaint or certification of an election, or remaining pending more than six months after a complaint has been issued without the issuance of a decision by an administrative law judge or without the issuance of a decision about the certification by the National Labor Relations Board.

(iii) For cases where a certification of the results of an election, including a certification of representative, or other reviewable order has been issued by the regional director or administrative law judge, when there are processing delays resulting in failure by the National Labor Relations Board to accept or decline review or grant special permission to appeal for more than six months following the filing of a request for review or for special permission to appeal.

(iv) For cases on review or exceptions before the National Labor Relations Board, when there are processing delays resulting in the case remaining pending for more than 12 months without the issuance of a final decision.

(2) If the Public Employment Relations Board determines that the conditions described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) no longer apply, the Public Employment Relations Board shall retain jurisdiction over pending matters and shall maintain jurisdiction from that point forward unless ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction to cede its jurisdiction.

(3) This subdivision shall not affect the rights of workers under other federal or state statutes.

(c) A worker who meets the conditions of subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) or their chosen representative may do any of the following:

(1) Petition the Public Employment Relations Board to process any representation petition previously filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

(2) Petition the Public Employment Relations Board to promptly certify an exclusive bargaining representative that has previously been certified by another state or federal agency, or that has been selected by the majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit through an election, through other legal processes recognized by the Public Employment Relations Board or the National Labor Relations Board at that time the selection is made, or through a written designation. All existing terms and conditions of employment between a certified exclusive bargaining representative and an employer shall remain in full force and effect during bargaining following certification.

(3) Petition the Public Employment Relations Board to decide unfair labor practice cases on the following timeline:

(A) As of January 1, 2026, cases involving an employer of more than 500 employees and alleging a refusal to bargain, a refusal to recognize, or a refusal to give effect to an election certification, or cases involving a unilateral withdrawal of recognition from the worker’s chosen representative by an employer of any size, and associated violations that are necessary to decide the bargaining or recognition violation. These shall be considered Category 1 cases and shall take priority over any Category 2 or 3 cases.

(B) As of July 1, 2026, cases involving an employer of any size and alleging a refusal to bargain, a refusal to recognize, or a refusal to give effect to an election certification, and associated violations that are necessary to decide the bargaining or recognition violation. These shall be considered Category 1 cases and shall take priority over any Category 2 or 3 cases.

(C) As of January 1, 2027, cases alleging that an employer has failed to bargain in good faith if the parties have been engaged in bargaining for a collective bargaining agreement for over six months without reaching agreement, and associated violations. These shall be considered Category 2 cases and shall take priority over any Category 3 cases.

(D) If the Public Employment Relations Board determines that it has insufficient resources to process all cases filed under subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), or that doing so would prevent it from meeting statutory deadlines applicable prior to July 1, 2026, the Public Employment Relations Board shall process and prioritize cases in accordance with the following before processing any Category 3 cases:

(i) Cases involving employers employing more than 500 workers affected or potentially affected by the case shall be priority 1.

(ii) Cases involving an active union organizing campaign and allegations of loss of employment shall be priority 2.

(iii) Cases involving an active union organizing campaign and allegations not involving loss of employment shall be priority 3.

(iv) Cases that have been pending before the NLRB for more than 18 months shall be priority 4.

(v) All other Category 1 or 2 cases shall be priority 5.

(E) As of January 1, 2027, all other cases not included in paragraph (A), (B), or (C) shall be considered Category 3 cases. The Public Employment Relations Board shall prioritize and process Category 3 cases, to the extent feasible, in accordance with the following:

(i) Cases involving allegations arising from an organizing campaign shall be priority 1.

(ii) Cases involving allegations of loss of employment shall be priority 2.

(iii) Cases involving allegations of retaliation for union activities or the exercise of rights under the NLRA or this section, not involving loss of employment, shall be priority 3.

(iv) Cases involving allegations of violation of Weingarten rights, failure to respond to union information requests, or unilateral changes by an employer engaging in first contract negotiation shall be priority 4.

(v) The Public Employment Relations Board may further prioritize the resolution of subcategories of cases within each of these categories, or within the group of cases not categorized above, to ensure the most efficient possible resolution of such cases and the maximum possible protection of employee rights.

(d) To pursue relief from the Public Employment Relations Board, a covered worker or their representative shall file both of the following with the Public Employment Relations Board:

(1) An unfair practice charge or petition that includes all of the following information:

(A) The charging party’s name, address, email address, and telephone number.

(B) The respondent’s name, address, email address, and telephone number.

(C) Where applicable, the original charge or petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board with all supporting documentation and evidence that was submitted to the National Labor Relations Board.

(D) All correspondence, communications, or other materials received by the charging party, or otherwise in the charging party’s possession, from the National Labor Relation’s Board regarding the original charge or petition filed with the National Labor Relation’s Board.

(2) The documentation and evidence filed with the Public Employment Relations Board shall not be served on the respondent.

(3) The Public Employment Relations Board shall hold the supporting documentation and evidence confidential and maintain it as part of its investigatory file.

(4) Documentation and evidence under paragraph (1) shall not be deemed to be public records for purposes of the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).

(e) (1) In implementing this section, the Public Employment Relations Board may do all of the following pursuant to its own procedures:

(A) Conduct elections to determine whether a majority of workers in an appropriate bargaining unit have selected an exclusive representative for purposes of collective bargaining.

(B) Promptly certify an exclusive bargaining representative by determining whether a majority of workers in an appropriate bargaining unit have selected an exclusive representative for purposes of collective bargaining, and order that an employer bargain with that exclusive bargaining representative. Selection may be demonstrated through a previous certification by another state or federal agency, or through an election, or through other legal processes recognized by the Public Employment Relations Board or the National Labor Relations Board at that time the selection is made, or through a written designation. This shall include the ability to resolve pending objections or voter eligibility challenges in an election previously pending with the National Labor Relations Board.

(C) Order that an employer bargain with an exclusive bargaining representative and otherwise decide unfair labor practices and order all appropriate action and remedies.

(D) Order than an employer submit to binding arbitration to assist the parties in finalizing their negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement if the National Labor Relations Board or the Public Employment Relations Board has certified an exclusive bargaining representative, or if an employer has voluntarily recognized the exclusive bargaining representative of a group of workers, and more than six months have passed without the parties agreeing on and executing a collective bargaining agreement.

(E) Order any appropriate remedy, including injunctive relief and penalties, necessary to effectuate this section, including if an employer refuses to comply with an order under this section.

(2) The Public Employment Relations Board may rely on its own decisions and precedent under the National Labor Relations Act, and shall do so in a manner that most expansively effectuates the rights guaranteed under this section.

(3) The Public Employment Relations Board may order all appropriate relief for a violation of this section, including civil penalties. If the Public Employment Relations Board finds that an employer has engaged in a pattern or practice of committing unfair practices, it may assess civil penalties in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per worker per violation.

(4) Any action taken by the Public Employment Relations Board pursuant to this section may be reviewed by a state appellate court of competent jurisdiction. The decision of the court enforcing an order of the Public Employment Relations Board shall be final, subject to the right to petition the California Supreme Court for review, and the pendency of a petition for review shall not, except by express order of the courts, constitute a stay of the decision. The violation of a decision under this section shall be remediable by the court as contempt thereof.

(f) (1) The Public Employment Relations Board Enforcement Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury.

(2) Any civil penalty collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Public Employment Relations Board Enforcement Fund.

(3) Moneys in the fund shall be available upon appropriation by the Legislature for the Public Employment Relations Board for purposes of administering this section.

(g) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Charging party” means the party bringing an unfair labor practice charge.

(2) “Respondent” means the party that allegedly committed the unfair labor practice.

history: (History: Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 139, Sec. 2. (AB 288) Effective January 1, 2026.)