HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The California Labor Code, more formally known as "the Labor Code", is a collection of civil law
statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...
s for the
State of California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. The code is made up of statutes which govern the general obligations and rights of persons within the
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...
of the
State of California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. The stated goal of the Department of Industrial Relations is to promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment." Although the Labor Code is dedicated to labor laws, other codifications such as the Family Code, the Insurance Code and the
Government Code A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
also contain labor laws; parallelism exists between provisions of the Labor Code and provisions of the Government Code. The Labor Code is in English. The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement maintains English and Spanish pre-recorded information phone lines that covered frequently asked topics.


California Labor Code Divisions


Division 1. Department of Industrial Relations

This Division discusses the role and parameters by which the
California Department of Industrial Relations The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) is a department of the government of the state of California which was initially created in 1927. The department is currently part of the Cabinet-level California Labor and Workforce Devel ...
operates. One of the functions of the Department is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the
wage A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', '' prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...
earners of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, to improve their
working conditions {{Short description, 1=Overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions This is a list of topics on working time and conditions. Legislation * See :Employment law Working time * See :Working time * Flextime Working conditions * Bios ...
, and to advance their opportunities for profitable
employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any o ...
.


Division 2. Employment Regulation and Supervision

This Division regulates the compensation that employees earn, what hours they work, privileges and immunities of employees, agricultural labor relations, employee's wages and working conditions, licensing of talent agencies, public works and public agencies, unemployment relief in
public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
, car washes, health and sanitary conditions in employment, industrial homework, garment manufacturing,
sheepherders A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
, and private attorneys general actions.


Division 3. Employment Relations

This Division regulates the relationship between the employer and employee, their
employment contract An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old ...
, the obligations of the employee, the inventions made by an employee, the termination of employment, and investigations of employees.


Division 4. Workers' Compensation and Insurance

Division 4 (Sections 3200 to 6002) regulates
worker's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
for employees of private employers who are injured while on the job, as well as
worker's compensation insurance Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
. The interpretation of the sections in Division 4 has been heavily litigated between employers and employees, and thus, there is a substantial body of
case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...
interpreting this Division. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in Part 4 of Division 4, California workers' compensation disputes are heard before the Workers Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB), which inherited the adjudicatory functions of the Industrial Accidents Commission. The IAC as originally created was far too small to hear all disputes directly, so it appointed referees who actually conducted hearings in its name, and then the IAC limited itself to hearing appeals from the decisions of those referees. Similarly, the WCAB today appoints workers' compensation judges who conduct hearings in its name in the hearing offices operated by the Division of Workers Compensation of the Department of Industrial Relations. The final orders of the workers' compensation judges by default become acts of the WCAB itself, unless a worker files a "petition for reconsideration" (in other words, appealing to the Board to reconsider the decision of the judge who acted on its behalf).


Division 4.5. Workers' Compensation and Insurance: State Employees Not Otherwise Covered

This Division regulates state employee's
worker's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
should they get injured while on the job and
worker's compensation insurance Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
.


Division 4.7. Retraining and Rehabilitation

This Division regulates the referral of injured state employees who may be benefited by
rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...
services and retrained for other positions in
public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...
.


Division 5. Safety and Employment

This Division regulates the conditions for a safe workplace. The Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH, also known as Cal/OSHA) obtains its legal authority from this Division. DOSH's many responsibilities include inspecting nearly all elevators in California.


History


1911

A voluntary workmen's compensation program was established in 1911. Also, a workmen's compensation section was added to the state constitution. California's first legislation on the subject of worker safety was the Workmen's Compensation, Insurance and Safety Act of 1913.


1937

The Governor, Frank Merriam approved the Labor Code on April 24, 1937, and it was in effect on August 27. Division V was based on the 1913 and 1917 statutes. The addition of section 6508 empowered the Industrial Accident Commission to protect people who worked in hazardous environment. The specific safety sections on railroads, buildings, mines and ships and vessels were added. The statute now better known under a specific judicial interpretation as the
De Havilland Law The De Havilland Law is the common name of ''De Haviland v. Warner Bros. Pictures'', a published judicial opinion interpreting California Labor Code Section 2855, a California law which prevents a court from enforcing specific performance of an e ...
was recodified from the old Civil Code into the Labor Code.


1945

The Division of Industrial Safety, one of the eight divisions within the
California Department of Industrial Relations The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) is a department of the government of the state of California which was initially created in 1927. The department is currently part of the Cabinet-level California Labor and Workforce Devel ...
, gained the administration of the "Workmen's Safety" provisions of the Labor Code. Section 6604 was added in 1949 to prohibit the discharge of employees who refused to work in hazardous environment. Section 6416 was added in 1963; employers who failed to provide a safe working environment and caused the death of an employee could be penalized by one year in county jail or by a fine of up to $5,000.


1970

The
Occupational Safety and Health Act The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is a US labor law governing the federal law of occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by P ...
passed by Congress in 1970 allowed states to develop their own plan. California submitted its plan on September 27, 1972. Later the
California Occupational Safety and Health Act California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
of 1973, Assembly Bill 150, was enacted. In 1971, the explosion of the Sylmar Tunnel raised people's attention to the effectiveness of the Labor Code. In 1972, the Tom Carrell Memorial Tunnel and Mine Safety Act was enacted. It added "tunnel and Mine Safety" to Division V of the Labor Code. On October 16, 1972, a freeway bridge in Pasadena collapsed. Hearings were held. Then AB 150 was introduced on January 23, 1973. It was filed as an emergency statute.


1975

After
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
, a friend of
Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...
, became the governor of California, three bills having different ideas on the same subjects came out: AB 1, sponsored by the
United Farm Workers The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...
; SB 308, by the
Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...
; and SB 813, by Brown. The product of debates and negotiations was the Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975, signed into law by Brown. It was California's first farm labor law.


1990

Exxon Valdez oil spill The ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989. '' Exxon Valdez'', an oil supertanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company bound for Long Beach, California struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef, w ...
happened on March 24, 1989. California Refinery and Chemical Plant Worker Safety Act of 1990 added section 7872 and 7873 to the Labor Code. On September 25, 1992, AB 2601 was signed into law. It protected gays and lesbians against employment discrimination. California was the seventh state to add sexual orientation to laws barring job discrimination.


2003

The California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) became effective in 2003, it protects a broader scope of workers comparing to Federal's WARN. The California Legislature enacted the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004 to help workers collect penalties on behalf of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Wage Theft Prevention Act of 2011 (AB 469) went into effect.


2013

Effective January 1, 2013, section 980 prohibits an employer from requesting the access to a job applicant's or an employee's social media except in limited circumstance. In 2014, minimum wage increased from $8.00 to $9.00 per hour. Domestic Worker Bill of Rights went into effect.


Industries


Amusement Rides

After the death of a teenage girl at the
Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
Fair in 1967, California legislated inspecting amusement rides in 1968. Although the original version of the bill included permanent amusement rides, the amended version did not. About 30 years later, in 1999, the Permanent Amusement Ride Safety Inspection Program was added to the Labor Code.


Computer

Exempting an employee from overtime pay in the computer software field is not too easy according to section 515.5. The hourly pay rate requirement of it is no less than $36.00. However, trainees or unskilled people can be exempted even if they meet all the requirements. Writers can be exempted. Actors who meet the requirements for the purpose of filming can be exempted.


Entertainment

While some states do not have age restrictions on actors, California requires infants to be at least 15 days old to work as actors. California Child Actor's Bill protects child performers to safeguard a portion of their earnings. Due to the restriction on tobacco, actors in
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...
smoked herbal cigarettes instead.


Garment

Assembly Bill 633 passed in 1999 added section 2673.1 which "guarantees" wages for garment workers. Labor Code 2676.5 requires every person registered as a garment manufacturer to display his or her name, address, and garment manufacturing registration number on the front entrance of his or her business. Section 2676.55, added in 2013, adds a civil penalty to it.


Restaurant

Although section 351 prohibits employers from collecting, taking or receiving any
gratuity A gratuity (often called a tip) is a sum of money customarily given by a customer to certain service sector workers such as hospitality for the service they have performed, in addition to the basic price of the service. Tips and their amount ...
that is left for an employee by a patron, tip pooling issues are judged case by case. However, more and more restaurants are adopting no-tipping policy.


Effect

A research conducted in Los Angeles reveals that 29.7 percent of the sampled L.A. workers were paid less than minimum wage during previous work week. The overtime violation rate was 15.5 percent. The meal break violation was 81.7 percent. The deductions violation rate was 45.3 percent. Twelve percent of L.A. respondents did not complain about serious problems in the workplace because they were afraid of losing their job. Study shows that half of the restaurant workers in San Francisco Chinatown received less than minimum wage. Since 2009, investigators found 89 percent of more than 1,600 cases in Southern California garment industry violate Labor Laws; its immigrant workers are unaware of their rights or are reluctant to speak up.


Citations

In 2013, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement Labor
Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
cited a janitorial service provider, restaurant owners, warehouses, public work contractors, a medical supplies provider, a landscaping company, a holiday inn, a garment maker, a hotel, adult care facilities, an assisted living provider, a garment contractor, a hospital chain. Most citations are regarding wage issues in low-wage industries. The report, "State of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement," reveals that over $3 million unpaid minimum wages assessed in 2012, more than $13 million unpaid overtime wages assessed in 2012, over $51 million in civil penalties assessed in 2012. In 2013, Cal/OSHA cited an automobile company, a chipping company, an
adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...
technology company, an engineering company. Most citations were issued after the death of workers.


Lawsuits

August 13, 2014
FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
agreed to pay a $2.1 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit about failing to provide proper meal and rest breaks. The lead plaintiff filed the lawsuit in September 2013. He was also awarded for about $7,500 for the settlement.
April 2, 2014
Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, a ...
reached a $29 million settlement of nine lawsuits. Walgreens was claimed that it failed to "provide its pharmacists and other employees with adequate breaks and meal periods, pay them overtime for mandatory security checks, pay all wages owed at termination, reimburse employees for business expenses, or provide itemized wage statements."
May 13, 2013
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
agreed to pay $3 million to resolve a class action lawsuit accusing the company of several wage and hour violations. Class Members of this class action settlement include cafe attendants, baristas and shift supervisors who worked for Starbucks' California locations between December 2, 2007 and January 2013. The suit was filed by a barista and shift supervisor in December 2008.
February 5, 2013 The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...
Co. LLC was to pay $2 million to around 1500 former and current employees to end an overtime class action. This sue was started by a safety guard in November 2011. The attorneys would get 30 percent, or $600,000.
January 11, 2012 Carwash workers won a $1 million back pay settlement from eight carwashes for overtime, minimum wage, and lack of proper compensation issues.
October 12, 2011 Premier Warehousing and Impact Logistics failed to provide proper wage statements to employees. Their fine exceeded one million dollars.
September 19, 2011
AutoZone AutoZone, Inc. is an American retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories, the largest in the United States. Founded in 1979, AutoZone has over 6,400 stores across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the US Virgin Is ...
agreed to establish a $4.5 million class action settlement concerning wage and labor violations, but it denied any wrongdoing.


Featured sections

Compared to other states, California's labor law is generally employee protective. 29.5: The Governor shall annually issue a proclamation declaring April 28 as Workers' Memorial Day.
202: Employee who gives quitting notice 72 hours in ahead should be paid at the time of leaving. For telecommuting employees, usually employers need to arrange the mailing time of the final check or discharge the employee in person.
227.3: All unused paid vacations shall be paid when an employee is terminated. Its rate is based on the final wage.
245: California becomes the second state to require paid sick leave.
511: Employers may assign an alternative work schedule which extends the non-overtime daily work time from 8 hours to 10 hours, but it needs at least two-thirds of the affected employees' approval.
1171.5: Undocumented immigrants are protected by Labor Laws (enacted in 2002).
1194: Employees cannot waive right to overtime pay.
3203: Injury and Illness Prevention Program, went into effect in 1991, requires employers to establish, implement and maintain an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
4658, 4660: These provisions of the Labor Code rely upon the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (5th Edition).


See also

*
California Codes The California Codes are 29 legal codes enacted by the California State Legislature, which together form the general statutory law of California. The official Codes are maintained by the California Office of Legislative Counsel for the Legislatur ...
*
Law of California The law of California consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law, as well as case law. The California Codes form the general statutory law, and most state agency regulations are available in the Californi ...
*
United States labor law United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees, labor unions, and employers in the United States. Labor law's basic aim is to remedy the " inequality of bargaining power" between employees and employers, especially employers "org ...
* Talent Agencies Act (California) * Berman hearing


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Labor Code Labor Code United States labor legislation Labor Code