(May 27, 2004) The California Chamber-opposed bill that proposed a bogus fix to the “sue your boss' law passed the Senate yesterday.
SB 1809 (Dunn; D-Garden Grove) claims to address litigation issues raised by the “sue your boss” law enacted last year, SB 796 (Dunn; D-Garden Grove; Chapter 906).
In reality, the bill does nothing to lessen the opportunities made possible by SB 796 for bounty hunting private attorneys to sue employers. SB 796, which went into effect at the beginning of the year, permits current and former employees to file lawsuits against a business for alleged Labor Code violations and keep a portion of any fines and penalties assessed.
The Chamber believes the provisions in SB 1809 are too vague and will provide no relief from SB 796 lawsuits.
“SB 1809 fails to solve the problem of meritless lawsuits and huge fines that SB 796 permits,” said Julianne Broyles, Chamber director of employee relations and small business. “Plaintiffs and their attorneys are already using SB 796 lawsuits to pressure employers into settlement agreements before a case ever goes before a court.”
Amendments the author made to the bill earlier provide only for very limited instances where a court would be permitted to adjust the enormous civil fines imposed by SB 796 due to the many findings a court would have to make to justify a reduction.
The carefully worded amendment exempting posting and notice fines from SB 796 actions is a superficial change, because the provision does no more than direct the payment of the fine solely to the state Labor Agency, instead of the plaintiff. The amendment does not bar the ability to bring an SB 796 enforcement lawsuit or the attorney to collect fees and costs.
The Chamber believes the only real improvement would be to repeal SB 796 because thousands of Labor Code sections remain available for use by any current or former private or public sector employee seeking the huge, lucrative bounty hunter awards available under SB 796.
A pro-jobs solution would be to repeal SB 796 to stop bounty-hunting attorneys from inflicting further costs on California businesses as the state’s economy begins to recover.
Key Vote
SB 1809 passed the Senate yesterday by a 21-13 vote.
Ayes: Alarcón (D-San Fernando Valley), Bowen (D-Redondo Beach), Burton (D- San Francisco), Cedillo (D- Los Angeles), Chesbro (D-Arcata), Dunn (D-Garden Grove), Escutia (D-Norwalk), Figueroa (D-Fremont), Florez (D-Shafter), Karnette (D-Long Beach), Kuehl (D-Santa Monica), Murray (D-Los Angeles), Ortiz (D-Sacramento), Perata (D-Oakland), Romero (D-Los Angeles), Scott (D-Pasadena), Soto (D-Ontario), Speier (D San Francisco/San Mateo), Torlakson (D-Antioch), Vasconcellos (D-San Jose), Vincent (D-Inglewood).
Noes: Aanestad (R-Grass Valley), Ackerman (R-Tustin), Ashburn (R-Bakersfield), Battin (R-Palm Desert), Brulte (R- Rancho Cucamonga, Denham (R- Salinas), Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta), Johnson (R-Irvine), Margett (R-Arcadia), McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), Morrow (R-Oceanside), Oller (R-San Andreas), Poochigian (R-Fresno).
Abstaining: Alpert (D-San Diego), Ducheny (D-San Diego), Machado (D-Linden), McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), Sher (D-Stanford).
Staff Contact: Julianne Broyles