Assemblymember Holden’s Legislation Upholding California’s Strong Labor Laws Passes Committee

Sacramento, CA – This week, Assemblymember Chris Holden’s legislation Assembly Bill 1204, which would work to ensure that contractors are abiding by labor laws and properly classifying employees, passed the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions.

“We’ve got to get in front of this major issue in the construction business, for the benefit of a functioning industry, and the protection of employees within that sector. Licensing and safety laws are in place to keep people protected from unnecessary risk, not to create a veil that greedy contractors can hide behind in order to access cheap labor,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden.

The issue of employees being misclassified as independent contractors remains an ongoing problem in the construction industry.  AB 1204 would alleviate any confusion in public works projects by consolidating payroll reports and fine-tuning the process by providing the proper employee benefits like workers’ compensation insurance, meal breaks, family leave and overtime pay. 

“I care about our workforce. Construction can be an inherently dangerous business and we must not take for granted the provisions that are in place to keep people safe and ensure them fair access to their rights,” said Holden.

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