Assemblymember Chris Holden’s Bills Upholding California’s Strong Labor Laws And Standards Get Signed By Governor Newsom

Sacramento, CA – This month, Assemblymember Chris Holden’s labor bills were signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. The bills include: AB 647 – Grocery workers and AB 1204 – Contractors, contracts: restrictions.

“I have remained adamant on protecting our state’s workers and keeping our workforce standards strong, fair, and equitable. I am proud of all the work my team and I have done this year, meeting with labor representatives and ensuring that my legislation is true to creating solutions for our workers. I want to thank Governor Newsom for recognizing the value of these policies and signing off,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden.

AB 647 will prevent mass layoffs of trained and skilled grocery store and pharmacy workers and ensure a consistency in food safety and pharmaceutical knowledge among communities by strengthening statewide grocery worker retention and adopting grocery worker recall and rehiring laws.

AB 1204 will work to ensure that contractors are abiding by labor laws and properly classifying employees, passed the Assembly Committee on Business and Professions. The issue of employees being misclassified as independent contractors remains an ongoing problem in the construction industry. This bill will 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.

“A stronger labor force will lead us to a stronger economy, happier constituents, and a more vibrant state. I am happy to see this legislation cross the finish line,” said Holden.

###