Bill Text: CA AB359 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Grocery workers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-08-17 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 212, Statutes of 2015. [AB359 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB359-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 359 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 212
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE AUGUST 17, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR AUGUST 17, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE JULY 13, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 14, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gonzalez
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Ridley-Thomas)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Leyva)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonilla, Bonta, Chiu, Eduardo Garcia,
Gatto, Holden, O'Donnell, and Rendon)
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
An act to add Part 9.5 (commencing with Section 2500) to Division
2 of the Labor Code, relating to grocery workers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 359, Gonzalez. Grocery workers.
Existing law regulates various aspects of the workplace and
employee safety and health.
This bill, upon a change in control of a grocery establishment,
would require an incumbent grocery employer to prepare a list of
specified eligible grocery workers for a successor grocery employer,
and would require the successor grocery employer to hire from this
list during a 90-day transition period. The bill would require the
successor grocery employer to retain eligible grocery workers for a
90-day period, prohibit the successor grocery employer from
discharging those workers without cause during that period, and, upon
the close of that period, require the successor grocery employer to
consider offering continued employment to those workers. The bill
would exempt a grocery establishment located in a food desert from
the bill's requirements, as provided. The bill would provide that a
collective bargaining agreement may supersede these requirements and
that these provisions do not preempt any local ordinances that
provide equal or greater protection to eligible grocery workers.
This bill would provide that its provisions are severable.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Part 9.5 (commencing with Section 2500) is added to
Division 2 of the Labor Code, to read:
PART 9.5. Grocery Workers
2500. (a) Supermarkets and other grocery retailers are the
primary points of distribution for food and other daily necessities
for the residents of California and are therefore essential to the
vitality of every California community.
(b) The state has a compelling interest in ensuring the welfare of
the residents of its communities through the maintenance of health
and safety standards in grocery establishments.
(c) Experienced grocery retail workers with knowledge of proper
sanitation procedures, health regulations and laws, and an
experience-based understanding of the clientele and communities in
which the retailer is located are essential in furthering this
interest and the state's investments in health and safety.
(d) A transitional retention period for grocery retail workers
upon change of ownership, control, or operation of grocery stores
ensures stability throughout the state for these vital workers,
which, in turn, results in preservation of health and safety
standards.
2502. For purposes of this part, the following definitions shall
apply:
(a) "Change in control" means any sale, assignment, transfer,
contribution, or other disposition of all or substantially all of the
assets or a controlling interest, including by consolidation,
merger, or reorganization, of the incumbent grocery employer or any
person who controls the incumbent grocery employer or any grocery
establishment under the operation or control of either the incumbent
grocery employer or any person who controls the incumbent grocery
employer.
(b) "Eligible grocery worker" means any individual whose primary
place of employment is at the grocery establishment subject to a
change in control, and who has worked for the incumbent grocery
employer for at least six months prior to the execution of the
transfer document. "Eligible grocery worker" does not include a
managerial, supervisory, or confidential employee.
(c) "Employment commencement date" means the date on which an
eligible grocery worker retained by the successor grocery employer
pursuant to this part commences work for the successor grocery
employer in exchange for benefits and compensation under the terms
and conditions established by the successor grocery employer and as
required by law.
(d) "Grocery establishment" means a retail store in this state
that is over 15,000 square feet in size and that sells primarily
household foodstuffs for offsite consumption, including the sale of
fresh produce, meats, poultry, fish, deli products, dairy products,
canned foods, dry foods, beverages, baked foods, or prepared foods.
Other household supplies or other products shall be secondary to the
primary purpose of food sales.
(e) "Incumbent grocery employer" means the person that owns,
controls, or operates the grocery establishment at the time of the
change in control.
(f) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership,
limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability
company, business trust, estate, trust, association, joint venture,
agency, instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity,
whether domestic or foreign.
(g) "Successor grocery employer" means the person that owns,
controls, or operates the grocery establishment after the change in
control.
(h) "Transfer document" means the purchase agreement or other
document effecting the change in control.
2504. (a) The incumbent grocery employer shall, within 15 days
after the execution of the transfer document, provide to the
successor grocery employer the name, address, date of hire, and
employment occupation classification of each eligible grocery worker.
(b) The successor grocery employer shall maintain a preferential
hiring list of eligible grocery workers identified by the incumbent
grocery employer pursuant to subdivision (a) and shall hire from that
list for a period beginning upon the execution of the transfer
document and continuing for 90 days after the grocery establishment
is fully operational and open to the public under the successor
grocery employer.
(c) If the successor grocery employer extends an offer of
employment to an eligible grocery worker pursuant to this part, the
successor grocery employer shall retain written verification of that
offer for at least three years after the date of the offer. The
verification shall include the name, address, date of hire, and
employment occupation classification of each eligible grocery worker.
2506. (a) A successor grocery employer shall retain each eligible
grocery worker hired pursuant to this part for at least 90 days
after the eligible grocery worker's employment commencement date.
During this 90-day transition employment period, eligible grocery
workers shall be employed under the terms and conditions established
by the successor grocery employer and pursuant to the terms of a
relevant collective bargaining agreement, if any.
(b) If, within the period established in subdivision (b) of
Section 2504, the successor grocery employer determines that it
requires fewer eligible grocery workers than were required by the
incumbent grocery employer, the successor grocery employer shall
retain eligible grocery workers by seniority within each job
classification to the extent that comparable job classifications
exist or pursuant to the terms of a relevant collective bargaining
agreement, if any. Nonclassified eligible grocery workers shall be
retained by seniority and according to experience or pursuant to the
terms of a relevant collective bargaining agreement, if any.
(c) During the 90-day transition employment period, the successor
grocery employer shall not discharge without cause an eligible
grocery worker retained pursuant to this part.
(d) At the end of the 90-day transition employment period, the
successor grocery employer shall make a written performance
evaluation for each eligible grocery worker retained pursuant to this
part. If the eligible grocery worker's performance during the 90-day
transition employment period is satisfactory, the successor grocery
employer shall consider offering the eligible grocery worker
continued employment under the terms and conditions established by
the successor grocery employer and as required by law. The successor
grocery employer shall retain a record of the written performance
evaluation for at least three years.
2508. (a) The incumbent grocery employer shall post public notice
of the change in control at the location of the affected grocery
establishment within five business days following the execution of
the transfer document. Notice shall remain posted during any closure
of the grocery establishment and until the grocery establishment is
fully operational and open to the public under the successor grocery
employer.
(b) Notice shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the
incumbent grocery employer and its contact information, the name of
the successor grocery employer and its contact information, and the
effective date of the change in control.
(c) Notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the grocery
establishment in a manner to be readily viewed by eligible grocery
workers and other employees, customers, and members of the public.
2512. Parties subject to this part may, by collective bargaining
agreement, provide that the agreement supersedes the requirements of
this part.
2516. This part shall not apply to grocery establishments that
will be located in geographic areas designated by the United States
Department of Agriculture as a food desert, based on the original
food desert measure contained in the Food Access Research Atlas,
provided that both of the following apply:
(a) More than six years have elapsed since the most recent grocery
establishment was located in the area designated as a food desert.
(b) The grocery establishment stocks and during normal business
hours sells fresh fruit and vegetables in amounts and of a quality
that is comparable to what the establishment sells in its three
geographically closest stores, which are located outside of the food
desert.
2518. This part shall not be construed to limit an eligible
grocery worker's right to bring legal action for wrongful
termination.
2520. This part does not preempt any city, county, or city and
county ordinances that provide equal or greater protection to
eligible grocery workers.
2522. The provisions of this part are severable. If any provision
of this part 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.
