Bill Text: CA SB310 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Failure to pay wages: penalties.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)

Status: (Failed) 2026-02-02 - Died on file pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB310 Detail]

Download: California-2025-SB310-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 310

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Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Haney)

February 10, 2025

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An act to amend Section 210 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 310, as introduced, Wiener. Failure to pay wages: penalties.

Existing law makes every person who fails to pay the wages of each employee subject to a specified penalty. Existing law requires the penalty to either be recovered by an employee as a statutory penalty or by the Labor Commissioner as a civil penalty, as prescribed.

This bill also would permit the penalty to be recovered through an independent civil action, as specified.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 210 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

210.

 (a) In addition to, and entirely independent and apart from, any other penalty provided in this article, every person who fails to pay the wages of each employee as provided in Sections 201.3, 204, 204b, 204.1, 204.2, 204.11, 205, 205.5, and 1197.5, shall be subject to a penalty as follows:

(1) For any initial violation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each failure to pay each employee.

(2) For each subsequent violation, or any willful or intentional violation, two hundred dollars ($200) for each failure to pay each employee, plus 25 percent of the amount unlawfully withheld.

(b) The penalty shall either be recovered by the employee as a statutory penalty pursuant to Section 98 or through an independent civil action, or by the Labor Commissioner as a civil penalty through the issuance of a citation or pursuant to Section 98.3. The procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing judgments for citations issued by the Labor Commissioner under this section shall be the same as those set forth in subdivisions (b) through (k), inclusive, of Section 1197.1.

(c) An employee is only entitled to either recover the statutory penalty provided for in this section section, pursuant to Section 98 or through an independent civil action, or to enforce a civil penalty as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 2699, but not both, for the same violation.