Bill Text: CA SB41 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Meal and rest breaks: airline cabin crew employees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-23 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 2, Statutes of 2023. [SB41 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB41-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 41

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Introduced by Senator Cortese

December 05, 2022

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An act to add Section 226.9 to the Labor Code, relating to employment, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 41, as introduced, Cortese. Meal and rest breaks: flight crew employees.

Existing law requires an employer to provide an employee with a meal period during a work period of more than 5 hours per day, except as prescribed. Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 9 regulates employment in the transportation industry and requires an employer to provide an employee with a rest period, as specified. Existing law prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to work during a meal or rest or recovery period mandated pursuant to an applicable statute, or applicable regulation, standard, or order of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, or the Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Existing law requires an employer who fails to provide an employee a mandated meal or rest or recovery period to pay the employee one additional hour of pay at the employee’s regular rate of compensation for each workday that the meal or rest or recovery period was not provided. Existing law provides certain exemptions from these requirements.

Existing federal law, the Railway Labor Act, regulates labor relations for rail and air carriers and entitles employees to organize and bargain collectively.

This bill would provide that the above-described meal and rest period requirements do not apply to a flight crew employee if the employee is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement under the Railway Labor Act and that agreement includes a provision addressing meal and rest breaks for flight crew members, as specified.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Digest Key

Vote: 2/3   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 226.9 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

226.9.

 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including applicable wage orders, the requirement to provide a meal or rest period pursuant to an applicable statute, regulation, ordinance, standard, or order shall not apply to a flight crew employee who is covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.) and that agreement contains a provision addressing meal and rest periods for flight crew members.

(b) For purposes of this section, a collective bargaining agreement “contains a provision addressing meal and rest periods” if the agreement contains a provision providing for meal and rest periods; providing compensation in lieu of meals, or per diem, which may be in lieu of meals; or providing a recognition of a right to eat on board an aircraft during the course of a duty day.

(c) This section shall have retroactive effect to the date that an employee became covered by a collective bargaining agreement meeting the requirements of subdivision (a).

SEC. 2.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

To protect the public by avoiding disruptions to passenger air travel, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.