Bill Text: CA SB727 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Bill 727

Bill Title: Human trafficking: civil actions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 632, Statutes of 2023. [SB727 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB727-Chaptered.html

Senate Bill No. 727

CHAPTER 632

An act to amend Section 52.5 of the Civil Code, and to amend Section 12965 of the Government Code, relating to civil actions.

[ Approved by Governor October 08, 2023. Filed with Secretary of State October 08, 2023. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 727, Limón. Human trafficking: civil actions.

Existing law authorizes a person who has been the victim of human trafficking to bring a civil action for damages, as specified, and also to be awarded attorney’s fees and costs. Existing law authorizes a plaintiff to be awarded up to 3 times the plaintiff’s actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater.

This bill would authorize the plaintiff to seek from the court a finding that specific debts attributed to the plaintiff were incurred as a result of trafficking and without the consent of the plaintiff. The bill would authorize the court to base its finding upon evidence that a debt attributed to the plaintiff was incurred as the result of any illegal act in which the plaintiff was the victim. The bill would provide that the finding would not affect the priority of any lien or other security interest.

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, establishes the Civil Rights Department under the direction of an executive officer known as the Director of Civil Rights to enforce civil rights laws, including laws relating to human trafficking.

Existing law authorizes the director to bring a civil action in the name of the department, acting in the public interest, on behalf of an aggrieved person if conference, conciliation, mediation, or persuasion fails to eliminate an unlawful practice. Existing law requires the department to issue the person claiming to be aggrieved a right-to-sue notice if a civil action is not brought by the department, as specified. Existing law authorizes a court to grant relief, including awarding attorney’s fees and costs and granting any relief a court is empowered to grant in a civil action, such as requiring an employer to conduct training for all employees, supervisors, and management, and assessing a civil penalty.

This bill would provide that the court may grant any relief available under any of the civil rights laws enforced by the department.

This bill would also make nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 52.5 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

52.5.

(a) A victim of human trafficking, as defined in Section 236.1 of the Penal Code, may bring a civil action for actual damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, any combination of those, or any other appropriate relief. A prevailing plaintiff may also be awarded attorney’s fees and costs.

(b) In addition to the remedies specified in this section, in an action under subdivision (a), both of the following apply:

(1) A plaintiff may be awarded up to three times the plaintiff’s actual damages or ten thousand dollars ($10,000), whichever is greater. In addition, punitive damages may be awarded upon proof of the defendant’s malice, oppression, fraud, or duress in committing the act of human trafficking.

(2) (A) A plaintiff may seek from the court a finding that specific debts attributed to the plaintiff were incurred as the result of trafficking and without the consent of the plaintiff.

(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the court may base its finding upon evidence that a debt attributed to the plaintiff was incurred as the result of any illegal act in which the plaintiff was the victim. A finding shall not affect the priority of any lien or other security interest.

(C) For purposes of this paragraph, a debt attributed to the plaintiff is incurred as the result of trafficking when the plaintiff is a victim of any illegal act associated with human trafficking and the debt or a portion of the debt meets all of the following criteria:

(i) It was incurred for personal, family, or household use.

(ii) It is in the name of the plaintiff.

(iii) It was incurred as a result of duress, intimidation, threat of force, force, fraud, or undue influence.

(c) An action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced within seven years of the date on which the trafficking victim was freed from the trafficking situation or, if the victim was a minor when the act of human trafficking against the victim occurred, within 10 years after the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority.

(d) If a person entitled to sue is under a disability at the time the cause of action accrues so that it is impossible or impracticable for the person to bring an action, the time of the disability is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action. Disability shall toll the running of the statute of limitations for this action.

(1) Disability includes being a minor, lacking legal capacity to make decisions, imprisonment, or other incapacity or incompetence.

(2) The statute of limitations shall not run against a plaintiff who is a minor or who lacks the legal competence to make decisions simply because a guardian ad litem has been appointed. A guardian ad litem’s failure to bring a plaintiff’s action within the applicable limitation period will not prejudice the plaintiff’s right to bring an action after the plaintiff’s disability ceases.

(3) A defendant is estopped from asserting a defense of the statute of limitations if the expiration of the statute is due to conduct by the defendant inducing the plaintiff to delay the filing of the action, or due to threats made by the defendant causing the plaintiff duress.

(4) The suspension of the statute of limitations due to disability, lack of knowledge, or estoppel applies to all other related claims arising out of the trafficking situation.

(5) The running of the statute of limitations is postponed during the pendency of criminal proceedings against the victim.

(e) The running of the statute of limitations may be suspended if a person entitled to sue could not have reasonably discovered the cause of action due to circumstances resulting from the trafficking situation, such as psychological trauma, cultural and linguistic isolation, and the inability to access services.

(f) A prevailing plaintiff may also be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs including, but not limited to, expert witness fees and expenses as part of the costs.

(g) Restitution paid by the defendant to the victim shall be credited against a judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant to an action under this section. A judgment, award, or settlement obtained pursuant to an action under this section is subject to Section 13963 of the Government Code.

(h) A civil action filed under this section shall be stayed during the pendency of any criminal action arising out of the same occurrence in which the claimant is the victim. As used in this section, a “criminal action” includes investigation and prosecution, and is pending until a final adjudication in the trial court or dismissal.

SEC. 2.

Section 12965 of the Government Code is amended to read:

12965.

(a) (1) In the case of failure to eliminate an unlawful practice under this part through conference, conciliation, mediation, or persuasion, or in advance thereof if circumstances warrant, the director in the director’s discretion may bring a civil action in the name of the department, acting in the public interest, on behalf of the person claiming to be aggrieved.

(2) Prior to filing a civil action, the department shall require all parties to participate in mandatory dispute resolution in the department’s internal dispute resolution division free of charge to the parties in an effort to resolve the dispute without litigation.

(3) In a civil action, the person claiming to be aggrieved shall be the real party in interest and shall have the right to participate as a party and be represented by that person’s own counsel.

(4) A civil action under this subdivision shall be brought in a county in which the department has an office, in a county in which unlawful practices are alleged to have been committed, in the county in which records relevant to the alleged unlawful practices are maintained and administered, in the county in which the person claiming to be aggrieved would have worked or would have had access to public accommodation, but for the alleged unlawful practices, in the county of the defendant’s residence or principal office, or, if the civil action includes class or group allegations on behalf of the department, in any county in the state.

(5) (A) A complaint treated by the director as a group or class complaint for purposes of investigation, conciliation, mediation, or civil action pursuant to Section 12961, a civil action shall be brought, if at all, within two years after the filing of the complaint.

(B) For a complaint alleging a violation of Section 51.7 of the Civil Code, a civil action shall be brought, if at all, within two years after the filing of the complaint.

(C) For a complaint other than those specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B), a civil action shall be brought, if at all, within one year after the filing of a complaint.

(D) The deadlines specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), shall be tolled during a mandatory or voluntary dispute resolution proceeding commencing on the date the department refers the case to its dispute resolution division and ending on the date the department’s dispute resolution division closes its mediation record and returns the case to the division that referred it.

(b) For purposes of this section, filing a complaint means filing a verified complaint.

(c) (1) (A) Except as specified in subparagraph (B), if a civil action is not brought by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) within 150 days after the filing of a complaint, or if the department earlier determines that no civil action will be brought pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall promptly notify, in writing, the person claiming to be aggrieved that the department shall issue, on request, the right-to-sue notice. If the person claiming to be aggrieved does not request a right-to-sue notice, the department shall issue the notice upon completion of its investigation, and not later than one year after the filing of the complaint.

(B) For a complaint treated as a group or class complaint for purposes of investigation, conciliation, mediation, or civil action pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 12961, the department shall issue a right-to-sue notice upon completion of its investigation, and not later than two years after the filing of the complaint.

(C) The notices specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall indicate that the person claiming to be aggrieved may bring a civil action under this part against the person, employer, labor organization, or employment agency named in the verified complaint within one year from the date of that notice.

(D) This paragraph applies only to complaints alleging unlawful employment practices under Article 1 (commencing with Section 12940) of Chapter 6.

(E) The deadlines specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be tolled during a mandatory or voluntary dispute resolution proceeding commencing on the date the department refers the case to its dispute resolution division and ending on the date the department’s dispute resolution division closes its mediation record and returns the case to the division that referred it.

(2) A city, county, or district attorney in a location having an enforcement unit established on or before March 1, 1991, pursuant to a local ordinance enacted for the purpose of prosecuting HIV/AIDS discrimination claims, acting on behalf of any person claiming to be aggrieved due to HIV/AIDS discrimination, may also bring a civil action under this part against the person, employer, labor organization, or employment agency named in the notice.

(3) The superior courts of the State of California shall have jurisdiction of actions brought pursuant to this section, and the aggrieved person may file in these courts. An action may be brought in any county in the state in which the unlawful practice is alleged to have been committed, in the county in which the records relevant to the practice are maintained and administered, or in the county in which the aggrieved person would have worked or would have had access to the public accommodation but for the alleged unlawful practice, but if the defendant is not found within any of these counties, an action may be brought within the county of the defendant’s residence or principal office.

(4) A copy of any complaint filed pursuant to this part shall be served on the principal offices of the department. The remedy for failure to send a copy of a complaint is an order to do so.

(5) A civil action brought pursuant to this section shall not be filed as class actions and shall not be maintained as class actions by the person or persons claiming to be aggrieved if those persons have filed a civil class action in the federal courts alleging a comparable claim of employment discrimination against the same defendant or defendants.

(6) In civil actions brought under this section, the court, in its discretion, may award to the prevailing party, including the department, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, including expert witness fees, except that, notwithstanding Section 998 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a prevailing defendant shall not be awarded fees and costs unless the court finds the action was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless when brought, or the plaintiff continued to litigate after it clearly became so.

(d) A court may grant as relief in any action filed pursuant to subdivision (a) any relief a court is empowered to grant in a civil action brought pursuant to subdivision (c), in addition to any other relief that, in the judgment of the court, will effectuate the purpose of this part. This relief may include a requirement that the employer conduct training for all employees, supervisors, and management on the requirements of this part, the rights and remedies of those who allege a violation of this part, and the employer’s internal grievance procedures. This relief may also include any relief available under any law enforced by the department pursuant to Section 12930. In addition, in order to vindicate the purposes and policies of this part, a court may assess against the defendant, if the civil complaint or amended civil complaint so prays, a civil penalty of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) to be awarded to a person denied any right provided for by Section 51.7 of the Civil Code, as an unlawful practice prohibited under this part.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), the one-year statute of limitations, commencing from the date of the right-to-sue notice by the department to the person claiming to be aggrieved, shall be tolled when all of the following requirements have been met:

(A) A charge of discrimination or harassment is timely filed concurrently with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the department.

(B) The investigation of the charge is deferred by the department to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

(C) A right-to-sue notice is issued to the person claiming to be aggrieved upon deferral of the charge by the department to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

(2) The time for commencing an action for which the statute of limitations is tolled under paragraph (1) expires when the federal right-to-sue period to commence a civil action expires, or one year from the date of the right-to-sue notice by the department, whichever is later.

(3) This subdivision is intended to codify the holding in Downs v. Department of Water and Power of City of Los Angeles (1997) 58 Cal.App.4th 1093.

(f) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), the one-year statute of limitations, commencing from the date of the right-to-sue notice by the department, to the person claiming to be aggrieved, shall be tolled when all of the following requirements have been met:

(A) A charge of discrimination or harassment is timely filed concurrently with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the department.

(B) The investigation of the charge is deferred by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to the Civil Rights Department.

(C) After investigation and determination by the department, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agrees to perform a substantial weight review of the determination of the department or conducts its own investigation of the claim filed by the aggrieved person.

(2) The time for commencing an action for which the statute of limitations is tolled under paragraph (1) shall expire when the federal right-to-sue period to commence a civil action expires, or one year from the date of the right-to-sue notice by the department, whichever is later.