While the end of the legislative session was August 31^st, Governor Brown had about a month to determine the fate of the legislation approved and sent to him. September was a critical month as the state government affairs lobbying team shifted focus to solely lobby the Governor’s office and state agencies that would be on the implementation side of the hundreds of proposed laws awaiting Governor Brown’s signature or veto.

September 30 at midnight was the deadline for Gov. Jerry Brown to make the final determination on whether he would sign or veto the hundreds of pieces of proposed legislation on his desk. On his last day to act, 127 proposed laws remained on his desk and some of the CRA’s biggest legislative priorities were in the batch. The results are outlined below.

While this signing and veto period has concluded, Governor Brown will remain in office until January 2019 and the CRA will continue to work on several major, pending regulatory efforts (Proposition 65 coffee warnings, indoor heat illness prevention, food waste diversion) impacting restaurants. These regulatory efforts will continue through the fall and, if not concluded, will continue into next year when either John Cox or Gavin Newsom will take the helm for the following four years.

Among the many bills Governor Brown acted upon in the last batch, here are some of the results that impact the statewide restaurant community:

Labor & Employment

• Arbitration ban: AB 3080 (Gonzalez-Fletcher- D) prohibits employers from requiring employees, as a condition of employment, to agree to arbitration for claims under the fair employment and housing act (FEHA) or the labor code. This bill covers a wide array of employment claims and more easily enables employers to be sued rather than resolve the dispute through arbitration. Employers and employees often prefer arbitration because it’s less costly, less formal and less time-consuming. 

CRA position: Oppose/ Governor vetoed.

Governor Brown’s veto message here: 
https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AB-3080-veto-9.30.pdf

• Lactation accommodation: AB 1976 (Limon- D) requires employers to make reasonable efforts to provide an employee with the use of a room or location, other than a bathroom, for lactation purposes. Exempts an employer from the requirement to provide a room or location other than a bathroom, if the employer can demonstrate a hardship. The CRA worked to improve this effort, as other versions contained very rigid requirements and treated all work environments with one prescriptive approach, AB 1976 now allows flexibility for meeting the mandate. 

CRA Position: Neutral/Governor signed.

• Employment claims/statute of limitations: AB 1870 (Reyes- D) lengthens the statute of limitations from one year to three years for complaints to be filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Imposes a statute of limitations that is six times the federal standard and three times the state standard. 

CRA Position: Oppose/Governor vetoed.

Governor Brown’s veto message here:
https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AB-1870-veto.pdf

• Employment claims/statute of limitations: AB 1870 (Reyes- D) lengthens the statute of limitations from one year to three years for complaints to be filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Imposes a statute of limitations that is six times the federal standard and three times the state standard. 

CRA Position: Oppose/Governor vetoed.

Governor Brown’s veto message here:
https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/AB-1870-veto.pdf

• Confidential settlements: SB 820 (Leyva- D) prohibits confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements, unless the claimant requests the inclusion of the provision, related to sexual assault, sexual harassment, harassment or discrimination based on sex claims.  Settlement agreements are agreements between parties; raising the bar on the confidentiality provision as more significant than the other contractual provisions interferes with the ability to settle these cases in an informal process and drives up litigation costs and fees.

CRA Position: Oppose/Governor signed.

• Non-disparagement agreements: SB 1300 (Jackson- D) prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to sign a non-disparagement agreement and requiring the release of a claim or right under Fair Employment & Housing Act in exchange for a raise, bonus or severance package. 

CRA Position: Oppose/Governor signed.

• Harassment prevention training: SB 1343 (Mitchell- D) requires employers with 5 or more employees to provide at least one hour of sexual harassment training to all non-supervisorial employees by Jan. 1, 2020 and once every two years following. Requires the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to develop or obtain an online training course on the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace. The CRA worked to limit this employer mandate from a more expansive version and to provide employee flexibility for becoming compliant.

CRA Position: Neutral/Governor signed.

• Corporate Board of Directors: SB 826 (Jackson- D) begins the policy precedent of California dictating the composition of Boards of Directors (BODs) for publicly held corporations with principal executive offices in the state. Concerns raised by the CRA and other business groups centered on the mechanics of the new mandate and the possibility that it could result in displacement of an existing member of the BOD solely on one basis, place one standard as the main criteria of diversity over any other protected classification, and create a legal conflict for California companies (arguments acknowledged by Governor Brown).

CRA Position: Oppose/Governor signed.

Governor Brown’s signing message here: 
https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/SB-826-signing-message.pdf

Alcohol

• Extended alcohol service trial project: SB 905 (Weiner- D) allows ABC to conduct a 5-year pilot program allowing alcohol sales between 2-4 a.m. to an on-sale licensee located in Cathedral City, Coachella, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Palm Springs, Sacramento, San Francisco, and West Hollywood upon completion of a local plan by the city in which the licensee is located. The plan must include identification of the area that is eligible for extended hours, resident and business support, the availability of readily accessible transportation services and a law enforcement assessment regarding the potential impact on public safety.

CRA Position: Support/Governor Vetoed.

Governor Brown’s veto message can be found here:
https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/SB-905-Veto.pdf

• Cannabis & alcohol: AB 2914 (Cooley-D) prohibits an alcoholic licensee from selling, offering, or providing cannabis or cannabis products, including an alcoholic beverage that contains cannabis or cannabis products, and would require the department to take disciplinary action against a licensee who does so, including but not limited to, suspension or revocation of the license.

CRA Position: Neutral/Governor signed.

Kid’s Meals

• Children’s meals/default beverage: SB 1192 (Monning- D) requires a restaurant that sells a children’s meal that includes a beverage, to make the default beverage water, sparkling water, flavored water, or unflavored milk or nondairy milk alternative. The CRA worked to ensure that the bill does not restrict a restaurant’s ability to sell, or a customer’s ability to purchase, an alternative beverage if the purchaser requests one.

CRA Position: Neutral/Governor signed.