According to reporting from the California Chamber of Commerce, several recently introduced bills have passed the California State Senate or Assembly and now move on to a vote in the second house. These bills include:

• Assembly Bill 1209 – requires California employers with more than 250 employees to collect data on the mean and median salaries paid to men and women under the same job title or descriptions. Employers would then be required to publicly publish that data.
• Senate Bill 63 – requires new maternity and paternity leave policies for small business owners (as few as 20 employees); specifically, the bill would provide for 12 weeks of protected employee leave for child bonding for those not otherwise covered by both specified state law regarding family care and medical leave, and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. Small business owners who fail to comply with this bill, if enacted, would be subject to an increased threat of litigation.
• Senate Bill 562 – would create a program to provide comprehensive single-payer health care coverage and a health care cost control system. In doing so, it calls for the legislature to develop an unspecified “revenue plan.” Such a plan would undoubtedly propagate new taxes on individuals and businesses that in turn would penalize responsible employers and individuals.

We will continue tracking the progress of these bills as they continue to move through the legislature and/or are signed by the governor.

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