Senate and Assembly policy committees have sent several California Chamber of Commerce-opposed job killer bills to the next step of the legislative process. If passed, the proposals will increase meritless litigation and labor costs, reduce the availability of affordable housing and interfere with employment arbitration. Meritless Litigation Now awaiting action by the entire Senate is SB 899 (Hueso; D-San Diego), a job killer that will lead to increased meritless litigation costs. If approved, SB 899 will drive up consumer costs and increase frivolous litigation similar to the disability access lawsuits in California, by prohibiting a retailer or grocery store from discriminating against a person on the basis of gender with the price of goods and subjecting them to a minimum $4,000 of damages for each violation. SB 899 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 12, 5-1. Maternity/Paternity Leave To be considered next by the Senate Appropriations Committee is SB 1166 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara), which imposes a new maternity and paternity leave mandate. The bill unduly burdens and increases costs of small employers, with as few as 10 employees, as well as large employers with 50 or more employees, by requiring 12 weeks of protected employee leave for maternity or [...]
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