The California Chamber of Commerce has released its annual Job Killer list, which includes 28 bills that would harm California’s economic growth and job creation should they become law. “These bills represent some of the worst policy proposals affecting California employers and our economy currently being considered by Legislature,” said CalChamber President Allan Zaremberg. Of the 28 bills on this list, those of most concern to employers include:

— AB 51 (Gonzalez; D-San Diego) Ban on Arbitration Agreements – Significantly expands employment litigation and increases costs for employers and employees by banning arbitration agreements made as a condition of employment, which is likely preempted under the Federal Arbitration Act and will only delay the resolution of claims.
— AB 628 (Bonta; D-Oakland) Uncapped New Leave of Absence for Employees and Their Family Members – Significantly expands the definition of sexual harassment under the Labor Code, which is different than the definition in the Government Code, leading to inconsistent implementation of anti-harassment policies, confusion, and litigation. Also, provides an unprecedented, uncapped leave of absence for victims of sexual harassment and their “family members” which is broadly defined.
— AB 673 (Carrillo; D-Los Angeles) Unfair Expansion of Penalties Against an Employer for Alleged Wage Violation – Unfairly exposes an employer to being penalized twice for the same violation, by allowing both an employee and the Labor Commissioner to recover the same civil penalties through civil litigation.
— AB 882 (McCarty; D-Sacramento) Limitation on Ability to Maintain a Safe Workplace. Significantly undermines an employer’s ability to maintain a safe, drug-free workplace, by prohibiting an employer from discharging an employee who has tested positive for a drug that is being used for medical purposes.
— AB 1468 (McCarty; D-Sacramento/Gallagher; R-Yuba City) Targeted Tax on Opioids – Unfairly imposes an excise tax on opioid distributors in California, which will increase their costs and force them to adopt measures that include reducing workforce and increasing drug prices for ill patients who need these medications the most, in order to fund drug prevention and rehabilitation programs that will benefit all of California.
— SB 37 (Skinner; D-Berkeley) Staggering Corporate Tax Hike – For certain companies, SB 37 would raise California’s corporate tax rate – already one of the highest in the nation – up to a staggering 22.26%, which amounts to an increase of about 150% and which will undoubtedly discourage companies from locating or further investing in the state.
— SB 135 (Jackson; D-Santa Barbara) Substantial Expansion of California Family Rights Act – Significantly harms small employers in California with as few as 5 employees by requiring these employers to provide 12 weeks of a protected leave of absence each year, in addition to existing leaves of absences already required, as well as potentially requiring larger employers to provide 10 months of protected leave, with the exposure to costly litigation for any alleged violation.
— SB 567 (Caballero; D-Salinas) Expands Costly Presumption of Injury – Significantly increases workers’ compensation costs for public and private hospitals by presuming certain diseases and injuries are caused by the workplace and establishes an extremely concerning precedent for expanding presumptions into the private sector.

CalChamber will periodically release job killer watch updates as legislation changes. Reporters are encouraged to track the current status of the job killer bills