Folded into California’s $310 billion budget agreement is a relatively small line item: $3 million to resurrect an obscure old state commission that once regulated industries from factories to farms to laundries — and even had the power to set the minimum wage.
Business groups were quick to criticize this funding proposal Monday, calling it a “backdoor” way for the state to start issuing rules for fast food despite the pending referendum. Asked for comment, Service Employees International Union, which pushed for the fast food law, did not say whether they want a new commission to convene specifically for fast food. In a statement, SEIU California president David Huerta praised Newsom and lawmakers for “listening to workers and taking the bold action needed to make progress against a growing tide of inequality and poverty experienced by low-wage workers and people of color.
That’s raised the ire of business groups. In a statement Monday, the California Chamber of Commerce, state Restaurant Association and other groups denounced the limitation, saying it “will only create unnecessary confusion, create layered burdens on employers, and subject businesses to more frivolous litigation.
It was as susceptible as any Sacramento body to political influence. In the 1990s, then-Republican Gov. Pete Wilson appointed labor representatives to the commission that labor groups opposed, said Catherine Fisk, a UC Berkeley labor law professor. The state Labor Commissioner still enforces the commission’s old wage orders. The Legislature has become the primary body for writing new labor rules. Fisk said that’s not the best set-up for workers or the economy.
Nederland Laatste Nieuws, Nederland Headlines
Similar News:Je kunt ook nieuwsberichten lezen die vergelijkbaar zijn met deze die we uit andere nieuwsbronnen hebben verzameld.
Bron: CalMatters - 🏆 261. / 63 Lees verder »