Bill Text: CA SB1049 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Department of Industrial Relations: living wage: report and employer certification program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-10 - Set for hearing May 16. [SB1049 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB1049-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 1049
| Introduced by Senator Padilla |
February 07, 2024 |
An act to add Section 158 to the Labor Code, relating to wages.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1049, as introduced, Padilla.
Department of Industrial Relations: living wage: report and employer certification program.
Existing law establishes the Department of Industrial Relations within the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to, among other things, foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions, and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment. Existing law requires the department to collect various forms of data, statistics, and research regarding labor within the state.
This bill would require the Department of Industrial Relations, in conjunction with the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and the Director of Housing and Community Development, to develop a certification program for employers that pay a living wage, which the bill would define as the lowest wage that allows full-time and part-time wage earners to afford a decent standard of living, as specified. In
order to determine a decent standard of living, the bill would require the department to examine housing costs by county, by region, and in the state and create a formula to ascertain the living wage for each county, each region, and the state. The bill, commencing in 2025, would also require the department to report to the Legislature by December 15 of each year the living wage in each county, each region, and the state and develop a method to annually adjust figures to account for housing cost inflation and inflation broadly.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 158 is added to the Labor Code, to read:158.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) Currently, a household with at least one full-time minimum wage earner would have to work more than two full-time jobs to afford a one-bedroom apartment in most major markets in California.
(2) Nearly all households with at least one full-time minimum wage earner fall below the poverty line and that number of low-wagers earners is growing. Households of all races struggle, but the percentages of families living in poverty are highest for Latino and Black families. Currently over 1,7000,000 Latino households (or 52 percent of all Latino households) and 259,516 Black households (41 percent) are estimated to not earn enough
to get by, compared to over 1,060,000 White households (21 percent), 481,618 Asian American households (28 percent), and 13,592 Native American and Alaska Native households (39 percent).
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that full-time workers earn a living wage that enables them to afford appropriate housing and basic expenses for themselves and their minor dependents.
(b) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Living wage” means the lowest wage that allows full-time and part-time wage earners to afford a decent standard of living, which includes appropriate housing and basic expenses, including nonhousing necessities.
(2) “Nonhousing necessities” means childcare for an average household with minor dependents, food,
transportation, health care, and allowance for basic miscellaneous expenses such as clothing, mobile telephone service, broadband access, and taxes.
(c) (1) The Department of Industrial Relations shall, in conjunction with the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and the Director of Housing and Community Development, develop a certification program for employers that pay a living wage.
(2) In order to determine a decent standard of living, the department shall examine housing costs by county, by region, and in the state and create a formula to ascertain the living wage in each county, each region, and the state. In developing this formula, the department, the Secretary, and the Director of Housing and Community Development shall do all of the following:
(A) Take into account relevant
housing cost data, such as Fair Market Rent estimates from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the cost of other basic expenses, including nonhousing necessities.
(B) (i) Develop a framework for determining an adequate number of bedrooms for different household configurations to use in factoring housing costs, such as one bedroom for one worker, or two bedrooms for two or more workers.
(ii) For purposes of clause (i), the department, in conjunction with the Secretary and the Director of Housing and Community Development, shall consult with relevant state departments, agencies, and bona fide research institutions regarding relevant data to determine costs of basic expenses, including nonhousing necessities, and appropriate housing for households.
(C) Ensure that
relevant housing costs do not exceed 30 percent of the monthly earned income of the living wage earner.
(D) Assess whether a household with at least one full-time wage earner has sufficient income to cover appropriate housing and basic expenses, including nonhousing necessities.
(d) Commencing in 2025, the department shall, in conjunction and cooperation with the Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development and the Director of Housing and Community Development, report to the Legislature by December 15 of each year the living wage in each county, each region, and the state and develop a method to annually adjust figures to account for housing cost inflation and inflation broadly.
