A proposed law that would have changed rehiring rules for laid off workers in dozens more industries statewide was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom at the end of this fall’s legislative session.
SB 627 was sponsored by the California Labor Federation and the Senate Analysis Opposition states it would have:
- “Forc[ed] an employer to repeatedly offer available positions to qualified employees, no matter how many times they have turned offers down, failed to respond, or explicitly declined previous offers to return to work.
Hoffman
| https://calchamber.com
- Essentially eliminat[ed] the use of severance agreements because no employer subject to such a retention right would have any reason to offer one.
- Forc[ed] an employer to send notices to all eligible employees for positions and then wait five business days before moving on to other employees.
- Forc[ed] employers to hire based on seniority, not skill
- 25 mile radius requirement is arbitrary. A 25 mile distance across Los Angeles is significantly different than 25 miles across the Central Valley.”
The bill passed the Assembly in a 47-16 party line vote, but in the Senate two Democrats and all Republicans voted against it. Other rehiring mandates were passed for hospitality workers in the wake of state-ordered closures during the Covid pandemic period, but to expand such rules to most chain employers wouldn’t be reasonable, according to Newsom’s veto message.
“The new notice requirements, transfer rights, processes and criteria, and associated penalties established by this bill would impose significant burdens on employers,” Newsom wrote. “The arbitrary 25-mile radius for transfers does not take into account substantial regional differences among commute times. In addition, this bill applies to an overly broad list of establishments and creates vague processes and criteria, which will lead to implementation and enforcement challenges. For these reasons, I cannot sign this bill.”
SB 627 was named a “Job Killer” by the California Chamber of Commerce, because it would take independent decision making out of the hands of a business, said Ashley Hoffman, a CalChamber labor and employment policy advocate.
“We had some concerns with a trend that we have seen in requiring certain industry and businesses to adhere to very strict rules about who they can hire,” Hoffman said. “And we have a general concern with taking away the autonomy of the business to decide which employees are best suited, as well as chipping away the concept of at-will employment.”
The Legislature could attempt to override the governor’s veto, but it is very rare, Hoffman said.
“This was yet another effort that we have seen in recent years to essentially dictate who businesses need to hire in certain circumstances.” Hoffman said. “I think the most important thing to know is that we are seeing more and more attempts to require hiring or rehiring by seniority, without consideration for qualifications or fit for the job. While it’s painted as something that benefits workers, it is frustrating, because an employee who has worked really hard or shown a certain skill set is going to be required not to be hired, and when employers are only allowed to look at seniority, that could be frustrating.”