Sweatshops, child labor and unjust working conditions are just a few of the many hazards
that still face California working families. In the State Assembly, Leland Yee has fought
corporate lobbyists and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to ensure that every California
employee can work in fair and safe working conditions.
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| Mandatory Overtime Prohibition. To end the practice of coercing
nurses and certified nurse assistants to work overtime, Yee helped pass a bill making it
illegal to compel overtime for nurses in state facilities or to discriminate against
those that refuse to work overtime.
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| Heat Illness Prevention Standards. Yee supported legislation
establishing Occupational Safety and Health standards to prevent illness from
overexposure to heat for farm workers and other outdoors laborers, giving workers the
tools to take action against employers that routinely put employees’ health at risk.
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| Fair Labor Practice Standards. The underground economy hurts
everyone: workers go without legal protections, and unpaid payroll taxes take millions
of dollars of state coffers. Yee worked to pass a bill establishing an automatic tax
audit for businesses that don’t report payroll to the state.
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| Severance Package Disclosure Requirement. When an employer
tries to secure voluntary resignation from a group of employees, they should be required
to inform workers of the financial consequences of accepting an offer. To guarantee
that employees understand what they’re agreeing too, Yee supported legislation forcing
employers to provide written projections of the present value of all compensation,
health care benefits, and retirement benefits that would be lost as a result of workers
accepting early termination offers.
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| Sex Harassment and Discrimination. This law would have
stopped employers from requiring workers to sign agreements to arbitrate claims of
discrimination and sexual harassment under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Vetoed
by Governor.
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| Paid Mandatory Breaks. Would have required employers to pay
employees for any rest break mandated by statute, regulation or order of the Industrial
Wage Commission. Vetoed by Governor.
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| Unfair Pay. Would have increased the amount of damages due
to employees who are paid unfairly. Vetoed by Governor
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| Access to Exits in the Workplace. Would have prohibited
employers from physically preventing an employee from exiting a place of employment
by locking the doors, windows or other exits. Vetoed by Governor.
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| Monitoring of Employees. Would have prohibited employers
from engaging in electronic monitoring of employees without first providing notice
to the employees. Vetoed by Governor.
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| Worker Safety from Pesticides. Would have protected farm
workers from being exposed to pesticides and chemicals. Vetoed by Governor.
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