New Laws for 2021What Contractors Should Know...
2020 has been an unprecedented year in many ways, but one thing that remains constant is the legislature's enactment of new laws that impact employers. Ranging from Covid-19 emergency regulations and legislation, to revisions, to new reporting requirements, and changes to CSLB’s requirements, SRBX has you covered with this brief video summarizing the most impactful 2021 new laws that contractors need to know.
CONSTRUCTION
AB 2231 Defines a public subsidy as de minimis for the purpose of paying the prevailing wage in private projects if it is both less than $500,000 and less than 2% of the total project cost for bids advertised or contracts awarded after July 1, 2021.
AB 841 requires EV charging equipment funded by the CPUC, CEC, or CARB to be installed by at least one electrician (but not less than 25% of the work crew) who has passed the EV Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP).
AB 2311 requires a public entity to include in all documents and contracts a notice that a project is subject to the skilled-and-trained workforce requirement.
AB 2765 – Requires prevailing wages be paid to construction workers performing work with Public or Conduit Revenue Bonds on Charter School facilities.
AB 3075 Requires that articles of incorporation include an attestation that the filer is not affiliated with an employer that has an outstanding judgment issued by the DLSE or a court of law for violation of any wage order or provision of the Labor Code. The bill interferes with corporate formation based on unclear and unfair standards and the bill will result in chaotic and inconsistent enforcement of wage and hour laws by local jurisdictions.
SB 1474 This bill moves the provisions related to the Letter of Admonishment into a separate code section.
CEQA
SB 974 (Hurtado) Exempts from CEQA specific water infrastructure projects for small disadvantaged community water systems that improve the water system’s water quality, water supply, or water reliability. These will surely make it easier and more affordable to provide clean water for small disadvantaged communities.
SB 288 This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA certain projects, including projects for the institution or increase of new bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail services on public rail or highway rights-of-way, as specified, whether or not the right-of-way is in use for public mass transit, as specified, and projects for the designation and conversion of general purpose lanes, high-occupancy toll lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, or highway shoulders, as specified.
COVID-19
AB 685 (Reyes) establishes COVID-19 notification requirements that deviate from local public health orders and CDC guidelines. The bill would require employers to notify ALL employees that they may have “potentially been exposed” to COVID-19 on a jobsite if a single person tests positive, regardless of whether or not an employee ever came in contact with the employee who tested positive. Because construction is a multi-employer industry, once a single employer notifies their employees, the obligation would trickle down to all employers.
SB 1159 establishes a rebuttable workers’ compensation presumption for workers that contract COVID-19 under certain conditions and requires employers to report COVID-19 cases to their workers’ compensation carriers. The bill went into effect immediately upon signing and remains in effect until January 1, 2023.
AB 1867 took effect immediately upon being signed, which was September 9, 2020. That bill expands supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-19-related reasons for certain employers not already covered by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). That law will expire when the FFCRA does (currently set to expire on December 31, 2020).
CSLB
SB 1189 this CSLB sponsored bill creates a new residential remodeling license (B-2) that would prohibit a B-2 from “contracting to make structural changes to load bearing portions of an existing structure and from contracting to install, replace, or extend electrical or plumbing systems or their component parts, or the mechanisms or devices that are part of those systems” but would allow them to make “minor alterations to existing electrical or plumbing systems to effectuate the purpose of installing, repairing, or replacing electrical and plumbing fixtures.”
AB 2210 extends the time for the CSLB registrar to bring disciplinary action against a licensed contractor for violations of the Labor Code from 180 days to 18 months.
AB 2471 extends the right to cancel contracts for persons 65 years of age or older from three business days to five business days for the following transactions: home solicitation contracts, home improvement contracts, Property Assessed Clean Energy assessment contracts, service and repair contracts, and seminar sales contracts.
AB 3087 Professions and Vocations - This bill would authorize the registrar to contract with a public or private organization to administer the examination and to provide materials and services for the examination.
SB 1189 creates a new classification of contracting business called “residential remodeling contracting,” which is defined as projects that make improvements to, on, or in an existing residential wood frame structure that use at least three unrelated building trades or crafts for a single contract; a list of trades is included in the bill. The bill also includes in the definition of “home improvement” the reconstruction, restoration, or rebuilding of residential property damaged or destroyed by a disaster for which either the governor or president has declared a state of emergency. The bill also expands the type of contracting activity in a declared disaster zone for which a person without a contractor license can be prosecuted.
SB 1474 requires the CSLB registrar to retroactively reinstate an expired contractor license if a completed license renewal application is received with the appropriate fees within 90 days of the license expiration date.
SB 865 makes several changes to the Dig Safe Act of 2016, including renaming the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board to “Dig Safe Board”; updating requirements about the exchange of information and records between the Dig Safe Board and regional notification centers (RNC); requiring that all new subsurface installations use specified mapping technology; and requiring that an excavator notify the RNC within 48 hours of discovering or causing damage. The bill also updates some of the enforcement responsibilities of the Dig Safe Board, including the option to require that violators take an educational course in lieu of paying a fine.
HOUSING
AB 1561 (Garcia) extends, by 18 months, the time frame for the expiration, effectuation, or utilization of a housing entitlement for any housing entitlement that was issued prior to, and was in effect on, March 4, 2020, and will expire prior to December 31, 2021.
AB 168 requires a pre-consultation process with a California Native American tribe prior to the submission of an SB 35 (Wiener), Chapter 366, Statutes of 2017, permit, which entitles a developer to a streamlined housing approval process, in order to identify and protect tribal cultural resources (TCRs).
WILD FIRES
AB 3074 wildfire risk: defensible space: ember-resistant zones.
AB 3164 Fire prevention: wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model: model use guidelines.
LEAVE OF ABSENSE
SB 1383 significantly expands the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) beginning January 1, 2021. Notably, this bill expands employer coverage to include all employers with five or more employees, which is much fewer than the previous 50 or more employees requirement. This is a major development. Small businesses will need to quickly get up to speed on CFRA’s requirements in order to be ready by January 1.
SB 1383 also expands the definition of “family members” beyond what is covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which will affect larger employers who will have to administer CFRA and FMLA separately in some cases.
For example, an employee can take 12 weeks of leave to care for a sibling under the CFRA and then another separate 12 weeks to cover an illness under the FMLA for total of 24 weeks of protected leave. Employers, big and small, should become familiar with the law’s details and be prepared to revise or implement compliant policies and practices by 2021.
WAGE & HOUR
AB 1947 (Kalra) Doubles, from 6 months to one year, the time in which a person who believes that they have been discharged or otherwise discriminated against to file a complaint with the DLSE. Also, AB 1947 overturns the existing balance by prohibiting an employer from recovering its attorney’s fees, which could create an incentive for more potentially frivolous litigation.
WORKER CLASSIFICATION
AB 2257 amends AB 5 (Independent Contractors), but not the underlying framework of AB 5, rather it makes some revisions and clarifications to some of the existing exceptions and added new ones. AB 2257 went into effect when it was signed on September 4, 2020.
PAY DATA
SB 973 requires a private employer that has 100 or more employees and is required to file an annual Employer Information Report (EEO-1) under federal law, to submit a pay data report to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) that contains information about employees’ race, ethnicity and gender in various job categories on or before March 31, 2021. The DFEH is given related enforcement authority. This essentially creates California’s version of the federal EEO-1 information that some employers must submit to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
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AB 2231 Defines a public subsidy as de minimis for the purpose of paying the prevailing wage in private projects if it is both less than $500,000 and less than 2% of the total project cost for bids advertised or contracts awarded after July 1, 2021.
AB 841 requires EV charging equipment funded by the CPUC, CEC, or CARB to be installed by at least one electrician (but not less than 25% of the work crew) who has passed the EV Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP).
AB 2311 requires a public entity to include in all documents and contracts a notice that a project is subject to the skilled-and-trained workforce requirement.
AB 2765 – Requires prevailing wages be paid to construction workers performing work with Public or Conduit Revenue Bonds on Charter School facilities.
AB 3075 Requires that articles of incorporation include an attestation that the filer is not affiliated with an employer that has an outstanding judgment issued by the DLSE or a court of law for violation of any wage order or provision of the Labor Code. The bill interferes with corporate formation based on unclear and unfair standards and the bill will result in chaotic and inconsistent enforcement of wage and hour laws by local jurisdictions.
SB 1474 This bill moves the provisions related to the Letter of Admonishment into a separate code section.
CEQA
SB 974 (Hurtado) Exempts from CEQA specific water infrastructure projects for small disadvantaged community water systems that improve the water system’s water quality, water supply, or water reliability. These will surely make it easier and more affordable to provide clean water for small disadvantaged communities.
SB 288 This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA certain projects, including projects for the institution or increase of new bus rapid transit, bus, or light rail services on public rail or highway rights-of-way, as specified, whether or not the right-of-way is in use for public mass transit, as specified, and projects for the designation and conversion of general purpose lanes, high-occupancy toll lanes, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, or highway shoulders, as specified.
COVID-19
AB 685 (Reyes) establishes COVID-19 notification requirements that deviate from local public health orders and CDC guidelines. The bill would require employers to notify ALL employees that they may have “potentially been exposed” to COVID-19 on a jobsite if a single person tests positive, regardless of whether or not an employee ever came in contact with the employee who tested positive. Because construction is a multi-employer industry, once a single employer notifies their employees, the obligation would trickle down to all employers.
SB 1159 establishes a rebuttable workers’ compensation presumption for workers that contract COVID-19 under certain conditions and requires employers to report COVID-19 cases to their workers’ compensation carriers. The bill went into effect immediately upon signing and remains in effect until January 1, 2023.
AB 1867 took effect immediately upon being signed, which was September 9, 2020. That bill expands supplemental paid sick leave for COVID-19-related reasons for certain employers not already covered by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). That law will expire when the FFCRA does (currently set to expire on December 31, 2020).
CSLB
SB 1189 this CSLB sponsored bill creates a new residential remodeling license (B-2) that would prohibit a B-2 from “contracting to make structural changes to load bearing portions of an existing structure and from contracting to install, replace, or extend electrical or plumbing systems or their component parts, or the mechanisms or devices that are part of those systems” but would allow them to make “minor alterations to existing electrical or plumbing systems to effectuate the purpose of installing, repairing, or replacing electrical and plumbing fixtures.”
AB 2210 extends the time for the CSLB registrar to bring disciplinary action against a licensed contractor for violations of the Labor Code from 180 days to 18 months.
AB 2471 extends the right to cancel contracts for persons 65 years of age or older from three business days to five business days for the following transactions: home solicitation contracts, home improvement contracts, Property Assessed Clean Energy assessment contracts, service and repair contracts, and seminar sales contracts.
AB 3087 Professions and Vocations - This bill would authorize the registrar to contract with a public or private organization to administer the examination and to provide materials and services for the examination.
SB 1189 creates a new classification of contracting business called “residential remodeling contracting,” which is defined as projects that make improvements to, on, or in an existing residential wood frame structure that use at least three unrelated building trades or crafts for a single contract; a list of trades is included in the bill. The bill also includes in the definition of “home improvement” the reconstruction, restoration, or rebuilding of residential property damaged or destroyed by a disaster for which either the governor or president has declared a state of emergency. The bill also expands the type of contracting activity in a declared disaster zone for which a person without a contractor license can be prosecuted.
SB 1474 requires the CSLB registrar to retroactively reinstate an expired contractor license if a completed license renewal application is received with the appropriate fees within 90 days of the license expiration date.
SB 865 makes several changes to the Dig Safe Act of 2016, including renaming the California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board to “Dig Safe Board”; updating requirements about the exchange of information and records between the Dig Safe Board and regional notification centers (RNC); requiring that all new subsurface installations use specified mapping technology; and requiring that an excavator notify the RNC within 48 hours of discovering or causing damage. The bill also updates some of the enforcement responsibilities of the Dig Safe Board, including the option to require that violators take an educational course in lieu of paying a fine.
HOUSING
AB 1561 (Garcia) extends, by 18 months, the time frame for the expiration, effectuation, or utilization of a housing entitlement for any housing entitlement that was issued prior to, and was in effect on, March 4, 2020, and will expire prior to December 31, 2021.
AB 168 requires a pre-consultation process with a California Native American tribe prior to the submission of an SB 35 (Wiener), Chapter 366, Statutes of 2017, permit, which entitles a developer to a streamlined housing approval process, in order to identify and protect tribal cultural resources (TCRs).
WILD FIRES
AB 3074 wildfire risk: defensible space: ember-resistant zones.
AB 3164 Fire prevention: wildland-urban interface wildfire risk model: model use guidelines.
LEAVE OF ABSENSE
SB 1383 significantly expands the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) beginning January 1, 2021. Notably, this bill expands employer coverage to include all employers with five or more employees, which is much fewer than the previous 50 or more employees requirement. This is a major development. Small businesses will need to quickly get up to speed on CFRA’s requirements in order to be ready by January 1.
SB 1383 also expands the definition of “family members” beyond what is covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which will affect larger employers who will have to administer CFRA and FMLA separately in some cases.
For example, an employee can take 12 weeks of leave to care for a sibling under the CFRA and then another separate 12 weeks to cover an illness under the FMLA for total of 24 weeks of protected leave. Employers, big and small, should become familiar with the law’s details and be prepared to revise or implement compliant policies and practices by 2021.
WAGE & HOUR
AB 1947 (Kalra) Doubles, from 6 months to one year, the time in which a person who believes that they have been discharged or otherwise discriminated against to file a complaint with the DLSE. Also, AB 1947 overturns the existing balance by prohibiting an employer from recovering its attorney’s fees, which could create an incentive for more potentially frivolous litigation.
WORKER CLASSIFICATION
AB 2257 amends AB 5 (Independent Contractors), but not the underlying framework of AB 5, rather it makes some revisions and clarifications to some of the existing exceptions and added new ones. AB 2257 went into effect when it was signed on September 4, 2020.
PAY DATA
SB 973 requires a private employer that has 100 or more employees and is required to file an annual Employer Information Report (EEO-1) under federal law, to submit a pay data report to the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) that contains information about employees’ race, ethnicity and gender in various job categories on or before March 31, 2021. The DFEH is given related enforcement authority. This essentially creates California’s version of the federal EEO-1 information that some employers must submit to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
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Nothing on this website is intended as legal advice. If you need legal advice, please consult an attorney. We attempt to update the information on this website as soon as practicable following changes or developments in the laws and rules affecting California employers, but we make no warranties or representations, express or implied, about whether the information provided is current.
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