Senate labor committee advances rideshare organizing bill, prevailing wage and worker-protection measures; privacy and heat-illness bills move forward

The Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement convened to consider a series of employment and labor bills and advanced multiple measures to later committees, including a high-profile rideshare organizing bill.

Assemblymember Alex Lee Wicks presented AB 1340, which he described as a measure that would "provide rideshare drivers, also known as transportation network company or TNC drivers, with the choice to organize, join a union, and collectively negotiate for better wages, benefits, and protections." Assemblymember David Berman, a joint author, asked the committee to support the measure and "respectfully request an I vote." Supporters including driver-witnesses Nick Kavler (Stockton) and Jesus Guerrero (Los Angeles) told the committee the bill would give drivers a voice when companies take adverse actions such as deactivations.

Companies opposed. Nick Johnson, director of state and local policy for Lyft, told the committee Lyft "respectfully oppose[s] Assembly Bill 1340," arguing it would conflict with Proposition 22 and would undermine driver flexibility and affordability for riders. John Finley, representing Uber Technologies Inc., said the bill "would override the will of California voters" and urged the committee to oppose. Committee members debated amendments and signaled interest in continued stakeholder talks.

On other items, the committee voted to send a set of bills forward for further review: - AB 538 (Berman) — would establish a process for awarding agencies to obtain certified payroll records from contractors when the public makes lawful requests; advanced to Appropriations. - AB 1234 (Ortega) — would streamline the state's wage-claim process and create additional mechanisms aimed at reducing long Labor Commissioner backlogs; advanced to Judiciary. - AB 672 (Colusa) — would require public employers to notify the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) when filing court actions and would grant PERB the right to intervene; advanced to Judiciary. - AB 1336 (Addis) — the Farmworker Heat Illness Prevention Act, which creates a rebuttable presumption linking heat-related injury to employment when employers fail to comply with heat-illness prevention requirements; advanced to Appropriations. - AB 338 (Solache) — a workforce-recovery package for Los Angeles and Ventura wildfire recovery, focused on workforce training and speedy certification in high-demand jobs; advanced to Appropriations. - AB 340 (A. Aaron) — would codify protections making communications between public employees and union representatives confidential for purposes within PERB's jurisdiction; advanced to Judiciary for further consideration. - AB 1331 (Al Hawari) — would limit constant employer monitoring in employee-only areas and restrict continuous surveillance; advanced to Judiciary. - AB 692 (Kalra) — would ban employer "stay-or-pay" debt-repayment agreements that require workers to pay employers a debt if they leave, with specified exemptions; advanced as amended to Judiciary.

Votes at a glance (committee action): those items were moved out of committee (many "pass to" decisions were unanimous or carried by recorded margins). Several measures drew extended public testimony, including large groups of rideshare drivers who offered brief statements in support of AB 1340.

Why it matters: The bills taken up touch core labor-policy issues — the right to organize in the gig economy, access to payroll records for prevailing-wage enforcement, faster recovery for workers pursuing wage claims, protections for farmworkers and heat-related work injuries, limitations on employer surveillance and debt-practices that can limit worker mobility. Committee action advances these matters to their next policy or fiscal committees where they will face further debate and potential amendments.

Committee members said they will continue negotiations with stakeholders on several items. Several authors—particularly those presenting high-profile or controversial measures—encouraged continued conversations to address concerns raised in testimony and potential unintended consequences.

Sources: Committee hearing transcript (public testimony from driver-witnesses and representatives of Lyft, Uber, labor unions, employer groups and cities), opening statements from authors and committee roll calls.