Senate labor committee advances package on fraud reporting, pay equity, surveillance and worker supports; farmworker tax credit fails

The Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement met to hear a broad slate of bills affecting employers, workers and state enforcement policy. Committee members advanced measures on workers' compensation premium‑fraud reporting, pay‑equity reform, medical fee‑schedule review, workplace surveillance disclosures and reentry employment pilots, while a proposal to create a payroll tax credit to offset farmworker overtime costs failed in committee and a proposal requiring certain pay‑data disclosures remained under debate.

Senators and witnesses emphasized three recurring themes: protecting workers and honest businesses from fraud; improving data and transparency to identify disparities (in pay and the use of workplace surveillance tools); and strengthening workforce pipelines for underserved groups, including formerly incarcerated people and behavioral‑health providers.

Votes at a glance

- SB 536 (Archuleta): Passed as amended to the Committee on Appropriations (final recorded committee vote: 5–0). The bill would require insurers and rating organizations to report suspected workers' compensation premium fraud to the Employment Development Department (EDD) and give EDD tools to identify and recover unpaid payroll taxes. Supporters said the change expands a successful State Compensation Insurance Fund pilot and could recover “tens of millions” or more in unpaid premiums. Support came from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the California Chamber of Commerce and others; no formal opposition was recorded in committee testimony.

- SB 628 (Grove): Failed in committee (final recorded committee tally: 1–4). The bill would have created a payroll tax credit for agricultural employers to offset the overtime portion of pay for eligible farmworkers after California’s AB 1066 (2016) extended overtime to many agricultural workers. Proponents, including growers and farmworkers, said overtime reduced take‑home pay and that states such as Oregon and New York paired overtime with credits; opponents including labor unions, Equal Rights Advocates and worker advocates said the credit would subsidize employers and shift costs to the general fund. The author asked for reconsideration after the vote.

- SB 642 (Limon): Passed as amended to the Committee on Judiciary (final committee vote: 4–1).…