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Committee sends bill to appropriations to codify California Workplace Outreach Program
Summary
SB 578 would codify the California Workplace Outreach Program (CWAP), a network of community organizations that provide workplace‑rights education and assistance in multiple languages. The committee voted 4–1 to send the bill to Appropriations.
Senate Bill 578, introduced by the committee chair, was advanced to the Senate Appropriations Committee after committee testimony supporting codifying the California Workplace Outreach Program (CWAP).
CWAP began during the COVID‑19 pandemic to connect vulnerable and hard‑to‑reach workers with timely information about workplace rights, paid leave and health‑and‑safety protections via trusted community messengers. Supporters said CWAP’s network of community‑based organizations reached millions of workers and that codifying the program would sustain multilingual outreach and enforcement partnerships between state agencies and local organizations.
Supporters at the hearing included representatives from university labor centers and community groups. Domenica Lopez of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center said CWAP’s regional work in the San Joaquin Valley reached over 132,000 workers in one year; Griselda Reyes of the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project described the program’s work reaching Indigenous farmworkers in languages such as Mixtec and providing Know‑Your‑Rights caravans.
No opposition testified in committee. The committee recorded a 4–1 vote to pass SB 578 to Appropriations (Smallwood Cuevas, Cortese, Durazo, Laird ayes; Strickland no). Proponents said codification would provide sustainable funding and strengthen worker protections in low‑wage and immigrant communities.
