Proposed California Employment Laws Still Pending

Back in the days of the Gray Davis administration, you could count on 15-20 new employment laws every year. The Legislature would pass them en masse, and then the Governor would veto one or two to show how pro-business he was, and then sign the rest. For some reason, the number of new employment law proposals has dropped to a handful in more recent times. This year, the Legislature seems intent on passing a select few bills the California Chamber of Commerce affectionately refers to as "job killers." Courtesy of the Chamber, see the list of pending bills here.

The pending bills include a couple of health care measures. One of them, SB 840, again attempts to impose a "single payer" healthcare system. According to the Healthcare for All blog, the voters rejected single payer back in 1994 with Prop. 186. I guess it's time for another run? Another bill requires large employers to provide a certain level of health insurance or pay a tax to the state. I think the voters rejected a "pay or play" system a couple of years ago with Prop. 72. I also think a court just invalidated a similar effort in Maryland. Stay tuned....

DGV