SB 1503

Bill Subjects

Cannabis Workers And License Requirements

Abstract

(1) Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act of 2016 (AUMA) , an initiative measure approved as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, authorizes a person who obtains a state license under AUMA to engage in commercial adult-use cannabis activity pursuant to that license and applicable local ordinances. Existing law, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) , among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities. Under MAUCRSA, the Department of Cannabis Control has sole authority to license and regulate commercial cannabis activity. MAUCRSA authorizes the department to issue state licenses only to qualified applicants. MAUCRSA imposes various requirements on an applicant for a license, including, among other things, requiring an applicant to submit a notarized statement that the applicant will enter into, or demonstrate that it has already entered into, and will abide by the terms of a labor peace agreement, as specified. Existing law imposes the notarized-statement requirement on an applicant with 20 or more employees and, commencing July 1, 2024, on an applicant with 10 or more employees and prohibits the department from renewing a license, on or after July 1, 2024, unless the licensee submits a notarized statement that the licensee has entered into and will abide by the terms of a labor peace agreement. This bill, for purposes of these provisions, would determine the number of employees of an applicant or licensee by reference to the applicant or licensee's federal employer identification number, individual tax identification number, or social security number, as specified. The bill would require an applicant to provide that information. Existing law requires the Contractors State License Board to require, as a condition precedent to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a license, that the applicant or licensee have on file at all times a current and valid Certificate of Workers' Compensation Insurance or Certification of Self-Insurance in the applicant's or licensee's business name, as specified. This bill similarly would require the Department of Cannabis Control to require, as a condition precedent to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a license, that the applicant or licensee have on file at all times a current and valid Certificate of Workers' Compensation Insurance or Certification of Self-Insurance in the applicant's or licensee's business name. The bill would require the department and the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to enforce this requirement pursuant to their existing enforcement authorities. The bill would impose this requirement on licensees or applicants with 10 or more employees on or before July 1, 2024, and for all other licensees or applicants on or before December 31, 2024. This bill would require a licensee that employs 10 or more workers to provide to the department, by a specified date, the total number of full- and part-time employees, temporary workers, and independent contractors who provide services to the licensee, as described, and the specific employer identification number applicable to each of those workers. (2) Existing law, as established in the case of Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (Dynamex) , creates a presumption that a worker who performs services for a hirer is an employee for purposes of claims for wages and benefits arising under wage orders issued by the Industrial Welfare Commission. Existing law provides that for specified unemployment insurance and employment purposes, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates otherwise, as described. This bill would apply the law established in the Dynamex case and the provision described above to a worker who performs services for a licensee under MAUCRSA or for a person or entity who is required to obtain such a license, as specified. (3) Existing law requires an employee to furnish, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, either as a detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee's wages, to their employee an accurate itemized statement in writing showing, among other things, gross wages earned. Existing law imposes related requirements on the keeping, inspection, and request for itemized statement records, and sets forth remedies and penalties for noncompliance. Existing law also requires employers to provide to each employee a written notice containing certain information regarding their wages and employer information. This bill would require an employer licensed under MAUCRSA to comply with the above-described requirements. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.