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Gavin Newsom vetoes unemployment pay for striking workers, protections for domestic employees [1]
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Date: 2023-10
Gov. Gavin Newsom dealt a blow to California labor by vetoing bills that would have given unemployment checks to striking workers and workplace protections to domestic employees.
The governor on Saturday night vetoed Senate Bill 799, which would have made workers on strike for 14 days eligible for unemployment benefits.
He also vetoed Senate Bill 686, which would have brought domestic workers under the umbrella of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) protections.
Striking worker unemployment
Newsom cited financial reasons in his SB 799 veto message. He said the state has not revised its unemployment insurance financing structure since the 1980s, making it “vulnerable to insolvency.”
Expanding eligibility could increase unemployment insurance debt and taxes on employers, Newsom said.
“Now is not the time to increase costs or incur this sizable debt,” the governor wrote. “I have deep appreciation and respect for workers who fight for their rights and come together in collective action. I look forward to building on the progress we have made over the past five years to improve conditions for all workers in California.”
Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-Burbank, who authored the bill, said he was “disappointed” by the governor’s decision.
“The labor unrest&concern we all witnessed this summer earned legislature’s action to pass UI benefits 4 striking workers,” Portantino said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Newsom likely felt more comfortable with a veto after the Writers Guild of America on Tuesday reached a deal to end one of the highest-profile strikes in the country after nearly 150 days.
The WGA strike — along with the ongoing Screen Actors Guild work stoppage — has kept a large number of California film and television employees out of work for months, hurting the Los Angeles economy.
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation, called the veto “out of step with American values.”
“This veto tips the scales further in favor of corporations and CEOs and punishes workers who exercise their fundamental right to strike,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
Domestic worker protections
SB 686, from Sen. María Elena Durazo, is the second domestic worker protection bill authored by the Los Angeles Democrat that Newsom has vetoed. He also rejected a similar piece of legislation, Senate Bill 1257, in 2020.
Durazo’s most recent measure would have dropped the “household domestic service” exemption from Cal/OSHA regulations and required the agency to adopt new rules for employers, who would have needed to comply by Jan. 1, 2025.
“I’m deeply disappointed that the Governor doesn’t recognize the inherent worth and dignity of those women who care for our homes and families by (vetoing) SB686,” Durazo wrote in a post on X.
Newsom recognized Durazo for her “commitment to the well-being of workers in our state.” But, he said, “new laws in this area must recognize that private households and families cannot be regulated in the exact same manner as traditional businesses.”
Newsom also expressed concerns about the lack of specificity around “standards domestic employers would be required to follow” and the system that would be used to investigate violations and enforce rules.
“I am particularly concerned, given that approximately 44% of the households that employ domestic workers are low-income themselves, that this bill creates severe cost burdens and penalties for many people who cannot afford them,” the governor wrote.
This story was originally published October 1, 2023, 6:00 AM.
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[1] Url:
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article279975784.html
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