author: Thurmond
co-author: Gonzalez Fletcher
Current labor laws limit a worker’s legal actions when they have not been paid by their employer. This diminishes workers’ rights by establishing no penalty to employers for not compensating their workers while a complaint is being handled. Under AB 1701, workers who have not been paid for a job can seek their back wages and benefits, with interest, from either the direct contractor or the subcontractor, spreading accountability to all levels of the contracting structure. (This bill is now law.)