California Business Roundtable

SACRAMENTO—Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, today issued the following statement in response to proposed language in AB 102 that will bring back the Industrial Welfare Commission:

Special interests continue to use legislation and statewide initiatives to fundamentally disrupt the employer/employee relationship in the private sector. From AB 5, which was the culmination of a decades-long attempt to destroy the independent contractor model, to AB 257, the FAST Act that was rightfully referended by the business community, special interest unions continue to jeopardize workers, jobs, and small businesses throughout the state. AB 102 is the latest attempt by special interests to circumvent voters and create an unaccountable bureaucracy to set wages and working conditions that gives them new power at the expense of investment and job growth in the state. This new Industrial Welfare Commission will have unchecked authority and no accountability to target certain industries at the behest of special interests, destroying jobs and businesses in its wake. We join the broad business community in strongly opposing this latest legislative scheme.”