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AB-1109 • 2026

Evidentiary privileges: union agent-represented worker privilege.

Evidentiary privileges: union agent-represented worker privilege.

Labor Privacy
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Kalra
Last action
Official status
Senate - Appropriations
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source states 'except as specified' regarding who can prevent disclosure and when the privilege applies, but it does not list those specific exceptions in the provided text.

Creating a Privacy Rule for Union Worker Communications

This bill creates a new legal rule that keeps private conversations between union workers and their union agents secret in most court cases, except criminal ones.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a privilege to keep confidential talks between union agents and represented employees or former employees from being shared in court.
  • Allows the worker to stop other people from revealing these protected communications.
  • Applies only when the union agent is acting in their official role as a representative.
  • States that this new rule does not work in criminal cases.
  • Follows existing laws about how someone can choose to give up or waive this privilege.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Union agents who represent workers
  • Employees currently represented by a union
  • Former employees who were once represented by a union

Terms To Know

Evidentiary privilege
A legal rule that allows people to refuse to share certain private information in court.
Union agent
A person who acts as a representative for workers within a labor union, as defined by the bill.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not apply to criminal proceedings.
  • The privilege can be lost if the worker shares significant parts of the conversation or agrees to share it without being forced.
  • The text mentions exceptions but does not list every specific situation where the rule might not work.

Bill History

  1. California Legislative Information

    Senate - Appropriations

Official Summary Text

Evidentiary privileges: union agent-represented worker privilege.