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SB-648 • 2026

Employment: gratuities: enforcement.

Employment: gratuities: enforcement.

Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Smallwood-Cuevas
Last action
2025-07-30
Official status
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 93, Statutes of 2025.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Employment: gratuities: enforcement.

SB 648, Smallwood-Cuevas.

What This Bill Does

  • SB 648, Smallwood-Cuevas.
  • Employment: gratuities: enforcement.
  • Existing law creates the Department of Industrial Relations, and establishes within the department the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), which is headed by the Labor Commissioner.
  • The DLSE is generally charged with enforcing employment statutes and regulations, either in administrative actions or through litigation.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2025-07-30 California Legislative Information

    Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 93, Statutes of 2025.

  2. 2025-07-30 California Legislative Information

    Approved by the Governor.

  3. 2025-07-25 California Legislative Information

    Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m.

  4. 2025-07-17 California Legislative Information

    In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. 2025-07-17 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 2595.) Ordered to the Senate.

  6. 2025-07-10 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.

  7. 2025-07-09 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 9).

  8. 2025-07-02 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  9. 2025-06-26 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  10. 2025-06-05 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Coms. on L. & E. and JUD.

  11. 2025-05-29 California Legislative Information

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  12. 2025-05-29 California Legislative Information

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1328.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  13. 2025-05-27 California Legislative Information

    Ordered to special consent calendar.

  14. 2025-05-23 California Legislative Information

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  15. 2025-05-23 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1208.) (May 23).

  16. 2025-05-16 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing May 23.

  17. 2025-05-05 California Legislative Information

    May 5 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  18. 2025-04-25 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing May 5.

  19. 2025-04-23 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 836.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  20. 2025-04-09 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 22.

  21. 2025-04-09 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 739.) (April 9). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  22. 2025-03-26 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 9.

  23. 2025-03-05 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Coms. on L., P.E. & R. and JUD.

  24. 2025-02-21 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.

  25. 2025-02-20 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 648, Smallwood-Cuevas.
Employment: gratuities: enforcement.
Existing law creates the Department of Industrial Relations, and establishes within the department the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), which is headed by the Labor Commissioner. The DLSE is generally charged with enforcing employment statutes and regulations, either in administrative actions or through litigation. Existing law imposes various administrative sanctions, civil fines and penalties, and criminal penalties for violations of employment statutes or regulations.
Existing law prohibits an employer or agent from collecting, taking, or receiving any gratuity or a part thereof that is paid, given to, or left for an employee by a patron, or deducting any amount from wages due an employee on account of a gratuity, or requiring an employee to credit the amount, or any part thereof, of a gratuity against and as a part of the wages
due the employee from the employer, and requires the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce these provisions.
This bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action for gratuities taken or withheld in violation of the above-described provisions, as prescribed.

Current Bill Text

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