“Assembly Bill 907 would have allowed Californians to work more than eight hours in a day without overtime in exchange for additional time off,” said the bill’s author, Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway of Tulare, in a statement.

State law requires employers to pay employees 1½ times their normal rate when they work more than eight hours in a day or 40 hours in a week.

The bill’s opponents, including more than a dozen labor unions, are concerned it would result in employees being forced to work longer days at regular pay. They say that adequate scheduling flexibility is already provided under current law.

AB907 joins SB1335, SB187, AB2127, AB510, AB2217, SB1254, AB640 and AB244 on the slag heap of similar Republican bills that met their demise in Democrat-controlled committees in the last decade.

Despite that morbid legislative history, Conway and several business groups gave it another try before the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee on Jan. 8. Conway recounted a tour that she took at the Kraft plant in her district.

‘I just want my four 10s’

“Some of the workers said, ‘I just want my four 10s back, Connie, I just want my four 10s. If I had that, I wouldn’t have to miss my son’s games. I’d go back to a schedule that I’m comfortable with,’” she said. “While nothing in life is perfect, I vowed to them that I would do what I could to try to help them with that goal.

“I think AB907 is also good for the environment. Less people commuting on a daily basis means fewer people on our roadways, which results in less traffic and less pollution. Members, we don’t live in a 9-to-5 world, we certainly know that. California workers need a work-life balance, and AB907 may help them achieve that goal.”

Jennifer Barrera, legislative director for the California Chamber of Commerce, said that California is one of only three states that require daily overtime pay, and California makes it much more cumbersome to waive the requirement than the other two states.

“California requires employers to navigate through a multi-step process to have employees elect an alternative workweek schedule that, once adopted, must be ‘regularly’ scheduled,” said the chamber in a statement. “This process is filled with potential traps for costly litigation, as one misstep may render the entire alternative workweek schedule invalid and leave the employer on the hook for claims of unpaid overtime wages.”

As a result, no more than 2 percent of California’s 1.3 million businesses have alternate workweek schedules, according to Division of Labor Standards Enforcement data.

The other flex-time option allows employees to take time off only if the time is made up in the same workweek, which doesn’t always fit with employees’ plans, said Barrera.

“So those existing procedures that we have here in California aren’t effective,” she told the committee. “We believe that Assembly Member Conway’s bill provides the necessary flexibility and protection for employees as well. Because it’s only at the request of the employee that the employer can adopt these flexible work weeks.”

Barrera pointed out that the bill prohibits employers from forcing employees to adopt alternate work schedules. Employees can sue if they feel that they have been coerced, intimidated or discriminated against for refusing to adopt a new schedule.

“So I believe there’s enough protection in here for those employees, and it provides the necessary flexibility that we need here in the work place to create jobs in California,” she said.

No coercion in evidence in 47 states with work flex

Chris Micheli, representing the California Grocers Association, argued that the employer coercion hasn’t occurred in the 47 other states with no daily overtime requirement.

“Where are the examples of the abuses, of the favoritism, of the intimidation, of the retaliation threats in those 47 other states?” he asked.

The construction industry needs to have flexible work schedules due to the vagaries of the weather and other factors, said Julianne Broyles, representing the Associated Builders and Contractors of California.

“We think that providing flexibility when you can is an important benefit to the worker in every way that you can provide it,” she said. “Having artificial barriers to individual schedules, I think hurts the workers of California, hurts commerce in California, makes businesses less likely to want to site here as a result.”

Caitlin Vega, legislative advocate for the California Labor Federation, explained why this issue is so important to labor:

“The eight-hour day is one of the most fundamental rights for workers in this state. And it’s a right that was established more than 100 years ago. For us the eight-hour day actually is about work-family balance. The whole belief in fighting for an eight-hour day is for the worker to be able to go home to their family after eight hours work.

“And if they’re not going to be allowed to do that, that they be paid premium time for the loss of that time with their family. That’s one of the reasons that it’s so important to us, and that we fight for it year after year after year.”

Employees would have to approve change

Vega said that alternate workweek schedules can be adopted through elections. Two-thirds of employees in a work unit must approve before adopting a new schedule.

“We think that process has been designed to give the employer tons of control over the way that they implement this process,” she said. “But also to balance. Fundamentally taking away the eight-hour day or taking workers off the eight-hour day is a pay cut. It is something that saves a lot of money for employers. Which creates such a huge financial incentive for there to be pressure on individuals to waive the eight-hour day. We see it already under existing law.

“The election process is designed to keep individuals from feeling pressured, feeling obligated, from being told that it’s what they have to do to keep the company going and all the various subtle forms that employers can use to influence the decisions of workers. So we believe that existing law was carefully structured to provide flexibility, but also to protect the rights of workers.”

Chairman Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina, was the only committee member to weigh in on the issue: “Having the privilege and opportunity to sit in this chair, I’ve had the chance to visit folks in manufacturing factories, small and large. And today I believe that there is a system that allows for workers and employers to strike a balance. There should be a workplace balance in terms of making sure that there is a safe working environment for workers.”

After the five Democrats voted down the bill (two Republicans voted in favor), Conway invited Hernandez to visit her district and vowed, “We’ll continue to study this issue and make sure we get it right.”

By John Hrabe

I used to think that I was the world’s most well-traveled Californian.

In the past eighteen months, I’ve traveled to more than 70 cities in two dozen countries on four continents. I spent two months traveling overland from Cape Town to Nairobi, two weeks on a container ship crossing the North Atlantic and two days on a crowded train going from one end of India to the other.

Along the way, I’ve learned plenty of travel tips the hard way. It’s nearly impossible to update FlashReport.org while on a dial-up connection in Malawi. Don’t ever cross the North Atlantic in the middle of winter. And you’ll always find a clean and affordable place to stay with AirBnb.com.

But when it comes to globe-trotting, state Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff and Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway put even me to shame. Last week, during the legislature’s spring break, both GOP leaders enjoyed international junkets sponsored by Sacramento special interest groups. “GOP Leaders Gone Wild: Taiwan and Poland Edition” comes on the heels of November junkets to Hawaii and Australia, as I reported here yesterday.

Before Sen. Huff and Asm. Conway log any more frequent flyer miles or passport stamps, I wanted to offer a few travel tips for future legislative junkets.

5. Avoid traveler’scCheques and foreign transaction credit card fees

Much like legislative ethics, traveler’s cheques have become a rather antiquated practice. Most hotels, restaurants and shops accept credit cards, which will give you the best currency exchange rate. As long as you select the right credit cards. Some companies charge an additional 3 percent foreign transaction fee. The key is to select a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. My personal favorite is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, which also awards double points on all travel and dining purchases.

Of course, this tip is probably best directed at the special interest groups and Sacramento lobbyists that are picking up the tab for Conway and Huff’s adventures.

4. Keep connected with Google Voice and Skype

International long-distance charges are unnecessary in the digital age. Skype and other video conferencing programs are cost-effective ways to keep you connected with your staff in Sacramento. I’d also recommend acquiring a Google Voice account, which allows you to dial out using a California-based number. A Google Voice account will allow you to return calls from Taiwan and still display a (916) area code. Plus, you can retrieve messages online via the free voicemail feature. Google Voice can save you hundreds of dollars on your next phone bill with the added perk of making it seem like you never left.

3. Use free online translation programs to communicate with locals

With legislators traveling to so many different locations, it’d be impossible to learn every language. That’s where online translation programs can help you communicate with the locals. I haven’t used it yet, but I’m dying to try out Jibbigo, a translation app with on- and off-line components. With Internet access, you can use Google Translate for imperfect, but effective translations.

For example, say hypothetically speaking, you needed to translate the phrase: “Are enticements acceptable in your culture, or is that unique to Sacramento?” In Polish, according to Google Translate, that would be: “Łapówki są akceptowalne w kulturze, czy też jest to unikalny dla Sacramento?”

2. Prepare for the Form 700: Keep track of all your special interest junkets with trip it

Ann Ravel and the other killjoys at the FPPC don’t seem to understand the value of international junkets. How else will legislative leaders “strengthen cultural and economic ties” with lobbyists? Erg. Ugh. I mean other countries. Nevertheless, the buzzkills will no doubt expect to see the gifts listed on legislators’ annual Form 700 Financial Disclosure statements.

It can be difficult to keep track of which lobbyists bought which meal on which legislative junket. That’s where a travel planning application comes in. My personal favorite, Trip It, can help legislators keep track of all their gifts and travel reimbursements. You might even consider upgrading to Trip It Pro, which allows you to “automatically share all your travel plans with the people who need to know exactly where you are.”

1. Read CalWatchdog.com for all the latest California news.

Keep tabs on what’s going on back home by logging onto CalWatchdog.com. The website will keep you up to date on those legislative special elections in San Diego and the Central Valley. You know those elections that could determine the size of your caucus when you eventually return to California.

By John Hrabe

California state legislators returned to the Capitol this week after a week-long spring vacation. The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert already pointed out that spring break is “something California legislators and college students have in common.” That made us think of those tedious school essays, “How I Spent My Spring Break.”

So, how did legislators spend their time off? Much like college students, state legislators’ travel plans varied greatly. One legislator traded his legislator’s pin for his reserve military uniform. A few legislators went wild on special interest junkets. But most legislators used the time away from Sacramento to serve their constituents.

State Senator Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, spent the week away from the legislature performing his Air Force reserve duty.  Lieu’s service didn’t go unnoticed. The lieutenant colonel started the week by being presented with the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal. The award was in recognition of his “performance of outstanding service to the United States as Assistant Staff Judge Advocate” at the Air Force Space Command in Los Angeles. Lieu also somehow found time to serve his district.

“I did Air Force reserve duty earlier this week, and today I’m speaking at a Santa Monica affordable housing event,” Lieu tweeted to CalWatchdog.com last week.

Special interests

While Lieu was earning his second Oak Leaf Cluster for his military service, 15 legislators, including both Republican legislative leaders, were out-of-the-country ordering room service on the tab of special interest groups.

Assembly Republican leader Connie Conway of Tulare led a nine-person junket to Taiwan. Meanwhile, Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of Diamond Bar spearheaded a separate junket to Eastern Europe. If you’re experiencing déjà vu, that’s because it’s the second special interest junket by the state’s Republican leaders in less than six months. The Los Angeles Times reported that the Eastern Europe vacation was “bankrolled by groups lobbying the Legislature, including PG&E, Chevron, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Southern California Edison, among others.”

Conway did not respond to repeated requests for comment on her spring break junket.

Huff told CalWatchdog.com that the trip was beneficial because “Poland and California are similar.” The nearby picture is of Poland, taken by Huff on his trip.

“The challenges facing Poland and California are similar,” Huff told CalWatchdog via email. “Studying Poland’s energy grid and sharing ideas and concepts about renewable energy sources helps all of us make better, more informed decisions about our energy, which is our future.”

Huff said that “energy producers, regulators, environmentalists, labor and legislators” all participated in the spring break junket. Huff was joined bystate Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens; and by Assembly members Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, Henry Perea, D-Fresno, and Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont.

“To be effective decision makers, state legislators need to be educated themselves about the state’s energy needs and supply, and that is why I went on this educational trip,” Huff said in a lengthy statement, which also cited the recent trouble at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and public outcry over transmission lines in his district as additional reasons for the trip.

Taiwan

CalWatchdog.com couldn’t get a response from Conway’s office to explain her Taiwan junket. However, a spokeswoman for Conway told the LA Times, “With Taiwan serving as California’s seventh-largest global trading partner, it is important to strengthen cultural and economic ties.”

Some legislators didn’t need to travel to Asia to strengthen cultural and economic ties with their district. Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, simply drove up to Buena Park, where she toured the Korean Services Center, a nonprofit that provides support to Korean-American immigrants.

Quirk-Silva’s Orange County colleagues also kept busy with community tours and business events. State Sen. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana, “toured Orange County’s first fully dedicated pediatric emergency department” at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, R- Costa Mesa, attended the grand opening of Assi Natural Market in Irvine, according to his Facebook page.

Several legislators took time to improve their decision-making in Sacramento. Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Lake Wildwood, organized a “packed house at Chico City Hall for the CA Air Resource Board Town Hall.” Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, according to a Facebook status update on Thursday, was “headed to Navy Base Pt. Mugu” as part of an aerospace conference on unmanned aircraft systems, better known as drones.

The same day, Assemblyman Don Wagner, R- Irvine, “spoke with the Villa Park Rotary Club about the major issues in Sacramento.” Wagner also hosted an open house for his new Tustin district office during the spring recess, according to his Facebook page

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, who is normally preoccupied with his leadership responsibilities, spent time in his district office serving his constituents. Rhys Williams, Steinberg’s press secretary, told CalWatchdog.com that over break, the Pro Tem worked “closely with his District Office team managing individual constituents’ casework.”

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, might win the award for hardest working legislator. According to her staff, she was “busy, busy, busy,” hosting a monthly coffee, a senior scam-stopper event, a luncheon to honor the district’s women of the year, a meet-and-greet with local insurance agents and a meeting with the Small Business Advisory Council — all before she toured a medical center in her district.

Women of the year

At least two other legislators hosted district events to honor their “women of the year.” Assemblymen Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, and Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, honored local women that have made significant contributions to their community.

“It brings me great joy and pride to honor such exemplary women,” Assemblymember Calderon said in a press release. “Each of the honorees has made significant contributions in her community and deserves a special tribute for her dedication and commitment to improving the lives of residents in the 57th Assembly District.”

Of course, it’s not always better to give than it is to receive. State Senator Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was honored by the San Francisco Young Democrats as its “Advocate of the Year.”

“Senator Yee’s online voter registration law got over 500,000 young people registered to vote in an election year when funding for our education system was at serious risk,” the organization’s president Alex Mitra said in explanation for the award. Yee also spoke about his online voter registration legislation at the MobileGov2013 conference. As Yee was giving a speech, Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, was “waiting for [former Utah Gov.] Jon Huntsman to speak @ Reagan Library.”

Last week, much of the public’s attention was focused on the US Supreme Court’s oral arguments in two landmark gay rights cases. State Senator Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, who is one of California’s leading gay rights advocates and the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate, was among those at the nation’s capital who “heard oral arguments for Prop 8, Hollingsworth v. Perry,” according to a Tuesday tweet.

By John Hrabe

Nero may have fiddled as Rome burned. At least he was in the city when it happened.

The same can’t be said for the leaders of the California Senate and Assembly Republican caucuses, who left the state last November, as Democrats claimed last-minute, upset victories in two legislative races during late ballot counting.

Ron Smith, the Republican candidate in the 36th Assembly district, and Assemblyman Bill Berryhill, the Republican candidate in the 5th state Senate district, each maintained a 2 percentage-point lead over their respective Democratic rivals on election night. It was only later, when late absentee and provisional ballots were counted, that the results flipped, giving Democrats critical pickups in their quest for California’s first legislative supermajorities in 80 years.

Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway and Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff were enjoying special-interest junkets out of the state and country, according to state disclosure reports, while at the same time leaving staff members to handle on-site ballot verification programs in crucial legislative races.  Seasoned campaign veterans, including California’s new Republican Party chairman, Jim Brulte, believe that ballot verification programs are necessary in order to prevent fraud and guarantee that the counting is accurate.

Conway at Hawaiian resort, while ballots were being counted

From November 11-15, when late absentee and provisional ballots were being counted, Conway was the guest of the Independent Voter Project at Maui’s Fairmont Kea Lani hotel. In stark contrast to the Norwalk-based Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters, the Hawaiian resort is “located on the white sands of Wailea’s Polo Beach among 22 acres of lush tropical landscape.”

According to her disclosure report, Conway received more than $2,500 in travel, meals and lodging from the special interest group, which “has received financing in recent years from business and labor interests including cigarette maker Altria, Southern California Edison, Eli Lilly and Co., Pacific Gas & Electric, the California Beer and Beverage Distributors, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Assn., Chevron and the state prison guards union.”

Smith, who lost his Assembly race by 145 votes, believes the outcome was manipulated during the counting of provisional ballots.

“[T]here is a political group that has learned how to manipulate the election by playing with provisionals,” the disgruntled Assembly candidate told the Sacramento Bee.

Conway did not respond to CalWatchdog.com’s requests for comment on her decision to leave the state as Assembly races were still being decided.

Huff travels to the Land Down Under 

While Capitol staff members and political consultants were driving down to the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters in Stockton, Senate GOP Leader Huff relaxed on a 13-day trip to Australia and New Zealand. The trip included dinner and drinks at “New Zealand’s most awarded winery,” the Villa Maria Estate. According to his disclosure report, Huff received more than $1,600 in free meals, drinks, transportation and souvenirs.

“Just because I was in Australia and New Zealand, doesn’t mean I wasn’t directing appropriate counsel and staff to monitor the absentee ballot verification in my absence. I was,” Huff told CalWatchdog.com. “The election result was not determined until a week after I returned from this trip.  The outcome would not have changed if I had been in Northern California doing anything differently.”

Huff’s version of events is disputed by several high-ranking Republican staff members, who, unlike Huff, were in the state during the entire ballot-counting process. The staff members, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution from caucus leaders, said it was “disheartening” to know that the legislative leaders were enjoying luxurious vacations while operatives were tediously reviewing ballots in dreary government buildings. One staff member said the leaders were “completely unaware of what was going on.”

The Senate GOP leader said he had committed to the trip before the close election results came about.

“As for the trip itself, I had made a previous commitment to attend. That promise needed to be honored,” he said.

When told of Huff’s explanation, one high-ranking GOP staff member laughed, “You know from past history of close races that it can take one, two or three weeks to count ballots. Why on earth would you ever schedule a trip during that period?”

Brulte: “Leaders lead by example”

Legislative leaders’ out-of-touch and disconnected management style is in stark contrast to the state’s new Republican Party chairman, Brulte, who raised the issue of ballot integrity programs in his lopsided chairman’s race.  The former state Senate Republican leader received 90 percent of the vote for state party chairman, but still went through a ballot integrity drill to prove a point.

“I believe that leaders lead by example, and we have to be in the precincts working, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our volunteers,” Brulte told reporters on Sunday afternoon at the California Republican Convention in Sacramento. “That’s why I campaigned right up until the votes started to be cast, and that’s why I had ballot integrity people in the counting room to make sure the votes were cast correctly and there was no ballot fraud because I think you lead by example.”

Huff defended his campaign operations as adequate for the modern era.

“The wonder of modern telecommunications meant I was in constant contact with my elections staff, attorneys and volunteers,” he said. “Even Jim Brulte stated that his office will be wherever his phone is.”

Huff also distanced himself from the losses suffered by the Assembly Republican caucus.

“He [Brulte] has also stated that the lopsided presidential election results had much more to do with Republican losses in the [California] Senate than anything else,” Huff said.

Brulte has reserved his toughest criticism for the Assembly Republicans’ “poor execution.”

“We didn’t have to lose those seats,” he told the Sacramento Bee, referring to the devastating Assembly losses. “We got away from the basics. That’s political malpractice.”

In spite of Berryhill going down to defeat and GOP staff members feeling they were thrown under the bus, Huff believes that his trip to the Land Down Under was valuable.

“One of lessons we learned from the 2012 election is that Californians admire elected officials who work with the other party,” he said. “The New Zealand and Australia study trip gave us the opportunity to create friendships that would help us get good policy done this year.”

With a successful ballot integrity program, Republican leaders might not have needed those bipartisan “friendships.”