Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with House amendments and pass a bill that requires grocery stores and pharmacies to provide advance notice to the community and workers before closures, helping to address food deserts that disproportionately affect communities of color in California.

Highlights:

• Requires a a grocery establishment or a pharmacy establishment, to satisfy specified requirements no later than 45 days before its closure, including providing written notice of the closure to specified entities and the employees of the covered establishment affected by the closure and their authorized representatives if the covered establishment employs more than 5 employees, and the Employment Development Department (Sec. 1). 

• Requires a covered establishment that employs 5 or fewer employees to, no later than 30 days before a closure of the covered establishment takes effect, provide written notice of the closure to the employees of the covered establishment affected by the closure (Sec. 1). 

• Exempts specified covered establishments, including a covered establishment that is a pharmacy and is owned by a person or entity who owns 15 or fewer pharmacies nationwide, from providing written notice to specified persons and entities, including the Employment Development Department (Sec. 1). 

• Exempts a covered establishment from these requirements if specified circumstances apply, including that the closure is necessitated by a physical calamity or an act of war, except as specified.

• Authorizes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each closure to be assessed and collected in a civil action against a covered establishment that violates the above-described written notice provisions brought by specified persons or entities, including any person injured by the violation, except as specified (Sec. 1). 

• Requires the court, in assessing the amount of the civil penalty, to consider relevant circumstances, including the nature and severity of the misconduct, and require the court to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs (Sec. 1). 

• Requires, if the action is pursued by specified entities, including the Attorney General, that specified portions of the civil penalty collected be paid to, among other specified sources, the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered (Sec. 1). 

• Require a county, after receiving a written notice described above from any covered establishment, to provide the local workforce development board of the county in which the covered establishment is located with information about safety net programs, including the CalWORKs program (Sec. 1). 

• Require a local workforce development board to provide the covered establishment with information about safety net programs and the availability of local workforce training services (Sec. 1). 

• Requires a covered establishment that receives information from a county or a local workforce development board as described above, no later than 30 days before its closure, to provide any of that information it receives to each of its employees (Sec. 1). 

• Require the department, after receiving a written notice described above from a grocery establishment, to transmit to the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture information stating that the grocery establishment will be closing and the closing date (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that requires grocery stores and pharmacies to provide advance notice to the community and workers before closures, helping to address food deserts that disproportionately affect communities of color in California.

Highlights:

• Requires a a grocery establishment or a pharmacy establishment, to satisfy specified requirements no later than 45 days before its closure, including providing written notice of the closure to specified entities and the employees of the covered establishment affected by the closure and their authorized representatives if the covered establishment employs more than 5 employees, and the Employment Development Department (Sec. 1). 

• Requires a covered establishment that employs 5 or fewer employees to, no later than 30 days before a closure of the covered establishment takes effect, provide written notice of the closure to the employees of the covered establishment affected by the closure (Sec. 1). 

• Exempts specified covered establishments, including a covered establishment that is a pharmacy and is owned by a person or entity who owns 15 or fewer pharmacies nationwide, from providing written notice to specified persons and entities, including the Employment Development Department (Sec. 1). 

• Exempts a covered establishment from these requirements if specified circumstances apply, including that the closure is necessitated by a physical calamity or an act of war, except as specified.

• Authorizes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each closure to be assessed and collected in a civil action against a covered establishment that violates the above-described written notice provisions brought by specified persons or entities, including any person injured by the violation, except as specified (Sec. 1). 

• Requires the court, in assessing the amount of the civil penalty, to consider relevant circumstances, including the nature and severity of the misconduct, and require the court to award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs (Sec. 1). 

• Requires, if the action is pursued by specified entities, including the Attorney General, that specified portions of the civil penalty collected be paid to, among other specified sources, the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered (Sec. 1). 

• Require a county, after receiving a written notice described above from any covered establishment, to provide the local workforce development board of the county in which the covered establishment is located with information about safety net programs, including the CalWORKs program (Sec. 1). 

• Require a local workforce development board to provide the covered establishment with information about safety net programs and the availability of local workforce training services (Sec. 1). 

• Requires a covered establishment that receives information from a county or a local workforce development board as described above, no later than 30 days before its closure, to provide any of that information it receives to each of its employees (Sec. 1). 

• Require the department, after receiving a written notice described above from a grocery establishment, to transmit to the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture information stating that the grocery establishment will be closing and the closing date (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text