NFIB California Main Street Minute, July 24-28

From your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento

Welcome to the July 24-28 edition of the Main Street Minute from your small-business-advocacy team in Sacramento.

The Legislature

• The month-long summer break the Legislature is on gives NFIB an opportunity to plan with its coalition partners on strategies and tactics for opposing the remaining legislation of the 2023 session that threatens to do the most harm if not stopped.

• Two such highly damaging bills that will command more of the coalition’s energies than some of the others are Senate Constitutional Amendment 7 and Assembly Bill 1757.

A Constitutional Right to Join a Union?

• To the only credit you can give it, Senate Constitutional Amendment 7 (SCA 7) is a short read, but its potential for harm looms big.

• “Existing state law forbids a public employer from deterring or discouraging public employees from becoming or remaining members of an employee organization … This measure, the Right to Organize and Negotiate Act, would ensure that all Californians have the right to join a union and to negotiate with their employers, through their legally chosen representative, to protect their economic well-being and safety at work. “

• “The seemingly innocuous language would be devastating for California,” said NFIB California’s chief legislative advocate, Tim Taylor. “Public sector unions would be able to halt public works projects that might violate a worker’s newly minted constitutional right to safety while private sector unions might face similar consequences should the National Labor Relations Act not prove a sufficient federal backstop to protect NFIB small business owners against the provisions of SCA 7.”

• Furthermore, SCA 7 retroactively Teflon coats itself against any refinement or fix once it becomes law by prohibiting “on or after January 1, 2023, any statute or ordinance from being passed, enacted, or adopted that interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively over their wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment and workplace safety.”

• NFIB California sent an Action Alert to the membership earlier this month, and we thank those who took the time to act on it. Another one is being planned. The Main Street Minute tries to avoid clichés, but sometimes they’re called for. SCA 7 is the Pandora’s Box of the 2023 legislative session. It’s vital the box never be opened.

• Right now, SCA 7 is in the Senate Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments. Unlike other legislation, however, proposed constitutional amendments are not subject to deadlines and can speed out of any committee or chamber at any time.

• Leave it to California to show it’s different and, as usual, not in a good way. While every other state either has in place or is trying to pass Right to Work laws, the Golden State is promoting coercion over choice.

$4,000 Penalty for Each Visit to a Website

• NFIB California recently added Assembly Bill 1757, a measure dealing with website disability access, to its list of legislation it is fighting against.

• Contained in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s analysis of the bill is this alarming testimony as to the measure’s potential impact:

— “On behalf of EcomBack, a website accessibility development firm that helps small businesses build and remediate website accessibility, I write to express our deep concerns regarding Assembly Bill 1757 (‘AB 1757’), which would codify Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA (‘WCAG 2.1’) as the standard for determining website accessibility.

— “We have helped over 75 businesses make their websites accessible over the past year and understand the nuances and technicalities of website accessibility. We find it appalling that AB 1757 is a Gut & Amend of AB 950 which was put in the suspense file, and all costs that were associated with the bill were gutted from the text.

— “By adopting WCAG 2.1 as the standard for website accessibility which almost no websites actually meet and permitting statutory damages of $4,000 for each ‘visit’ to a website and specifically permitting lawsuits against website designers and others, this amendment will open the floodgates for Unruh Act litigation in California against businesses, especially small and micro businesses still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

• According to NFIB’s Tim Taylor, “Technically, the internet/website bill is enforced under the Americans with Disabilities Act, so AB 1757 is something more like the next lawsuit gold mine for unscrupulous plaintiff attorneys to threaten small businesses with regarding ‘accessibility’ under the auspices of the ADA. This time however, it’s the digital version.”

• AB 1757 is in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Highlights from NFIB Legislative Program Manager Caitlin Lanzara’s weekly report

California Supreme Court Opens Door to More PAGA Claims

• in a disappointing, yet unsurprising decision, the California Supreme Court on Monday, July 17, issued its much-anticipated decision in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc. and rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion regarding an employee’s ability to maintain non-individual PAGA [Private Attorneys General Act] claims.

• Specifically, the Court held that an employee who has been compelled to arbitrate non-individual claims under PAGA maintains standing to pursue PAGA claims on behalf of other employees. NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center filed an amicus brief that argued for arbitration over PAGA litigation.

Nationally

• This week, the U.S. Senate may take a vote on an amendment from Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) to insert the Credit Card Competition Act into the National Defense Authorization Act. At this moment, it is not clear if the amendment will be allowed. NFIB’s Federal Government Relations team will update everyone if a vote gets scheduled. NFIB is supportive of Sen. Marshall’s effort.

— The Credit Card Competition Act, which NFIB members advocated for at the 2023 D.C. Fly-In, is intended to lower credit card “swipe fees” by requiring credit card processors to allow for a second network to be offered to small businesses. Read the Fly-In issue sheet here. Take action and urge Senators to vote yes on the Marshall Amendment here.

• On July 19, NFIB sent a press release supporting the re-introduction of the Main Street Tax Certainty Act in the U.S. House. The bill currently has 92 cosponsors, we encourage NFIB members to urge their Representatives to co-sponsor the bill here.

— NFIB President Brad Close said, “Passing the Main Street Tax Certainty Act would stop an enormous tax increase currently scheduled to strike small businesses at the end of 2025. The 20% Small Business Deduction is set to expire in 2025, and without it, small businesses will have to limit their plans to grow, invest, and hire. By making the deduction permanent, small business owners will have the tax certainty they need to make business decisions about their future. We are encouraged that this important legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate and urge Congress to consider it.”

• This Wednesday, July 26, members of NFIB’s Federal Government Relations team will provide a quarterly federal legislative update on key small business policies including taxes, financial services issues, healthcare, and labor law. Register here.

Next Main Street Minute July 31.