Section 238.5 Of Article 1. General Occupations From California Labor Code >> Division 2. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.
238.5
. (a) (1) Any individual or business entity, regardless of its
form, that, as part of its business, contracts for services in the
property services or long-term care industries shall be jointly and
severally liable for any unpaid wages, including interest, where the
individual or business entity has been provided notice, by any party,
of any proceeding or investigation by the Labor Commissioner in
which the employer is found liable for those unpaid wages, to the
extent the amounts are for services performed under that contract.
(2) The issue of joint and several liability under this section
shall be determined (A) in a proceeding under Section 98 if the
individual or contracting business is provided notice in the
administrative complaint alleging such liability and named a
defendant in the course of the Section 98 proceeding, (B) in an
administrative proceeding brought by the Labor Commissioner to
investigate, prosecute, or recover unpaid wages and interest pursuant
to a citation, or in a court action brought by the Labor
Commissioner, if the contracting individual or business is provided
preliminary notice by the Labor Commissioner of joint and several
liability under this section at least 30 days prior to issuance of a
citation, or filing of a court action, or (C) by a court in an action
pursuant to Section 98.2. No action for a violation or enforcement
of this section shall be brought under Part 13 (commencing with
Section 2698) of Division 2.
(b) The joint and several liability provided by this section shall
not apply to unpaid wages owed to employees covered by a bona fide
collective bargaining agreement, if the agreement expressly provides
for wages, hours of work, working conditions, a process to resolve
disputes concerning nonpayment of wages, and a waiver of the joint
and several liability provided by this section.
(c) An employer that contracts to provide services in the property
services or long-term care industries shall, prior to entering into
such a contract, provide written notice to the other party to the
prospective contract of any unsatisfied final judgments against the
employer for nonpayment of wages. The notice shall also provide the
text of this section. The failure of the employer to provide notice
under this subdivision shall not be a defense to the joint and
several liability provided by this section.
(d) An employer that contracts to provide services in the property
services or long-term care industries shall provide, within 30 days
of the entry of the judgment, written notice of any unsatisfied final
judgments against the employer for nonpayment of wages to any
parties with which the employer is presently under contract to
provide services in the property services or long-term care
industries. The failure of the employer to provide notice under this
subdivision shall not be a defense to the joint and several liability
provided by this section.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the following apply:
(1) "Property services" means janitorial, security guard, valet
parking, landscaping, and gardening services.
(2) "Long-term care" has the same definition as in Section 238.4.
(f) This section shall not be interpreted to impose joint
liability on an individual or the owner of a home-based business, for
any property services, to the extent that the property services are
provided at the individual or home-based business owner's primary
residence, provided that the primary residence does not have multiple
housing units.