PRO-BUSINESS GROUPS in California are railing against a bill that would require businesses and labor organizations to report racial and gender figures to the state every year. The bill’s sponsor says it is designed to “put a little pressure” on companies and unions whose demographics don’t mirror those of their respective communities. Businesses believe it could provide fresh meat for trial lawyers.
Passed by both legislative houses in late August on party-line votes, AB 1309 awaits signature on California governor Gray Davis’s desk. If signed into law, the bill would force businesses and labor groups with 100 or more employees or members, as well as certain apprenticeship programs, to annually report their racial and gender breakdown to the state’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing. That department would then make the information available to any person or group willing to file a Public Records Act request. Sponsored by Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, a Democrat from Los Angeles, AB 1309 puts into statute a little-complied-with employment regulation now only enforced when businesses seek state contracts.
