Present law generally prohibits a local government from adopting or enforcing any legal requirement that regulates or imposes a requirement upon an employer pertaining to employee scheduling except when necessary to avoid creating a public or private nuisance. This bill instead generally prohibits a local government from adopting or enforcing any legal requirement that regulates or imposes a requirement upon an employer pertaining to hours worked, scheduling that an employer is required to provide employees, or employee output during work hours. This bill specifies that a local government entity may set and regulate hours, scheduling, and output for its own employees and for the provision of services. This bill further clarifies that the general prohibition does not prohibit a local government entity from regulating or limiting the hours a business may operate.
Present law prohibits local governments from, as a condition of doing business within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local government or contracting with the local government, requiring a private employer to pay its employees an hourly wage in excess of the minimum state or federal hourly wage. This bill adds the following:
(1) Unless required by state or federal law, all additional wage or employment benefit mandates imposed on private employers by a local government are preempted;
(2) Local governments are prohibited from imposing a wage or employment benefit mandate on a private employer;
(3) Local government entities are prohibited from, through purchasing or contracting procedures, seeking to control or affect the wages or employment benefits provided by their vendors, contractors, service providers, or other parties doing business with the local governments. This bill prohibits a local government from, through the use of evaluation factors, qualifications of bidders, or otherwise award preferences on the basis of wages or employment benefits provided by its vendors, contractors, service providers, or other parties doing business with the local government; and
(4) A local government is authorized to offer its own employees wage and employment benefits.
For purposes of the provisions described in (1) – (4), and present law limiting a local government's authority to require a prevailing wage on a construction contract that exceeds the wages established by the prevailing wage commission, that:
(1) "Employment benefits" means anything of value that an employee may receive from an employer in addition to wages and salary; and
(2) "Wage or employment benefit mandate" means a requirement adopted by a local government which requires a private employer to pay any or all of its employees a wage rate or provide employment benefits not otherwise required under state or federal law.
ON MARCH 30, 2023, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 774, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #1 deletes the provision stating that the general prohibition does not prohibit a local government entity from regulating or limiting the hours a business may operate.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 7-51-1802, 50-2-112(a)(1), 50-2-112, 50-2-112(b)