For more than two decades, CalChamber has issued the “Job Killer” list, a comprehensive package of legislation that would have historically eliminated jobs or opportunities for investment in job growth for California businesses. The list has been hugely successful for the business community, as more than 93 percent of bills that have wound up on the list over the years have been halted in the legislative process.
“California businesses and consumers alike are focused on the affordability of everyday life,” said CalChamber President & CEO Jennifer Barrera. “While the Job Killer list has served us well for more than 25 years, it has become clear that CalChamber’s focus must no longer be limited to legislation that just impacts jobs. Businesses and everyday Californians are struggling to keep up, and going forward, our policy positions will include a focus not only on jobs, but also legislation that is adding unnecessary costs and mandates on businesses that will ultimately lead to higher prices for consumers and further increase the cost of living in California.”
As CalChamber looks to not only oppose legislation that will drive higher costs and limit job creation, this year’s list also includes policies that promote good paying jobs and improve affordability for all Californians.
CalChamber’s list will include two categories moving forward: Cost Cutters for legislation that reduces costs for Californians, and Cost Drivers, which will increase costs for small businesses and consumers.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen far too many bills that are costly for Californians in 2025 than we have in previous years,” added Barrera. “The 2024 election has taught us that affordability and daily living are top of mind for all Californians, and CalChamber will support those issues, ensuring policy makers hear that message loud and clear.”
Here’s the first batch of CalChamber Cost Cutter and Cost Driver employment-related bills, which will be updated as legislation is continuously amended over the next several weeks and months.
COST CUTTERS: Legislation that reduces costs for businesses and consumers
AB 231 (Ta)
Work Opportunity Tax Credit: Provides a tax credit to businesses who hire previously incarcerated individuals who are re-entering the workforce, reducing costs on businesses and improving opportunities for workers.
AB 265 (Caloza)
Small Business Recovery Act: Allows the Office of Small Business Advocate to provide grants to small businesses impacted by the Los Angeles fires to help them recover and rebuild.
AB 685 (Solache)
Small Business Recovery Act: Authorizes the Office of Small Business Advocate to provide funding and technical assistance to small businesses impacted by the January 2025 fires in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
COST DRIVERS: Legislation that increases costs for businesses and consumers
SB 7 (McNerney)
Restricts Use of Automated Decision Systems in Employment: Imposes impractical requirements on employers of every size related to automated decision systems, which will discourage the use of such tools and subject employers to costly litigation and onerous new compliance procedures, thereby driving up costs and ultimately impacting consumer prices.
SB 310 (Wiener)
Expands Private Right of Action for Penalties: Creates a new private right of action for wage and hour penalties that will be manipulated by trial attorneys, undermining the 2024 PAGA Reform, which sought to reduce avenues for litigation abuse and overall costs on employers.
SB 464 (Smallwood-Cuevas)
Publication of Pay Data: Encourages litigation against employers based on the publication of broad, unreliable data collected by the state, which will unnecessarily drive up costs.
SB 632 (Arreguín)
Expands Costly Presumption of Injury: Significantly increases workers’ compensation costs for public and private hospitals by presuming certain diseases and injuries are caused by the workplace and establishes an extremely concerning precedent for expanding presumptions into the private sector. Has been tried nine times before and failed every time.
AB 298 (Bonta)
Prohibits Cost Sharing: Increases premiums for California’s employers and employees by restricting insurers from imposing a deductible, coinsurance, or copayment for in-network health care services provided to an enrollee under 21 years of age.
AB 858 (Lee)
Onerous Return to Work Mandate: Unnecessarily transforms prior, COVID-19 specific law that created an onerous and stringent process for specific employers to return employees to the workforce for specified industries into a new mandate that applies to any natural disaster.
AB 1018 (Bauer-Kahan)
Impact Assessments of Automated Decision Systems: Limits use of automated decision systems (ADS), including by small businesses, which will lead to significant liability and increased costs that will ultimately be borne by consumers. It would also hinder many beneficial uses of ADS, including but not limited to: enabling faster approvals and expanded access to credit and enhancing real-time fraud detection.
AB 1221 (Bryan)
Restricts Use of Data in Employment: Imposes impractical requirements on employers of every size relating to any worker data collected by a workplace surveillance tool, which is defined so broadly that it would impact everything from security footage to emails. These requirements will drive up costs and impact consumer prices.
AB 1234 (Ortega)
Creates New Penalty and Revises Wage Claim Procedures: Imposes new, automatic thirty percent penalty on all orders issued by the Labor Commissioner, which penalizes employers that exercise their due process rights and also makes other burdensome changes to the existing claims process.
AB 1331 (Elhawary)
Restricts Workplace Safety and Security Tools: Undermines workplace safety in every California workplace by effectively prohibiting the use of any surveillance technology in the workplace, including security cameras, cybersecurity systems, and anti-theft devices.
