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California · 2025–26 Regular Session · Senate Bill

SB 648: Employment: gratuities: enforcement.

Enacted Official data

  1. Introduced
  2. In committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. Passed both chambers
  5. Enacted

Last official action: ·Record last updated:

Plain-language summary

SB 648 is a senate bill introduced in the California Senate on February 20, 2025. According to its official title, it concerns: Employment: gratuities: enforcement. Primary sponsor: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas (D). Most recent recorded action (July 30, 2025): Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 93, Statutes of 2025.

Generated automatically from the official title, sponsor list, and status record only. It does not characterize the bill’s purpose or effects. How summaries are written

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

Existing law creates the Department of Industrial Relations, and establishes within the department the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), which is headed by the Labor Commissioner. The DLSE is generally charged with enforcing employment statutes and regulations, either in administrative actions or through litigation. Existing law imposes various administrative sanctions, civil fines and penalties, and criminal penalties for violations of employment statutes or regulations.

Existing law prohibits an employer or agent from collecting, taking, or receiving any gratuity or a part thereof that is paid, given to, or left for an employee by a patron, or deducting any amount from wages due an employee on account of a gratuity, or requiring an employee to credit the amount, or any part thereof, of a gratuity against and as a part of the wages due the employee from the employer, and requires the Department of Industrial Relations to enforce these provisions.

This bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action for gratuities taken or withheld in violation of the above-described provisions, as prescribed.

Sponsors

Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 1

NameRolePartyChamberDistrict
Lola Smallwood-CuevasPrimary sponsorDemocraticSenate28

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 93, Statutes of 2025.
  2. Approved by the Governor.
  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11 a.m.
  4. In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
  5. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 2595.) Ordered to the Senate.
  6. Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
  7. From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 9).
  8. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
  9. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
  10. Referred to Coms. on L. & E. and JUD.
  11. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
  12. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1328.) Ordered to the Assembly.

Sources

  1. California Legislative Information — pubinfo database export
  2. Official bill page