(a) The commissioner shall deposit seventy-five dollars ($75) of each registrant’s annual registration fee, required pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 2675, into one separate account. Funds from the separate account shall be disbursed by the commissioner only to persons determined by the commissioner to have been damaged by the failure to pay wages and benefits by any garment manufacturer, jobber, contractor, or subcontractor.
(1) In making these determinations, the Labor Commissioner shall disburse amounts from the fund to ensure the payment of wages and benefits, interest, and any damages or other monetary relief arising from the violation of orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission or from a violation of this code, including statutory penalties recoverable by an employee, determined to be due to a garment worker by a registered or unregistered garment business.
(2) A disbursement shall be made pursuant to a claim for recovery from the fund in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Labor Commissioner.
(3) Any disbursed funds subsequently recovered by the Labor Commissioner, pursuant to an assignment of the claim to the commissioner for recovery, including recovery from a surety under a bond pursuant to Section 2675.5, or otherwise recovered by the Labor Commissioner from a liable party, shall be returned to the separate account.
(b) The remainder of each registrant’s annual registration fee not deposited into the special account pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be deposited in a subaccount and applied to costs incurred by the commissioner in administering the provisions of Section 2673.1, Section 2675, and this section, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 28, Sec. 28. (SB 96) Effective June 27, 2017.)