The Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement on June 10 approved SB 1227 as amended and sent it to the Assembly Committee on Labor and Employment, keeping alive a bill aimed at building apprenticeship pathways into Department of Industrial Relations enforcement jobs.
According to the committee summary and hearing materials, the measure would require DIR to work with state worker unions to develop those pathways. Supporters told lawmakers the proposal is meant to address persistent vacancies at DIR and Cal/OSHA, which they said are contributing to delayed inspections and a backlog of wage and retaliation claims.
The committee materials say supporters cited DIR vacancy rates above 25% and described operational problems at Cal/OSHA, but the record provided does not break down those figures beyond testimony. The hearing also referenced 2024 and 2025 California State Auditor reports on staffing impacts at the agency.
The bill was one of three measures heard by the committee that day. SB 1227 was the only one centered on DIR staffing and apprenticeship pathways; committee members described it as a step toward filling critical enforcement roles.
