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The California Association of REALTORS® (C.A.R.) is OPPOSING AB 2416 (Stone), a bill that creates a new kind of lien for wage claim disputes. C.A.R. opposes AB 2416 because it denies due process to the owner of the property, and unnecessarily clouds title. The bill was just passed by the Senate Appropriation Committee and could make it to the Senate floor by Monday, August 18. Ask your Senator to vote NO on AB 2416.

Under existing law, trades people and others who have conducted work to improve a property have the right to record a mechanics lien against the property for payment for that work. This bill is not like a mechanics’ lien. If an employee has a wage dispute with their employer there are multiple legal remedies available to them to seek fair compensation. This is a new and different remedy.

AB 2416 seeks to create a new wage lien, without the procedural protections of the mechanics lien so that an employee may record a lien against any property owned by the employer, even property that has NO connection to the dispute. The new rule purports to exempt principal residences, but the bill invites “shotgun” recordings that will hit all properties.

There are already existing legal remedies for wage disputes. Between arbitration, grievance processes, and lawsuits, employees already have sufficient legal options at their disposal to address wage disputes without chilling the availability of mortgage finance and unnecessarily clouding title.

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