Committee advances bill to improve wage and hours reporting for benefits verification

SB 1054, advanced by the Labor subcommittee, aims to improve the state’s wage reporting by adding hours‑worked and occupation fields and increasing reporting frequency. The sponsor said the changes would improve verification for benefits and prevent improper loss of Medi‑Cal and CalFresh when federal work requirements change.

Justin Garrett of the California State Association of Counties said counties need timely wage and hours data to verify work requirements and avoid administrative loss of coverage; Maxwell Johnson of California Competes said more granular wage data would help workforce and education planning.

Members asked technical questions about implementation and the committee analysis flagged intersections with other data systems. The subcommittee passed the measure and referred it to Appropriations.