Robert Jones is becoming a regular at the state Senate Rules Committee, and that’s not a good thing. For the second week in a row, the committee today delayed a confirmation vote on Jones, who the governor appointed deputy secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency last year. If the full Senate doesn’t confirm Jones by June 8, he’s out.
Jones, as you may remember, has been targeted by some labor groups and employment lawyers for what they say is lax enforcement of labor laws and his firing in 2006 (while Jones was acting labor commissioner) of veteran state attorney Miles Locker. Jones fired back at his critics today, saying they had misrepresented department statistics and that, in fact, he has a fine enforcement record.
He also accused Locker of giving agency documents to a plaintiffs lawyer in a major wage-and-hour class action in 2005 while later telling the defendant that the same documents couldn’t be found. The plaintiffs attorney, Tracee Lorens of San Diego, told committee members last week that Jones was aiding defense attorneys in her suit against Brinker Restaurant Corp. while hampering her own efforts to get documents.
“There’s a lot of he-said, she-said,” said Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata in announcing his decision to delay the vote. “I’m not quite there yet.”
It was standing room only at Jones’ hearing today. Attendance was probably boosted by the fact that, coincidentally, it was Lobby Day at the Capitol for the California Employment Lawyers Association, which opposes Jones’ confirmation.
— Cheryl Miller
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