He vetoed a bill that sought to clarify that pay discrimination claims could date back to each discriminatory payment. The bill responded to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that said Lilly Ledbetter, a former Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. employee in Alabama, waited too long to sue for pay discrimination.

He also vetoed legislation to impose new restrictions on employers’ use of credit reports for hiring purposes.  Supporters of AB 943 argued that a credit report says nothing about ability to do a job responsibly.

The governor also vetoed measures to place new limits on employer use of the federal E-Verify program to weed out illegal workers, to regulate excessive indoor heat in the workplace and put new onus on businesses to prove they kept accurate payroll records.

“Gov. Schwarzenegger understands that California business cannot withstand additional regulation at a time when we are struggling with economic recovery,” CalChamber president and chief executive officer Allan Zaremberg said in a news release.

Schwarzenegger signed legislation to reauthorize state law that requires car washes to register with the state and to give workers limited rights to see their own doctors for job-related injuries. Both were set to expire at the end of the year.

Readers may write to writer Lonce LaMon at lonce@adjustercom.com