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HomeCorporations CodeCh. 3Art. 3§ 12420 Worker Cooperative Membership Classes

§ 12420 Worker Cooperative Membership Classes

Corporations Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 12420 Worker Cooperative Membership Classes

This law says a company can create different types of memberships with different rules, but all worker-members must have the same rights. Only worker-members can get money from the company's profits.

Key Takeaways

  • •A company can have different types of memberships with different rules.
  • •All worker-members must have the same rights and rules.
  • •Only worker-members can get a share of the company's profits.

Example

A group of people start a bakery together as a worker cooperative.

All the bakers who work there must have the same rights and rules. If the bakery makes extra money, only the bakers who work there can get a share of it, not outside investors.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 12420 Worker Cooperative Membership Classes

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a corporation may issue memberships having different rights, privileges, preferences, restrictions, or conditions, as provided in its articles or bylaws. If the articles or bylaws authorize at least one class of voting memberships, a corporation may also authorize and issue additional classes of memberships, preferred or otherwise, that are divisible into a series or are nonvoting or both. (b) All worker-members shall have the rights, privileges, preferences, restrictions, or conditions as provided in the articles or bylaws. This membership shall not be divided into partial memberships. (c) A worker cooperative shall only make patronage distributions to the worker-member class. (Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 192, Sec. 16. (AB 816) Effective January 1, 2016.)

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

membershipsworker-memberspatronage distributionsworker cooperative

Related Statutes

  • § 12421 Equal Membership Rights
  • § 12422 Membership Redemption Provisions
  • § 5330 Membership Rights And Classes
  • § 5331 Membership Rights And Equality
  • § 7330 Membership Rights And Classes

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Corporations Code. Section 12420.
View Official Source