BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 549|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 549
          Author:   Corbett (D), et al
          Amended:  6/4/07
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM  .:  3-2, 3/28/07
          AYES:  Migden, Kuehl, Padilla
          NOES:  Wyland, Ackerman

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  9-6, 5/31/07
          AYES:  Torlakson, Cedillo, Corbett, Florez, Kuehl, Oropeza,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Steinberg, Yee
          NOES:  Cox, Aanestad, Ashburn, Dutton, Runner, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Battin, Simitian


           SUBJECT  :    Employees right to bereavement leave

           SOURCE  :     California Employment Lawyers Association


           DIGEST  :    This bill provides employees in California with  
          the right to take up to four days of unpaid leave from work  
          upon the death of specified relatives.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law, collective bargaining  
          agreements, and employer practice, allow employees to take  
          time off work without fear of discharge or discrimination  
          for a number of purposes.  

          1.Employers may grant employees certain paid or unpaid sick  
            leave, vacation time off, or other leave for the benefit  
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            of their employees.  

          2.Workers represented by unions may obtain leave rights  
            through bargaining.  

          3.The City and County of San Francisco, as of February  
            2007, requires employers to grant all workers in San  
            Francisco one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours  
            worked.  

          4.The California Pregnancy Disability Leave program gives  
            pregnant women specified unpaid leave rights.

          5.The federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the  
            California Family Rights Act require all public employers  
            and private sector employers with 50 or more employees to  
            grant employees up to 12 weeks per year of unpaid leave  
            to bond with a newborn child, to care for a family member  
            with a serious health condition, or to allow the employee  
            to recover from his or her own serious health condition.

          6.As of July 1, 2004, California workers covered by State  
            Disability Insurance who need to take time off to bond  
            with a new child or for family care-giving needs are  
            eligible for the paid family leave program.  This program  
            allows California workers to take up to six weeks of  
            partial wage replacement family leave.

          This bill adds the right to take unpaid time off in the  
          event of the death of certain relatives.  Specifically, the  
          bill:

          1.Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, or  
            discriminating against an employee for inquiring about,  
            requesting, or taking up to four days bereavement leave  
            upon the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling,  
            grandparent, grandchild, or domestic partner.

          2.Limits the application of the right to bereavement leave  
            to employees who have been employed by the employer for  
            at least 60 days.

          3.States that the bereavement leave is to be unpaid, but  
            allows the employee to use vacation, personal leave, or  







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            compensatory time off that is otherwise eligible to the  
            employee.

          4.Provides that the four days of bereavement leave need not  
            be consecutive.

          5.Permits the employer to require documentation of the  
            death.

          6.Grants employees the right to recover actual damages if  
            the employee is discriminated against for the exercise of  
            rights pursuant to this section.

          7.Specifies that the employee may either file a complaint  
            with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or bring  
            a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for  
            violations of this section.

          8.Clarifies that bereavement leave for state employees  
            remains subject to collective bargaining agreements.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                2007-08     2008-09     
           2009-10   Fund  
          Bereavement leave                                 Less than  
          $150 annually in overtime                         General/
                              costs necessary to maintain safety       
                                   various
                              and medical staffing ratios;             
                                                                       
                         Special
                              potentially major unmet workload

          Enforcement                                  Unknown costs  
          to the Division of                           General
                              Labor Standards Enforcement to
                              respond employee complaints








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           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/5/07)

          California Employment Lawyers Association (source) 
          American Federation of Television and Radio Artists,  
          AFL-CIO
          Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
          California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit  
          Union
          California Conference of Machinists
          California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
          California Professional Firefighters
          California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
          California State Council of Laborers
          California State Employees Association 
          California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
          Consumer Attorneys of California
          Engineers and Scientists of California, IFPTE Local 20
          International Longshore and Warehouse Union
          People for the American Way
          Professional and Technical Engineers, IFPTE Local 21
          State Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO
          UNITE HERE!
          United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  6/5/07)

          California Chamber of Commerce
          California Manufacturers and Technology Association

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    Proponents argue that everyone  
          suffers the often devastating loss of a relative at some  
          point during their life.  They argue that no California  
          employee should have to choose between their employment and  
          grieving the loss of a loved one.  A bereavement leave  
          policy such as proposed in this bill, with time off without  
          pay, a legitimate, humane, and reasonable approach to this  
          problem.  The sponsor notes that no federal or state law  
          provides job protection for an employee who must take a  
          leave of absence following the death of a relative.  This  
          bill, they conclude, provides an important right to  
          California employees.  Furthermore, the bill includes  
          protections to ensure that employees do not abuse the  
          bereavement leave protections.








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           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    Opponents argue that the bill  
          would unreasonably expand employers' liability for a new  
          protected bereavement leave for employees.  They note that  
          employees are currently provided protected leave in a  
          variety of instances.  This new leave requirement would  
          apply regardless of business necessity of the employer.   
          This causes undue hardships for employers because employee  
          absences are disruptive and interfere with production,  
          necessitating reassignment of work and leading to increased  
          costs. The bill establishes new sanctions and rights of  
          action against employers, creating further obstacles to  
          business and sending the wrong message to new and growing  
          businesses that could create jobs for Californians.  
           

          NC:nl  6/5/07   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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