BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 549
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 11, 2007

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mark Leno, Chair

                    SB 549 (Corbett) - As Amended:  July 2, 2007 

          Policy Committee:                              Labor and  
          Employment   Vote:                            5-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill gives employees in California the right to take four  
          days of unpaid leave 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 requesting or taking up  
            to four days of bereavement unpaid leave upon the death of a  
            spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or  
            domestic partner. The bereavement leave can be taken up to 13  
            months following the death, and need not be on consecutive  
            days.

          2)Limits the right to bereavement leave to those who have been  
            employed by their present employer for at least sixty days.

          3)Permits the employer to require documentation of the death  
            within 30 days of when the leave is taken.

          4)Grants employees the right to recover actual damages if he or  
            she is discriminated against for the exercise of bereavement  
            rights, and specifies that the employee may either file a  
            complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement  
            (DLSE) or bring a civil action in a court.

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

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Negligible impact on state government as an employer, to the  








                                                                  SB 549
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            extent that bereavement leave for state employees would remain  
            subject to collective bargaining under the bill. According to  
            DPA, all state employees currently receive 3 days of  paid   
            bereavement leave and may receive additional personal leave  
            days for various purposes.

          2)Minor, probably absorbable cost to DLSE for the review of  
            potential employee complaints of discrimination related to  
            their exercise of bereavement leave rights. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background  . Existing law provides employees the opportunity to  
            take both paid and unpaid time away from work without fear of  
            discharge or discrimination for a number of specified  
            purposes, such as personal and family sick leave. Current  
            federal and state laws do not provide protected leave for  
            bereavement.

           2)Rationale  . Proponents indicate that everyone suffers the  
            often-devastating loss of a relative at some point during  
            their life, and that no one should have to choose between  
            their employment and grieving the loss of a loved one. They  
            assert that the bereavement policy contained in this bill is a  
            legitimate, humane, and reasonable approach to this problem.
           
          3)Opponents  claim that the bill would impose an unreasonable  
            expansion of an employer's liability for a new protected leave  
            for employees, which would apply regardless of business  
            necessity of the employer. They assert that the sanctions and  
            rights-of-action against employers resulting from this bill  
            will create further obstacles to business and job growth in  
            this state. 
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081