BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 381| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 381 Author: Block (D) Amended: 6/1/09 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM : 6-0, 6/25/09 AYES: DeSaulnier, Wyland, Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Leno, Yee SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 7/6/09 AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Price, Runner, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Oropeza ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/11/09 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Unemployment compensation disability benefits: academic employees SOURCE : Faculty Association of California Community Colleges DIGEST : This bill allows community college districts to elect to provide State Disability Insurance (SDI) coverage for certain employees, as specified, but stipulates that the election would not be contingent upon coverage of other employees of the community college district employer. ANALYSIS : Existing law requires private sector employers to provide SDI coverage for their employees, while public CONTINUED AB 381 Page 2 agencies (the state, cities, counties, school districts, community college districts, and other local districts) are not required to provide SDI coverage for employees. California's SDI program is a partial wage-replacement insurance plan for California workers that provides affordable, short-term benefits to eligible workers for up to 52 weeks in the event that a person suffers a non-occupational injury or illness that prevents that person from working. SDI benefits range from $50 to $959 per week, depending upon earnings during a 12-month base period. Paid Family Leave is part of the SDI program and replaces lost income to care for a sick relative or to bond with a new child. The SDI programs are state-mandated, and funded through employee payroll deductions. The SDI program is administered through the Employment Development Department. Under existing law, public agencies that elect to provide SDI coverage must do so under statutory rules that include: 1.All of the eligible employees who are part of a labor organization are parties to an election that is the result of a negotiated agreement between the employer and the recognized employee organization. 2.All of the eligible employees in one or more places of business who are not part of a labor organization are parties to an election requested by a written petition signed by a majority of the eligible employees. Existing law allows public entities, except school district and community college districts, to elect to cover all of their employees who are part of an appropriate unit, provided the election is the result of a negotiated agreement between the public agency and the recognized employee organization. This bill allows community college districts to elect to provide SDI coverage for certain employees, as specified, but stipulates that the election would not be contingent upon coverage of other employees of the community college district employer. Specifically, this bill allows a community college district: AB 381 Page 3 1.To elect to provide SDI coverage to all eligible employees who are part of an employee organization bargaining unit, as specified, but would not make the election contingent upon coverage of other employees. 2.To elect to provide coverage to its management and confidential employees and to its employees who are not part of an appropriate unit, but would not make the election contingent upon coverage of other employees. 3.To elect to provide disability compensation coverage to specified permanent, part-time, or temporary academic employees that is not contingent upon coverage of other academic employees. "Academic employee" is defined as a person employed by a community college district in an academic position. Comments The SDI program provides partial wage-replacement insurance for California workers that provides affordable, short-term benefits to eligible workers in the event that a person suffers a non-occupational injury or illness that prevents that person from working. Existing law requires private sector employers to provide SDI coverage for their employees, while public agencies, including a community college district, are not. Community college districts employ academic faculty in both temporary part-time and permanent full-time capacities. Because of difference in sick leave, paid time off and other personnel policies that might apply to workers in either of these classifications, each set of workers might have different perspectives on the need to opt in or out of the SDI program. This legislation recognizes these differences and would instead allow the different classification of employees to choose whether or not to participate in the SDI program. This bill allows those employees who find value in the cost to participate in the SDI program to do so, while at the same time those who do not want to participate would not be required to pay for a plan that they find no benefit. AB 381 Page 4 FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 7/7/09) Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (source) American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO California Federation of Teachers California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO Community College League of California ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, even in a good economy a short-term disability can be economically disastrous for a part-time worker. The author argues that currently, California's part-time community college faculty lack adequate financial protection in the event of a non-work related short-term disability. Proponents argue that since public employers are not required to provide SDI, part-time community college faculty have only their accumulated leave, which can only be used during an academic term in which they are employed, to rely on in the event of an extended illness. To make matters worse, proponents argue, if a faculty member is collecting unemployment insurance and becomes ill and is unable to look for work, he or she will become ineligible to continue to receive unemployment benefits. However, if the part-time faulty member participates in the SDI program, he or she would be seamlessly transferred out of UI and into SDI. Proponents of the bill state that current law limits the ability of employees within a bargaining unit to elect into SDI, and when the district chooses to participate in SDI both temporary and permanent full time faculty are required to contribute. Proponents argue that since SDI is completely employee paid, tenured faculty may feel that they do not have need for the SDI plan considering they have, on average, 10 sick days per year, and many have access to a sick leave donation bank. This bill would allow part-time faculty to participate in SDI even if the tenured faculty of a bargaining unit choose differently. AB 381 Page 5 Similarly, this bill would also allow the full time faculty to elect into SDI, even if the part-time faculty did not want to. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Yamada AGB:nl 7/7/09 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****