BILL ANALYSIS
AB 485
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 485 (Carter) - As Introduced: February 24, 2009
Policy Committee: Labor and
Employment Vote: 9-1
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a right to unpaid employment leave and
other job protections for a volunteer member of the California
Wing of the Civil Air Patrol when the member responds to an
authorized emergency operational mission. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Requires that an employer with more than 15 employees provide
no less than 15 days of unpaid leave per calendar year for
this purpose.
2)Authorizes an employer to require certification from the
proper CAP authority to verify employee eligibility for leave.
3)Specifies that an employee taking leave shall not be required
to exhaust accrued vacation leave, personal leave,
compensatory leave, sick leave, disability leave or other
leave.
4)Requires an employer to restore an employee to the position he
or she held when the leave began, or to a position with
equivalent seniority status, employee benefits, pay and other
terms and conditions of employment. However, an employer may
decline to restore an employee because of conditions unrelated
to their exercise of rights under this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Given current state leave policies, this bill would likely
have only a minor impact on state costs.
AB 485
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2)Potential costs, probably not significant, to local
governments, depending on their leave policies and the
frequency of emergency operations.
COMMENTS
1)Background . The Civil Air Patrol, the official civilian
auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is an all-volunteer
organization with 57,000 members nationwide. CAP performs
more than 90% of search and rescue missions for general
aviation aircraft in the nation, and also provides support
during emergency situations including earthquakes, fires,
floods, and searches for missing persons.
Existing federal and state law provide enhanced leaved rights
various leave rights for employees members of the active
military and their families. For example, federal and state
law allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of
job-protected leave for any "qualifying exigency" arising out
of the active duty or call to active duty status of a spouse,
son, daughter or parent; and up to 26 weeks of job-protected
leave to care for a covered service member with a serious
injury or illness. Existing state law prohibits discrimination
against members of the military or naval forces of the state
or of the United States based on that membership, and
prohibits employers from discharging any person from
employment because of the performance or ordered military duty
or training, or by reason of being a member of the military or
naval forces of this state. These protections do not, however,
to members of the Civil Air Patrol.
State law provides that state employees called into service by
the Office of Emergency Services, including volunteers members
of the California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, are entitled
to up to 10 calendar days per fiscal year of administrative
time off from their appointing power. However, no such
protections are provided for employees of private sector
employers.
3)Rationale . This bill provides enhanced leave protections to
volunteer members of the civil air patrol that are similar in
concept to those afforded to members of the military.
According to the author, "when these members are called upon
to serve in an emergency mission, there is no law to ensure
that their jobs will remain after the mission is complete".
AB 485
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Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081