BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 485
Author: Carter (D)
Amended: 7/23/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUST. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/25/09
AYES: DeSaulnier, Wyland, Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Leno,
Yee
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-2, 7/7/09
AYES: Corbett, Florez, Leno
NOES: Harman, Walters
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 9-3, 8/17/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Oropeza, Price, Wolk,
Wyland, Yee
NOES: Cox, Runner, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-8, 5/26/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Civil Air Patrol: California Wing: employment
leave
SOURCE : California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol
DIGEST : This bill creates the Civil Air Patrol
Employment Protection Act, which requires an employer with
more than 15 employees to provide not less than 10 days per
calendar year of unpaid leave to an employee responding to
CONTINUED
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an emergency operational mission of the California Wing of
Civil Air Patrol, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing federal law, known as The Uniformed
Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA),
prohibits an employer from denying any benefit of
employment on the basis of an individual's membership,
application for membership, performance of service,
application for service, or obligation for service in the
uniformed services. USERRA also requires that employers
rehire a veteran, reservist, or National Guard member after
being absent due to military service or training, assuming
the absence has been less than five years and the employee
notified the employer either verbally or in writing of the
upcoming deployment.
Existing federal and state laws, known as the federal
Family Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights
Act, require all employers with 50 or more employees within
a 75-mile radius to grant 12 weeks of unpaid family leave
in a 12-month period to any employee who is eligible. This
leave can be taken by an employee for the purposes of child
birth, care of a newly adopted child or newly placed foster
child, and serious health conditions for the employee, the
employee's spouse or registered domestic partner, or for
the employee's parent. With certain exceptions, the
employee taking the leave must be reinstated.
Existing state law allows the spouses of service members of
the Armed Forces to take up to 10 days of unpaid leave when
their spouse is on qualified leave from military
deployment.
Existing state law provides that a state employee who is
called into service by the Office of Emergency Services
(OES) is entitled to paid administrative time off from his
or her appointing power. The administrative time off
cannot exceed to 10 calendar days per fiscal year, nor can
a mission exceed three days, unless an extension of time is
granted by OES and the appointing power. This provision of
law specifically covers a state employee who participates
in the California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. (Section
19844.5 of the Government Code)
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This bill establishes the right to unpaid employment leave
and other job protections for a volunteer member of the
United States Civil Air Patrol (CAP) when the member
responds to an authorized emergency operational mission as
part of the California Wing of the CAP. Specifically, this
bill:
1. Requires an employer with more than 15 employees to
provide not less than 10 days per calendar year of
unpaid leave to an employee who is a volunteer and is
responding to an emergency operational mission of the
California Wing of CAP.
2. Limits this CAP leave for a single emergency operational
mission to no more than three days, unless an extension
is granted.
3. Provides that an employer is not required to grant this
leave to an employee who is required to respond to
either the same or other simultaneous emergency as a
first responder or disaster service worker for a local,
state, or federal agency.
4. Authorizes the employer to require certification from
the appropriate CAP as verification of the employee's
eligibility for leave, and to deny the leave if the
employee fails to provide the certification.
5. Specifies that an employee taking leave shall not be
required to exhaust accrued vacation leave, personal
leave, compensatory leave, sick leave, disability leave,
or any other leave during this CAP leave.
6. Requires the 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, but allow the employer to decline to restore
an employee because of conditions unrelated to their
exercise of rights under this bill.
7. Prohibits an employer from discharging, fining,
suspending, expelling, disciplining or in any other
manner discriminating against an employee who exercises
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a right under this bill or opposes an unlawful practice
under this bill, and prohibit an employer from
interfering with, retraining, or denying the exercise of
rights under this bill.
8. Provides that the leave available under this bill would
be unpaid, but nothing in the bill prevents an employer
from providing paid leave for this purpose.
9. Provides that an employer and employee may negotiate for
the employer to maintain the benefits of the employee at
the expense of the employer during the leave.
10.Provides other protections for benefits accrued prior to
the date on which leave begins, rights under any
collective bargaining agreement or employee benefit plan
entered into on or after January 1, 2010, contract
rights or seniority status of an employee not entitled
to this leave, and related employment rights.
11.Authorizes an employee to bring a civil action in the
appropriate superior court to enforce the provisions of
this bill, including issuance of an injunction and other
necessary and appropriate relief.
Comments
The Civil Air Patrol was formed on December 1, 1941, as a
voluntary civilian organization for the civil defense of
the United States. After Pearl Harbor, the Civil Air
Patrol defended America's coastal regions, including
anti-submarine patrols. In 1946, President Truman signed
Public Law 946, which established the Civil Air Patrol as a
federally charted civilian corporation.
Since that time, the Civil Air Patrol has three
congressionally mandated missions: Aerospace Education,
Cadet Programs and Emergency Services. The Civil Air
Patrol is organized into eight geographic regions and 52
wing groups. The California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol
is a member of the Pacific Region and consists of seven
groups, approximately 80 squadrons, and nearly 4,000
individual members. All members of California Wing CAP are
unpaid civilian volunteers.
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In terms of emergency services, the California Wing of the
Civil Air Patrol conducts search and rescue missions,
disaster relief, and humanitarian services in conjunction
with the Red Cross, including blood and tissue
transportation. The Civil Air Patrol reports that so far
this year they have participated in two emergency missions.
As most emergency missions involve stressful flight
conditions, most volunteers spend a few days on the mission
before they are replaced by other Civil Air Patrol
volunteers and sent home.
This bill provides protected leave for members of the Civil
Air Patrol engaging in volunteer emergency operations, as
well as protection from discrimination due to membership in
the Civil Air Patrol.
Prior legislation . AB 392 (Lieu), Chapter 361, Statues of
2007, allows the spouses of service members of the armed
forces to take up to 10 days of unpaid leave when their
spouse is on qualified leave from military deployment.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Expansion of employee No state costs; unknown,
likely General
leave rights minor non-reimbursable costs to
local governments
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/09)
California Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (source)
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/19/09)
Department of Finance
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The bill's sponsor, the California
Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, reports that their members
provide many hours of non-compensated time in support of
various activities. This bill will only apply when the
United States Air Force, California Emergency Management
Agency, or other subdivision of the state declares an
emergency, which would only occur in the event of a mission
that involves the saving or protection of life and
property. The sponsor concludes by arguing that this bill
will allow the most experienced Civil Air Patrol volunteers
to respond to an emergency mission without adverse impacts
on their employment.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom
Berryhill, 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, Gilmore, Hagman,
Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones,
Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning,
Nava, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torrico,
Tran, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Anderson, Blakeslee, Garrick, Harkey, Knight, Logue,
Niello, Audra Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Jeffries, Miller, Nestande,
Torres, Villines
AGB:mw 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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