BILL ANALYSIS
AB 485
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 485 (Carter)
As Amended July 23, 2009
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |66-8 |(May 26, 2009) |SENATE: |28-7 |(September 1, |
| | | | | |2009) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: L. & E.
SUMMARY : Establishes a right to employment leave and other
employment protections for members of the California Wing of the
Civil Air Patrol, as specified.
The Senate amendments :
1 Reduce the amount of employment leave authorized by the bill
from 15 to 10 calendar days.
2)Specify that an emergency operational mission may occur within
or outside of the state.
3)Provide that leave for a single emergency operational mission
shall not exceed three days unless an extension of time is
granted by the governmental entity authorizing the mission and
approved by the employer.
4)Specify that an employer is not required to grant Civil Air
Patrol leave to an employee who is required to respond to
either the same or other simultaneous an emergency operational
mission as a first responder or disaster service worker for a
local, state or federal agency.
5)Specify that the civil action authorized under the bill shall
be filed in the appropriate superior court, not a court of
appeal.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1 Provided that an employer with more than 15 employees shall
not discriminate against or discharge a member of the Civil
Air Patrol (CAP) due to the employee's membership in CAP and
shall not hinder or prevent a member from performing service
AB 485
Page 2
as part of the California Wing of CAP during an emergency
operational mission.
2)Required an employer with more than 15 employees to provide
not less than 15 days per calendar year of unpaid leave to an
employee responding to an emergency operational mission of the
California Wing of CAP, as specified.
3)Defined an "employee" as a person who has been employed by the
employer for at least a 90-day period immediately preceding
the commencement of leave.
4)Required an employee to give the employer as much notice as
possible of the intended date upon which the CAP leave will
begin and end.
5)Authorized an employer to require certification from the
proper CAP authority to verify employee eligibility for leave,
and provides that the employer may deny the leave to be taken
as CAP leave if the employee fails to provide the required
certification.
6)Specified 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.
7)Provided that nothing in this bill prevents an employer from
providing paid leave to the employee for taking such leave.
8)Required an employer to restore an employee to the position
held by him or her 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.
9)Prohibited an employer from interfering with, retraining or
denying the exercise of rights under this bill.
10)Prohibited an employer from discharging, fining, suspending,
expelling, disciplining or in any other manner discriminating
against an employee who exercises a right under this bill or
opposes an unlawful practice under this bill.
AB 485
Page 3
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill will result in no state costs and likely
minor, non-reimbursable costs to local governments.
COMMENTS : This bill proposes to provide for unpaid leave and
employment protection for members of the Civil Air Patrol, the
civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. Unlike most
members of the Armed Services, members of the Civil Air Patrol
are unpaid volunteers.
The United States Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was founded in December
1941 by citizens concerned about the defense of America's
coastline during World War II. The CAP became the civilian
auxiliary of the United States Air Force in 1948 and is charged
with three primary missions - aerospace education, cadet
programs, and emergency services. The CAP currently has 56,000
members in eight geographic regions consisting of 52 wings.
The California Wing of the CAP is a member of the Pacific Region
and consists of seven groups, approximately 80 squadrons, and
nearly 4,000 individual members.
According to the author, existing state and federal laws
establish leave provisions for members of the Armed Forces of
the United States, their reserve components, and the National
Guard, but not for the CAP. When CAP members are called upon to
serve in an emergency mission, there is no law to ensure that
their jobs will remain after the job is complete. The author
states that, with the current economy, we may lose our brave CAP
members because they cannot afford to lose their jobs.
The author's office contends that similar legislation has been
proposed or enacted in nine other states: Arkansas, Colorado,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, and
Missouri.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
FN: 0002177