BILL ANALYSIS
SB 257
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 257 (Pavley)
As Amended April 30, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-12
HEALTH 16-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-3
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|Ayes:|Jones, Fletcher, Ammiano, |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, |
| |Block, Conway, De La | |Ammiano, Coto, Davis, |
| |Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, | |Fuentes, Hall, John A. |
| |Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, | |Perez, |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, Nava, | |Skinner, Solorio, Audra |
| |V. Manuel Perez, Salas, | |Strickland, Torlakson |
| |Audra Strickland | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Gaines |Nays:|Duvall, Harkey, Miller |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires every state agency and department, including
local offices, when notified by a female employee that she is
nearing maternity leave, to notify the employee, through its
usual channels of communication with state employees and in the
most cost-effective manner, of specified information regarding
breastfeeding. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes a number of findings and declarations regarding the
benefits of breastfeeding to infants, mothers, and employers.
2)Requires every state agency and department, including local
offices, through its usual channels of communications with
state employees, when notified by a female employee that she
is nearing maternity leave, in the most cost-effective manner,
to notify the employee of the following information:
a) Information regarding lactation accommodation on the
Internet Web site of the Department of Public Health (DPH);
b) An explanation and comprehensive summary of the Labor
Code relating to the requirements of employers to provide
lactation accommodations and the penalties for violating
SB 257
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those provisions of law; and,
c) A listing of other comprehensive breastfeeding support
organizations and Internet links to their informational
materials.
3)Requires DPH to provide information regarding lactation
accommodation on its Internet Web site, and to include, at a
minimum, a link to the most recently published version of "The
Employees' Guide to Breastfeeding and Working," as developed
by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the
United States Department of Health and Human Services.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires all employers to provide a reasonable amount of break
time to accommodate an employee desiring to express breast
milk for the employee's child. Requires the break time, if
possible, to run concurrently with any break time already
provided to the employee.
2)Requires break time for an employee that does not run
concurrently with the rest time authorized for the employee by
the applicable wage order of the Industrial Welfare Commission
to be unpaid.
3)Requires employers to make reasonable efforts to provide the
employee with the use of a room or other location, other than
a toilet stall, in close proximity to the employee's work
area, for the employee to express milk in private. The room
or location may include the place where the employee normally
works if it otherwise meets the requirements of this section.
4)Provides that an employer is not required to provide break
time under this chapter if to do so would seriously disrupt
the operations of the employer.
5)Provides that: a) an employer who violates any provision of
this chapter to be subject to a civil penalty in the amount of
$100 for each violation; and, b) if, upon inspection or
investigation, the Labor Commissioner determines that a
violation of this chapter has occurred, authorizes the Labor
Commissioner to issue a citation.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
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Committee analysis, this bill will result in minor absorbable
costs to DPH to post required information on the DPH 's Web
site.
COMMENTS . According to the author's office, state law currently
requires all public and private employers to provide a
reasonable place and break time for an employee to express
breast milk, but many employees are unaware of the law. When
the workplace accommodation law was passed in 2001, the
Department of Personnel Administration sent out a notification
to all state departments and agencies about the law, but, the
author argues, it was left to each human resources division
within each individual state department to interpret the law in
its own way as well as inform employees of the law in its own
way. According to the author, this has resulted in a patchwork
of accommodations and lack of notification to employees about
their lactation rights. This contention is supported by results
of focus groups conducted by the California Women, Infants and
Children's Association which found that mothers did not know
about the law and many did not feel they could ask for the
accommodations because they were afraid of getting fired or were
reluctant to make waves.
The author argues that by requiring state departments and
agencies to notify their female employees of lactation
accommodation laws, the state can take a leadership role in
informing mothers about their lactation accommodation options in
the workplace. The author states that SB 257 requires
notification of current lactation accommodation law within each
state department and agency's existing channels of
communication, meaning it will impose no new costs to the state.
The author maintains that this bill enforces existing law in a
non-punitive and educational manner.
Analysis Prepared by : Tanya Robinson-Taylor / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN: 0001737