BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 272|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 272
Author: DeSaulnier (D)
Amended: 4/26/11
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUS. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/11/11
AYES: Lieu, Wyland, DeSaulnier, Leno, Padilla, Runner, Yee
SUBJECT : Leave of absence: organ donation
SOURCE : California Chamber of Commerce
DIGEST : This bill clarifies the Michelle Maykin Memorial
Donation Protection Act to assist employer compliance with
a leave of absence for an organ donation.
ANALYSIS : Existing federal and state laws, known as the
federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California
Family Rights Act (CFRA), 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.
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Existing law requires that employees of the state who have
exhausted all available sick leave be allowed to take a
leave of absence with pay, not exceeding 30 days for the
purpose of organ donation and not exceeding five days for
bone marrow donation.
Existing law also requires any business entity that employs
15 or more employees to provide up to 30 days of paid leave
for an organ donation and up to five days of paid leave for
a bone marrow donation.
Existing law also prohibits a private employer from
interfering with an employee taking organ or bone marrow
donation and from retaliating against an employee for
taking such leave or opposing an unlawful employment
practice related to organ or bone marrow donation leave.
This bill makes the following clarifying changes:
1. That leave for an organ donation must not exceed 30
business days in a year, and that the one-year period is
measured from the date the employee's leave begins and
consists of 12 consecutive months.
2. Any period of time during which an employee is required
to be absent from his or her position by reason due to
organ or bone marrow leave is not break in his/her
continuous service for the purpose of his/her right to
paid time off, and that health coverage continues in the
same manner the coverage would have been maintained if
the employee had been actively at work.
3. Includes paid time off as leave that an employer can
require be used for bone marrow and organ tissue
donation.
4. Recites the California Family Rights Act.
5. Leave provided for pursuant to this section may be taken
in one or more periods, but in no event shall exceed the
amount of leave prescribed in the law.
This bill declares the above amendments to existing law are
declaratory of existing law.
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Comments
Last year, the Legislature passed, and Governor
Schwarzenegger signed, SB 1304 (DeSaulnier), Chapter 646,
Statutes of 2010, also known as the Michelle Maykin
Memorial Donation Protection Act. This Act provides
protected leave for employees who donate bone marrow or
organ tissue, and was named after the daughter of one of
Senator DeSaulnier's constituents who died of leukemia in
2009.
Since the passage of SB 1304, the California Chamber of
Commerce and other stakeholders have noted areas where,
while the law's intent may be clear, additional
clarification would provide certainty for businesses
seeking to comply with the law. This bill is the product
of those discussions and seeks to clarify the Legislature's
original intent with SB 1304 and existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/11/11)
California Chamber of Commerce (source)
California Nurses Association
National Nurses Organizing Committee
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor of this bill, the
California Chamber of Commerce, believes that this bill
clarifies existing law to aid employers in the proper
implementation of the Michelle Maykin Memorial Donation
Protection Act. The Chamber notes that there was some
ambiguity in the terms utilized in the Act, which required
certain amendments. Specifically, the Chamber notes the
confirmation of the time period for leave as business days,
the clarification that health insurance must be continued
at the same level prior to the leave, and the clarification
that a paid time off program can be utilized in the same
manner as a sick leave or vacation leave policy. With
these amendments, the Chamber believes this bill provides
the clarification and certainty employers need to comply
with the law, which will benefit both employer and employee
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alike.
PQ:do 5/12/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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