BILL NUMBER: SB 299	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 26, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Evans

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2011

   An act to amend Section 12945 of the Government Code, relating to
employment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 299, as amended, Evans. Employment: pregnancy or childbirth
leave.
   Existing law prohibits employment discrimination based on sex or
disability.
   Existing law prohibits an employer from refusing to allow a female
employee disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical
condition to take a leave for a reasonable time of up to 4 months
before returning to work.
   This bill would also prohibit an employer from refusing to
maintain and pay for coverage under a group health plan for an
employee who takes that leave, as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 12945 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   12945.  In addition to the provisions that govern pregnancy,
childbirth, or a related medical condition in Sections 12926 and
12940, it shall be an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon
a bona fide occupational qualification:
   (a) (1) For an employer to refuse to allow a female employee
disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition to
take a leave for a reasonable period of time not to exceed four
months and thereafter return to work, as set forth in the commission'
s regulations. The employee shall be entitled to utilize any accrued
vacation leave during this period of time. Reasonable period of time
means that period during which the female employee is disabled on
account of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
   An employer may require an employee who plans to take a leave
pursuant to this subdivision to give the employer reasonable notice
of the date the leave shall commence and the estimated duration of
the leave.
   (2)  (A)    For an employer to refuse to
maintain and pay for coverage for an eligible female employee who
takes leave pursuant to paragraph (1) under a group health plan, as
defined in Section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
for the duration of the leave, not to exceed four months over the
course of a 12-month period, commencing on the date the leave taken
under paragraph (1) begins, at the level and under the conditions
that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued
in employment continuously for the duration of the leave. Nothing in
this paragraph shall preclude an employer from maintaining and paying
for coverage under a group health plan beyond four months. An
employer may recover from the employee the premium that the employer
paid as required under this subdivision for maintaining coverage for
the employee under the group health plan if both of the following
conditions occur: 
   (A) 
    (i)    The employee fails to return from leave
after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has
expired. 
   (B) 
    (ii)    The employee's failure to return from
leave is for a reason other than one of the following: 
   (i) 
    (I)    The employee taking leave under the
Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act (Sections 12945.2 and 19702.3
of the Government Code). 
   (ii) 
    (II)    The continuation, recurrence, or onset
of a health condition that entitles the employee to leave under
paragraph (1) or other circumstance beyond the control of the
employee. 
   (B) If the employer is a state agency, the collective bargaining
agreement shall govern with respect to the continued receipt by an
eligible female employee of the health care coverage specified in
subparagraph (A). 
   (b) (1) For an employer to refuse to provide reasonable
accommodation for an employee for a condition related to pregnancy,
childbirth, or a related medical condition, if she so requests, with
the advice of her health care provider.
   (2) For an employer who has a policy, practice, or collective
bargaining agreement requiring or authorizing the transfer of
temporarily disabled employees to less strenuous or hazardous
positions for the duration of the disability to refuse to transfer a
pregnant female employee who so requests.
   (3) For an employer to refuse to temporarily transfer a pregnant
female employee to a less strenuous or hazardous position for the
duration of her pregnancy if she so requests, with the advice of her
physician, where that transfer can be reasonably accommodated.
However, no employer shall be required by this section to create
additional employment that the employer would not otherwise have
created, nor shall the employer be required to discharge any
employee, transfer any employee with more seniority, or promote any
employee who is not qualified to perform the job.
   (c) This section shall not be construed to affect any other
provision of law relating to sex discrimination or pregnancy, or in
any way to diminish the coverage of pregnancy, childbirth, or a
medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth under any other
provision of this part, including subdivision (a) of Section 12940.