BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1397
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1397 (Veterans Affairs Committee)
As Amended August 13, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 24, 2013) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 20, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: V.A.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Human Resources
(CalHR) to collect, maintain, analyze, and report on data
regarding the veterans preference system in state hiring, and
other data as specified regarding veterans in the California
state workforce.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill
and instead:
1)Add the veterans preference to the list of selection devices,
which CalHR must review, examine the validity of, and update.
2)Add veteran status to the list of specified data collected in
order to determine underutilization of certain groups.
3)Require analysis of the collected data to include, but not be
limited to, the following with regard to veteran status:
a) Data relating to the utilization of veterans compared to
their availability in the relevant labor force.
b) Separation data by department and major occupational
groups.
c) Data relating to salary administration, including
average salaries for veterans and comparisons of salaries
within state service and comparable state employment.
d) Data on employee age, and salary level compared among
groups based on veteran status.
e) Data on the number of veterans who participate in and
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pass state civil service examinations.
f) Data on the recruitment efforts, major occupational
groups, geographic locations, separations, salaries, and
other conditions of employment that provide additional
information about veterans in the state civil service
workforce
EXISTING LAW :
1)For state civil service positions, veterans preference can be
applied to a veteran's eligibility for qualifying open and
open, non-promotional examinations. As of January 1, 2013,
veterans preference is awarded as follows:
a) Any veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of
a 100% disabled veteran, who achieves a passing score in an
entrance examination, shall be ranked in the top rank of
the resulting eligibility list. Any veteran who has been
dishonorably discharged or released is not eligible for
veterans preference.
b) An entrance examination is defined, under the law, as
any open competitive examination.
c) Veterans preference is not granted once a person
achieves permanent civil service status.
2)If a veteran competes in a state civil service examination for
which veterans preference are granted, the veteran will
automatically be added to the top rank, provided that the
individual's application for veterans preference is approved
before the eligible record is created.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : Last year, military and veteran status was added to
the Fair Employment and Housing Act as a protected status
similar to race, sex, and sexual orientation, and others.
Existing law requires CalHR to review state examinations, hiring
and other employment practices to see if they work. The
department is also required to maintain statistics designed to
yield the analysis necessary for the evaluation of equal
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employment opportunity within the state civil service with
regard to race, ethnicity, gender, and disability. The
department already collects information on veterans that is the
same or substantially similar to that which it collects for
other protected groups.
Veteran unemployment remains an issue of concern, especially
regard to the veterans of the most recent decade of conflict.
The State of California has had a veterans preference system in
the state hiring process for many years. However there has
never been any analysis of whether that system works. In short,
we do not know if the state has effective practices to reach,
hire, and retain veterans.
The subject matter of this bill was not heard in an Assembly
policy committee this session.
Analysis Prepared by : John Spangler / V.A. / (916) 319-3550
FN: 0004852