BILL NUMBER: AB 1522	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 29, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 22, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2014
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 15, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 28, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 13, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gonzalez
   (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Levine)
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Ammiano, Bonta, Campos,
Dickinson, Roger Hernández, Lowenthal, Pan, Rendon, Stone, Ting,
Wieckowski, and Williams)
   (Coauthors: Senators Corbett, Hueso, Lara, Leno, and Padilla)

                        JANUARY 16, 2014

   An act to amend Section 2810.5 of, and to add Article 1.5
(commencing with Section 245) to Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2
of, the Labor Code, relating to employment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1522, as amended, Gonzalez. Employment: paid sick days.
   Existing law authorizes employers to provide their employees paid
sick leave.
   This bill would enact the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act
of 2014 to provide that an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015,
works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the
commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days for
prescribed purposes, to be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour
for every 30 hours worked. An employee would be entitled to use
accrued sick days beginning on the 90th day of employment. The bill
would authorize an employer to limit an employee's use of paid sick
days to 24 hours or 3 days in each year of employment. The bill would
prohibit an employer from discriminating or retaliating against an
employee who requests paid sick days. The bill would require
employers to satisfy specified posting and notice and recordkeeping
requirements. The bill would define terms for those purposes.
   The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to 
administer and  enforce these requirements, including
 the promulgation of regulations, and  the
investigation, mitigation, and relief of violations of these
requirements. The bill would authorize the Labor Commissioner to
impose specified administrative fines for violations and would
authorize the commissioner or the Attorney General to recover
specified civil penalties against an offender who violated these
provisions on behalf of the aggrieved, as well as attorney's fees,
costs, and interest.
   The bill would not apply to certain categories of employees that
meet specified requirements.
   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.  The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) Nearly every worker in the State of California will at some
time during the year need some time off from work to take care of his
or her own health or the health of family members.
   (b) Many workers in California do not have any paid sick days, or
have an inadequate number of paid sick days, to care for their own
health or the health of family members.
   (c) Low-income workers are significantly less likely to have paid
sick time than other workers.
   (d) Providing workers time off to attend to their own health care
and the health care of family members will ensure a healthier and
more productive workforce in California.
   (e) Paid sick days will have an enormously positive impact on the
public health of Californians by allowing sick workers paid time off
to care for themselves when ill, thus lessening their recovery time
and reducing the likelihood of spreading illness to other members of
the workforce.
   (f) Paid sick days will allow parents to provide personal care for
their sick children. Parental care ensures children's speedy
recovery, prevents more serious illnesses, and improves children's
overall mental and physical health.
   (g) Providing paid sick days is affordable for employers and good
for business.
   (h) Employers who provide paid sick days enjoy greater employee
retention and reduce the likelihood of employees coming to work sick.
Studies have shown that costs of decreased productivity caused by
sick workers exceed the costs of employee absenteeism.
   (i) Many adults have significant elder care responsibilities
requiring them to take time off from work or to work reduced hours.
   (j) Employees frequently lose their jobs or are disciplined for
taking sick days to care for sick family members or to recover from
their own illnesses.
   (k) Workers whose jobs involve significant contact with the
public, such as service workers and restaurant workers, are very
unlikely to have paid sick days. Often, these workers have no choice
but to come to work when they are ill, thereby spreading illness to
coworkers and customers.
   (l) Domestic violence and sexual assault affect many persons
without regard to age, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or
socioeconomic status.
   (m) Domestic violence is a crime that has a devastating effect on
families, communities, and the workplace. It impacts productivity,
effectiveness, absenteeism, and employee turnover in the workplace.
The National Crime Survey estimates that 175,000 days of work each
year are missed due to domestic violence.
   (n) Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault may be
vulnerable at work when trying to end an abusive relationship because
the workplace may be the only place where the perpetrator knows to
contact the victim. Studies show that up to one-half of domestic
violence victims experience job loss. Forty percent reported
on-the-job harassment. Nearly 50 percent of sexual assault survivors
lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the aftermath of the
assaults.
   (o) Affording survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault
paid sick days is vital to their independence and recovery.
  SEC. 2.  In enacting this act, it is the intent of the Legislature
to do the following:
   (a) Ensure that workers in California can address their own health
needs and the health needs of their families by requiring employers
to provide a minimum level of paid sick days including time for
family care.
   (b) Decrease public and private health care costs in California by
enabling workers to seek early and routine medical care for
themselves and their family members and to address domestic violence
or sexual assault.
   (c) Protect employees in California from losing their jobs while
they use sick days to care for themselves or their families.
   (d) Provide economic security to employees in California who take
time off from work for reasons related to domestic violence or sexual
assault.
   (e) Safeguard the welfare, health, safety, and prosperity of the
people of and visitors to California.
  SEC. 3.  Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 245) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Labor Code, to read:

      Article 1.5.  Paid Sick Days


   245.  (a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.
   (b) The provisions of this article are in addition to and
independent of any other rights, remedies, or procedures available
under any other law and do not diminish, alter, or negate any other
legal rights, remedies, or procedures available to an aggrieved
person.
   245.5.  As used in this article:
   (a) "Employee" does not include the following:
   (1) An employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement
if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work,
and working conditions of employees, and expressly provides for paid
sick days or a paid leave or paid time off policy that permits the
use of sick days for those employees, final and binding arbitration
of disputes concerning the application of its paid sick days
provisions, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and
regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30 percent more than the
state minimum wage rate.
   (2) An employee in the construction industry covered by a valid
collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides
for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees,
premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and regular hourly
pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage
rate, and the agreement either (A) was entered into before January 1,
2015, or (B) expressly waives the requirements of this article in
clear and unambiguous terms. For purposes of this subparagraph,
"employee in the construction industry" means an employee performing
onsite work associated with construction, including work involving
alteration, demolition, building, excavation, renovation, remodeling,
maintenance, improvement, repair work, and any other work as
described by Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3
of the Business and Professions Code, and other similar or related
occupations or trades.
   (3)  An employee covered by a valid collective bargaining
agreement who performs domestic services comprising   A
provider of  in-home supportive services under  Section
14132.95, 14132.952, or 14132.956 of, or  Article 7 (commencing
with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9  of
  of,  the Welfare and Institutions  Code,
if the agreement expressly waives the requirements of this article in
clear and unambiguous terms.   Code. 
   (4) An individual employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or
cabin crew member that is subject to the provisions of Title II of
the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), provided that
the individual is provided with compensated time off equal to or
exceeding the amount established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b)
of Section 246.
   (b) "Employer" means any person employing another under any
appointment or contract of hire and includes the state, political
subdivisions of the state, and municipalities.
   (c) "Family member" means any of the following:
   (1) A child, which for purposes of this article means a
biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a
child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. This definition
of a child is applicable regardless of age or dependency status.
   (2) A biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal
guardian of an employee or the employee's spouse or registered
domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the
employee was a minor child.
   (3) A spouse.
   (4) A registered domestic partner.
   (5) A grandparent.
   (6) A grandchild.
   (7) A sibling.
   (d) "Health care provider" has the same meaning as defined in
paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section 12945.2 of the Government
Code.
   (e) "Paid sick days" means time that is compensated at the same
wage as the employee normally earns during regular work hours and is
provided by an employer to an employee for the purposes described in
Section 246.5.
   246.  (a) An employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in
California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of
employment is entitled to paid sick days as specified in this
section.
   (b) (1) An employee shall accrue paid sick days at the rate of not
less than one hour per every 30 hours worked, beginning at the
commencement of employment or the operative date of this article,
whichever is later.
   (2) An employee who is exempt from overtime requirements as an
administrative, executive, or professional employee under a wage
order of the Industrial Welfare Commission is deemed to work 40 hours
per workweek for the purposes of this section, unless the employee's
normal workweek is less than 40 hours, in which case the employee
shall accrue paid sick days based upon that normal workweek.
   (c) An employee shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick days
beginning on the 90th day of employment, after which day the employee
may use paid sick days as they are accrued.
   (d) Accrued paid sick days shall carry over to the following year
of employment. However, an employer may limit an employee's use of
paid sick days to 24 hours or three days in each year of employment.
This section shall be satisfied and no accrual or carry over is
required if the full amount of leave is received at the beginning of
each year, in accordance with subdivision (e).
   (e) An employer is not required to provide additional paid sick
days pursuant to this section if the employer has a paid leave policy
or paid time off policy, the employer makes available an amount of
leave that may be used for the same purposes and under the same
conditions as specified in this section, and the policy does either
of the following:
   (1) Satisfies the accrual, carry over, and use requirements of
this section.
   (2) Provides no less than 24 hours or three days of paid sick
leave, or equivalent paid leave or paid time off, for employee use
for each year of employment or calendar year or 12-month basis.
   (f) (1) Except as specified in paragraph (2), an employer is not
required to provide compensation to an employee for accrued, unused
paid sick days upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other
separation from employment.
   (2) If an employee separates from an employer and is rehired by
the employer within one year from the date of separation, previously
accrued and unused paid sick days shall be reinstated. The employee
shall be entitled to use those previously accrued and unused paid
sick days and to accrue additional paid sick days upon rehiring.
   (g) An employer may lend paid sick days to an employee in advance
of accrual, at the employer's discretion and with proper
documentation.
   (h) An employer shall provide an employee with written notice that
sets forth the amount of paid sick leave available, or paid time off
leave an employer provides in lieu of sick leave, for use on either
the employee's itemized wage statement described in Section 226 or in
a separate writing provided on the designated pay date with the
employee's payment of wages. The penalties described in this article
for a violation of this subdivision shall be in lieu of the penalties
for a violation of Section 226.
   (i) An employer has no obligation under this section to allow an
employee's total accrual of paid sick leave to exceed 48 hours or 6
days, provided that an employee's rights to accrue and use paid sick
leave under this section are not otherwise limited.
   (j) An employee may determine how much paid sick leave he or she
needs to use, provided that an employer may set a reasonable minimum
increment, not to exceed two hours, for the use of paid sick leave.
   (k) The rate of pay shall be the employee's hourly wage. If the
employee in the 90 days of employment before taking accrued sick
leave had different hourly pay rates, was paid by commission or piece
rate, or was a nonexempt salaried employee, then the rate of pay
shall be calculated by dividing the employee's total wages, not
including overtime premium pay, by the employee's total hours worked
in the full pay periods of the prior 90 days of employment.
   (l) If the need for paid sick leave is foreseeable, the employee
shall provide reasonable advance notification. If the need for paid
sick leave is unforeseeable, the employee shall provide notice of the
need for the leave as soon as practicable.
   (m) An employer shall provide payment for sick leave taken by an
employee no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period
after the sick leave was taken.
   246.5.  (a) Upon the oral or written request of an employee, an
employer shall provide paid sick days for the following purposes:
   (1) Diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition
of, or preventive care for, an employee or an employee's family
member.
   (2) For an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual
assault, or stalking, the purposes described in subdivision (c) of
Section 230 and subdivision (a) of Section 230.1.
   (b) An employer shall not require as a condition of using paid
sick days that the employee search for or find a replacement worker
to cover the days during which the employee uses paid sick days.
   (c) (1) An employer shall not deny an employee the right to use
accrued sick days, discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend,
or in any manner discriminate against an employee for using accrued
sick days, attempting to exercise the right to use accrued sick days,
filing a complaint with the department or alleging a violation of
this article, cooperating in an investigation or prosecution of an
alleged violation of this article, or opposing any policy or practice
or act that is prohibited by this article.
   (2) There shall be a rebuttable presumption of unlawful
retaliation if an employer denies an employee the right to use
accrued sick days, discharges, threatens to discharge, demotes,
suspends, or in any manner discriminates against an employee within
30 days of any of the following:
   (A) The filing of a complaint by the employee with the Labor
Commissioner or alleging a violation of this article.
   (B) The cooperation of an employee with an investigation or
prosecution of an alleged violation of this article.
   (C) Opposition by the employee to a policy, practice, or act that
is prohibited by this article.
   247.  (a) In each workplace of the employer, the employer shall
display a poster in a conspicuous place containing all the
information specified in subdivision  (a).  
(b).  The Labor Commissioner shall create a poster containing
this information and make it available to employers. 
   (b) The poster shall state all of the following:  
   (1) An employee is entitled to accrue, request, and use paid sick
days.  
   (2) The amount of sick days provided for by this article. 

   (3) The terms of use of paid sick days.  
   (4) That retaliation or discrimination against an employee who
requests paid sick days or uses paid sick days, or both, is
prohibited and that an employee has the right under this article to
file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner against an employer who
retaliates or discriminates against the employee.  
   (b) 
    (c)  An employer who willfully violates the posting
requirements of this section is subject to a civil penalty of not
more than one hundred dollars ($100) per each offense.
   247.5.  An employer shall keep for at least three years records
documenting the hours worked and paid sick days accrued and used by
an employee, and shall allow the Labor Commissioner to access these
records pursuant to the requirements set forth in Section 1174. An
employer shall make these records available to an employee in the
same manner as described in Section 226. If an employer does not
maintain adequate records pursuant to this section, it shall be
presumed that the employee is entitled to the maximum number of hours
accruable under this article, unless the employer can show otherwise
by clear and convincing evidence. 
   248.  The Labor Commissioner shall coordinate implementation and
enforcement of this article and promulgate guidelines and regulations
for those purposes. 
   248.5.  (a) The Labor Commissioner shall enforce this article,
including investigating an alleged violation, and ordering
appropriate temporary relief to mitigate the violation or to maintain
the status quo pending the completion of a full investigation or
hearing.
   (b) (1) If the Labor Commissioner, after a hearing that contains
adequate safeguards to ensure that the parties are afforded due
process, determines that a violation of this article has occurred, he
or she may order any appropriate relief, including reinstatement,
backpay, the payment of sick days unlawfully withheld, and the
payment of an additional sum in the form of an administrative penalty
to an employee or other person whose rights under this article were
violated.
   (2) If paid sick days were unlawfully withheld, the dollar amount
of paid sick days withheld from the employee multiplied by three, or
two hundred fifty dollars ($250), whichever amount is greater, but
not to exceed  an aggregate penalty of  four thousand
dollars ($4,000), shall be included in the administrative penalty.
   (3) If a violation of this article results in other harm to the
employee or person, such as discharge from employment, or otherwise
results in a violation of the rights of the employee or person, the
administrative penalty shall include a sum of fifty dollars ($50) for
each day or portion thereof that the violation occurred or
continued, not to exceed  an aggregate penalty of  four
thousand dollars ($4,000).
   (c) Where prompt compliance by an employer is not forthcoming, the
Labor Commissioner may take any appropriate enforcement action to
secure compliance, including the filing of a civil action. In
compensation to the state for the costs of investigating and
remedying the violation, the commissioner may order the violating
employer to pay to the state a sum of not more than fifty dollars
($50) for each day or portion of a day a violation occurs or
continues for each employee or other person whose rights under this
article were violated.
   (d) An employee or other person may report to the Labor
Commissioner a suspected violation of this article. The commissioner
shall encourage reporting pursuant to this subdivision by keeping
confidential, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the
name and other identifying information of the employee or person
reporting the violation. However, the commissioner may disclose that
person's name and identifying information as necessary to enforce
this article or for other appropriate purposes, upon the
authorization of that person.
   (e) The Labor Commissioner or the Attorney General may bring a
civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against the
employer or other person violating this article and, upon prevailing,
shall be entitled to collect legal or equitable relief on behalf of
the aggrieved as may be appropriate to remedy the violation,
including reinstatement, backpay, the payment of sick days unlawfully
withheld, the payment of an additional sum, not to exceed  an
aggregate penalty of  four thousand dollars ($4,000), as
liquidated damages in the amount of fifty dollars ($50) to each
employee or person whose rights under this article were violated for
each day or portion thereof that the violation occurred or continued,
plus, if the employer has unlawfully withheld paid sick days to an
employee, the dollar amount of paid sick days withheld from the
employee multiplied by three; or two hundred fifty dollars ($250),
whichever amount is greater; and reinstatement in employment or
injunctive relief; and further shall be awarded reasonable attorney's
fees and costs, provided, however, that any person or entity
enforcing this article on behalf of the public as provided for under
applicable state law shall, upon prevailing, be entitled only to
equitable, injunctive, or restitutionary relief, and reasonable
attorney's fees and costs.
   (f) In an administrative or civil action brought under this
article, the Labor Commissioner or court, as the case may be, shall
award interest on all amounts due and unpaid at the rate of interest
specified in subdivision (b) of Section 3289 of the Civil Code.
   (g) The remedies, penalties, and procedures provided under this
article are cumulative. 
   (h) An employer shall not be assessed any penalty or liquidated
damages under this article due to an isolated and unintentional
payroll error or written notice error that is a clerical or an
inadvertent mistake regarding the accrual or available use of paid
sick leave. In reviewing for compliance with this section, the
factfinder may consider as a relevant factor whether the employer,
prior to an alleged violation, has adopted and is in compliance with
a set of policies, procedures, and practices that fully comply with
this section. 
   249.  (a) This article does not limit or affect any laws
guaranteeing the privacy of health information, or information
related to domestic violence or sexual assault, regarding an employee
or employee's family member. That information shall be treated as
confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person except to the
affected employee, or as required by law.
   (b) This article shall not be construed to discourage or prohibit
an employer from the adoption or retention of a paid sick days policy
more generous than the one required herein.
   (c) This article does not lessen the obligation of an employer to
comply with a contract, collective bargaining agreement, employment
benefit plan, or other agreement providing more generous sick days to
an employee than required herein.
   (d) This article establishes minimum requirements pertaining to
paid sick days and does not preempt, limit, or otherwise affect the
applicability of any other law, regulation, requirement, policy, or
standard that provides for greater accrual or use by employees of
sick days, whether paid or unpaid, or that extends other protections
to an employee.
  SEC. 4.  Section 2810.5 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
   2810.5.  (a) (1) At the time of hiring, an employer shall provide
to each employee a written notice, in the language the employer
normally uses to communicate employment-related information to the
employee, containing the following information:
   (A) The rate or rates of pay and basis thereof, whether paid by
the hour, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission, or otherwise,
including any rates for overtime, as applicable.
   (B) Allowances, if any, claimed as part of the minimum wage,
including meal or lodging allowances.
   (C) The regular payday designated by the employer in accordance
with the requirements of this code.
   (D) The name of the employer, including any "doing business as"
names used by the employer.
   (E) The physical address of the employer's main office or
principal place of business, and a mailing address, if different.
   (F) The telephone number of the employer.
   (G) The name, address, and telephone number of the employer's
workers' compensation insurance carrier.
   (H) That an employee: may accrue and use sick leave; has a right
to request and use accrued paid sick leave; may not be terminated or
retaliated against for using or requesting the use of accrued paid
sick leave; and has the right to file a complaint against an employer
who retaliates.
   (I) Any other information the Labor Commissioner deems material
and necessary.
   (2) The Labor Commissioner shall prepare a template that complies
with the requirements of paragraph (1). The template shall be made
available to employers in such manner as determined by the Labor
Commissioner.
   (3) If the employer is a temporary services employer, as defined
in Section 201.3, the notice described in paragraph (1) must also
include the name, the physical address of the main office, the
mailing address if different from the physical address of the main
office, and the telephone number of the legal entity for whom the
employee will perform work, and any other information the Labor
Commissioner deems material and necessary. The requirements of this
paragraph do not apply to a security services company that is
licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs and that solely
provides security services.
   (b) An employer shall notify his or her employees in writing of
any changes to the information set forth in the notice within seven
calendar days after the time of the changes, unless one of the
following applies:
   (1) All changes are reflected on a timely wage statement furnished
in accordance with Section 226.
   (2) Notice of all changes is provided in another writing required
by law within seven days of the changes.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "employee" does not include any
of the following:
   (1) An employee directly employed by the state or any political
subdivision thereof, including any city, county, city and county, or
special district.
   (2) An employee who is exempt from the payment of overtime wages
by statute or the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
   (3) An employee who is covered by a valid collective bargaining
agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of
work, and working conditions of the employee, and if the agreement
provides premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked and a
regular hourly rate of pay for those employees of not less than 30
percent more than the state minimum wage.