BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 288
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Date of Hearing: June 12, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hernández, Chair
SB 288 (Lieu) - As Amended: April 1, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 34-0
SUBJECT : Employment protections: time off.
SUMMARY : Authorizes victims of specified crimes to take
protected leave from their employment to appear in court.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that an employer may not discharge or discriminate or
retaliate against an employee for taking time off from work to
appear in court to be heard at any proceeding where the
employee is a victim of the following offenses:
a) Vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
b) Felony child abuse likely to produce great bodily harm
or death.
c) Assault resulting in the death of a child under eight
years of age.
d) Felony domestic violence.
e) Felony physical abuse of an elder or dependent adult.
f) Felony stalking.
g) Solicitation for murder.
h) A serious felony.
i) Hit and run causing death or injury.
j) Felony driving under the influence causing injury.
2)Defines, for purposes of this requirement, a proceeding to
include any delinquency proceeding, any proceeding involving a
post-arrest release decision, plea, sentencing,
post-conviction release decision, or any proceeding where a
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right of the victim is at issue.
3)Defines a victim as any person who suffers direct or
threatened physical, psychological, or financial harm as a
result or attempted commission of crime or delinquent act.
The term "victim" also includes the person's spouse, parent,
child, sibling or guardian.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that an employer may not discharge, discriminate or
retaliate against an employee who is a victim of domestic
violence or sexual assault for taking time off from work to
attend to specified activities.
2)States that an employee who is discharged, threatened with
discharge, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated
against for taking time off for the above purposes is entitled
to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and work
benefits and may file a complaint with the Division of Labor
Standards Enforcement. Additionally, an employer that
willfully refuses to rehire, promote, or otherwise restore an
employee who has been determined to be eligible for rehiring
or promotion is guilty of a misdemeanor.
3)States that an employee shall give the employer reasonable
advance notice of the employee's intention to take time off,
unless the advance notice is not feasible.
4)States that when an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer
shall not take any action against the employee if
certification is provided within a reasonable time, including
a police report, court order protecting the employee from the
perpetrator, or documentation from a medical professional,
victim advocate, health care provider or counselor stating the
employee was undergoing treatment from an act of domestic
violence or sexual assault.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
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COMMENTS : According to Center for Disease Control and
Prevention's (CDC) 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual
Violence Survey, nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the
United States have experienced severe physical violence by an
intimate partner - among victims of intimate partner violence,
more than 1 in 3 women experienced multiple forms of rape,
stalking, or physical violence. One in 6 women and 1 in 19 men
in the United States have experienced stalking victimization in
which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone
close to them would be harmed or killed.
In California, through the passage of Proposition 9 in 2008
(also known as Marsy's Law), a crime victim has the right to be
heard, upon request, at any proceeding. However, despite having
that right, utilizing that right would not be
employment-protected. Therefore, while a crime victim has
delineated rights in the Constitution, he or she could be
terminated for utilizing them.
This bill would address this by providing an employee with
protected leave to participate in a hearing if they are the
victim of serious crime, including domestic violence, stalking,
murder, kidnapping, or rape.
Supporters note that the California Constitution provides that
crime victims have the right to be heard, upon request, in all
of the proceedings covered by this bill. Supporters also note
that there is no employment protection for a victim who desires
to appear in a criminal or juvenile court proceeding to be heard
on pleas, sentencing, release issues or other matters that may
affect the rights of the victim. Supporters argue that this
inhibits the ability of crime victims to avail themselves of
their constitutional rights. Supporters believe that this bill
will address this by allowing workers protected leave if they
are the victim of serious felonies, such as homicide, rape, and
crimes involving the infliction of great bodily injury.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Crime Victim Action Alliance (co-sponsor)
Crime Victims Untied of California
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office (co-sponsor)
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Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091