BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 288
                                                                  Page  1

          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 288 (Lieu)
          As Amended  April 1, 2013
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :34-0  
           
           LABOR & EMPLOYMENT  7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      14-1        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Roger Hernández, Morrell, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow,           |
          |     |Alejo, Chau, Gomez,       |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Gorell, Holden            |     |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
          |     |                          |     |Gomez, Hall, Holden,      |
          |     |                          |     |Linder, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |Nays:|Donnelly                  |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           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.








                                                                  SB 288
                                                                  Page  2


             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  
            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.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill will result in minor and absorbable costs  
          to the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
           
           COMMENTS  :  According to Center for Disease Control and  
          Prevention's (CDC) 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual  
          Violence Survey, nearly one in four women and one in seven men  
          in the United States have experienced severe physical violence  
          by an intimate partner - among victims of intimate partner  
          violence, more than one in three women experienced multiple  
          forms of rape, stalking, or physical violence.  One in six women  
          and one 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,  








                                                                  SB 288
                                                                  Page  3

          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.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 


                                                                FN: 0001413