BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 288
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 288 (Lieu)
As Amended August 30, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :34-0
LABOR & EMPLOYMENT 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Roger Hern�ndez, 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.
4)Recasts the provisions of the bill as a new section of the
Labor Code to avoid a chaptering out conflict with SB 400
(Jacskon) of the current legislative session.
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.
SB 288
Page 3
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.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
FN: 0001935