BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                 Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
                                 Ted W. Lieu, Chair

          Date of Hearing: April 24, 2013              2013-2014 Regular  
          Session                              
          Consultant: Deanna D. Ping                   Fiscal:Yes
                                                       Urgency: No
          
                                   Bill No: SB 770
                                  Author: Jackson 
                          As Introduced: February 22, 2013
          

                                       SUBJECT
          
             Unemployment compensation: disability benefits: paid family  
                                        leave


                                      KEY ISSUE

          Should the legislature extend the definition of family within  
          the Paid Family Leave program to include seriously ill siblings,  
          grandparents, grandchildren, and parents-in-law? 

                                      ANALYSIS

           Existing law, under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA),   
          entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take  unpaid,  
          job-protected  leave for specified family and medical reasons.  
          Eligible employees are entitled to: 

                 Twelve workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for: 
                  o         Bonding with a newborn or adopted child
                  o         Caring for a family member with a serious  
                    health condition (includes parent, spouse, child,  
                    registered domestic partner and same sex spouse)
                  o         The employee's own serious health condition  
                    (excluding pregnancy).

                 Eligible employees must meet the following conditions:
                  o         worked more than 12 months of service with the  
                    employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service  
                    with the employer during the previous 12 month period
                  o         worked at a location in which the employer has  
                    at least 50 employees within 75 miles of the  









                    employee's worksite.  

                 Guaranteed reinstatement to the same or comparable  
               position after taking family leave under CFRA and FMLA 
               (Gov Code §12945.2)

           Existing federal law, under the Family and Medical Leave Act  
          (FMLA  ), also entitles eligible employees to take unpaid,  
          job-protected  leave for up to  12 weeks  . This leave, granted  
          under both the state CFRA and the federal FMLA must be taken  
          concurrently. (§105 of the FMLA and §825.220 of FMLA  
          regulations)

           Existing law  established a family temporary disability insurance  
          program, Paid Family Leave (PFL) that provides up to six weeks  
          of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work  
          to care for: 
                 a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, or domestic  
               partner, or to bond with a minor child in connection with  
               foster care or adoption. (Unemployment Insurance Code  
               §3301) 

           Existing law  states that an individual is eligible to receive  
          temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of  
          his or her weekly benefit amount for each full day during which  
          he or she is unable to work due to caring for a seriously ill or  
          injured family member or bonding with a minor child within one  
          year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with  
          foster care or adoption. (Unemployment Insurance Code §3301)

           
          This Bill  would broaden the definition of family within the Paid  
          Family Leave program to allow workers to receive the partial  
          wage replacement benefits while taking care of seriously ill  
          siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and parents-in-law. 


                                      COMMENTS

          1.  Background on Paid Family Leave Benefits Program 

             The California Paid Family Leave Act (PFLA), the first such  
          Hearing Date:  April 24, 2013                            SB 770  
          Consultant: Deanna D. Ping                               Page 2

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            paid family leave program in the nation, was established in  
            2004. According to the Labor Project for Working Families and  
            UC Berkeley's report, A Guide to Implementing Paid Family  
            Leave: Lessons From California, the program was modeled after  
            the California State Disability Insurance Program (SDI). PFL  
            provides up to six weeks of partial pay for employees who take  
            leave from work to care for a  child, parent, spouse, or  
            registered domestic partner with a serious health condition  or  
            to bond with a newborn baby or newly adopted or foster child.  
            Much like SDI, it is funded through a payroll tax paid  
            entirely by employees and is administered by the same state  
            agency - the Employment Development Department (EDD). Like  
            disability benefits, an employee that takes paid family leave  
            can receive a wage replacement of up to 55 percent of the  
            individual's average weekly salary. All employees who pay into  
            the State Disability Insurance Fund are covered by Paid Family  
            Leave. There are no minimum work hours or time of service  
            requirements, but individuals must have earned at least $300  
            in wages during the previous 12 months. 

          2.   The Interaction Between FMLA/CFRA and Paid Family Leave  

             There are various federal and state laws pertaining to family  
            leave - making it important to understand the differences  
            between the statutes as well as how they interact with one  
            another. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal  
            law that is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor while  
            the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) is a state law  
            administered by the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.  
            The state law changed in 1993 to generally conform to the  
            provisions of the FMLA. Both the FMLA and CFRA allow an  
            eligible employee to take up to a total of twelve  
            job-protected workweeks of leave with employer-paid health,  
            dental, and vision benefits during a "rolling" twelve month  
            period. The twelve weeks of leave must run concurrently for  
            all purposes aside from: 

                     Leave to care for a domestic partner (CFRA only) 
                     Disabilities due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related  
                 condition (FMLA only) 
                     Leave for a qualifying exigency related to a family  
                 member's military service (FMLA only) 
          Hearing Date:  April 24, 2013                            SB 770  
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                     Leave to care for an ill or injured service member  
                 (FMLA only) 

            If an eligible FMLA/CFRA employee also elects to receive wage  
            replacement benefits from the Paid Family Leave program then  
            the PFL must be taken concurrently as well. 

            In addition to sharing similar leave provisions and  
            eligibility requirements, both the FMLA and CFRA have  
            anti-retaliation and discrimination provisions. 

          3.  Need for this bill?

             PFL is a state-sponsored insurance program that covers  
            employers of any size. PFL provides partial wage replacement  
            for up to six weeks in any 12-month period, allowing an  
            employee to care for a seriously ill or injured family member  
            or bonding with a minor child within one year of the child's  
            birth or placement in connection with foster care or adoption.  
            However, according to the author's office, California's  
            current definition of family for Paid Family Leave excludes  
            siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and parents-in-law -  
            failing to reflect many Californians' caregiving  
            responsibilities. 

            In February of 2007, the Senate Office of Research published a  
            report on Paid Family Leave titled, Balancing Work and Family.  
            The report stated that between the period of July 1, 2004 and  
            June 30, 2006 the Employment Development Department rejected  
            10 percent of Paid Family Leave claims because the employee  
            sought leave for an excluded family member. Most of the denied  
            claims were filed for siblings (35 percent), followed by  
            grandparents (19 percent), then mothers- and fathers-in-law  
            (10 percent). SB 770 would broaden the definition of family  
            and enable workers to receive paid leave benefits when caring  
            for these currently excluded family members. 

          4.  Proponent Arguments  :
            
            Proponents note that California's first-in-the-nation Paid  
            Family Leave program, which nearly the entire private  
            workforce contributes to, provides the six weeks of vital wage  
          Hearing Date:  April 24, 2013                            SB 770  
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            replacement benefit that enables workers take leave to bond  
            with a new child or care for a seriously ill family member.  
            However, proponents argue that many workers caring for a  
            seriously ill family member lack access to the program because  
            of the law's overly narrow definition of "family." 

            Proponents contend that the current definition of "family"  
            including, children, parents, spouses, or registered domestic  
            partners fails to account for the diversity of California  
            households and the importance of caregiving by other close  
            family members - illustrated by the fact that California has  
            the second highest percentage of multi-generational households  
            in the country. Proponents bring attention to a recent study  
            on caregivers of Alzheimer's patients that found over 40  
            percent of caregivers were not covered under the narrow  
            definition in California's Paid Family Leave program, as well  
            as another study that found that nearly 20 percent of primary  
            caregivers for chronically disabled individuals are neither  
            the spouse nor the child of the person receiving care.  
            Proponents maintain that SB 770 will ensure that California  
            workers can care for close family members without jeopardizing  
            their economic well-being. 

          5.  Opponent Arguments  :

            None on file. 

          6.  Prior Legislation  :

            SB 1661 (Kuehl), Chapter 901, Statutes of 2002 - created  
            within the state disability insurance program, a family  
            temporary disability insurance program to provide up to six  
            weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time  
            off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent,  
            domestic partner, or bond with a new child. 
            
            SB 727 (Kuehl), Chapter 797, Statutes of 2003 - made  
            conforming and clarifying changes to Paid Family Leave program  
            that clarified the role of the Employment Development  
            Department in maintaining the program, as well as ensuring the  
            accumulation of enough funds to pay for the program.  

          Hearing Date:  April 24, 2013                            SB 770  
          Consultant: Deanna D. Ping                               Page 5

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            SB 727 (Kuehl) of 2007 - would have allowed employees covered  
            by Paid Family Leave to take paid leave to care for  
            grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and in-laws, as well as  
            clarify existing law to ensure that Paid Family Leave must be  
            taken concurrently with the California Family Medical Leave  
            Act (CFRA) and the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  
            Vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. 


                                       SUPPORT

          Legal Aid Society- Employment Law Center (Sponsor)
          9 to 5
          Asian Law Caucus
          A Better Balance
          Association of California Caregiver Resource Centers
          Association of Regional Center Agencies
          BreastfeedLA
          California Alliance for Retired Americans  
          California Senior Legislature
          California Women's Law Center
          California Employment Lawyers Association
          California Teachers Association
          Cancer Legal Resource Center
          Center for WorkLife Law 
          Childcare resource and Referral Network
          Communications Workers of America
          Disability Rights Advocates
          Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
          Equal Rights Advocates
          Excelligence Learning Corporation
          Family Caregiver Alliance
          Golden Gate 
          Legal Aid Society San Mateo County
          Los Angeles Alliance for a Better Economy
          Mujeres Unidas y Activas
          National Center for Youth Law
          Parent Voices
          SEIU California
          UAW Local 2865
          US Women's Chamber of Commerce
          USC Davis School of Gerontology, Family Caregiver Support  
          Hearing Date:  April 24, 2013                            SB 770  
          Consultant: Deanna D. Ping                               Page 6

          Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations 
          








          Program
          Women's Employment Rights Clinic of Golden Gate University  
          School of Law
          Zazie Restaurant
          
                                     OPPOSITION
          
          None received. 

































          Hearing Date:  April 24, 2013                            SB 770 
          Consultant: Deanna D. Ping                               Page 7

          Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations