BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 770
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 7, 2013

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE
                                Henry T. Perea, Chair
            SB 770 (Jackson and DeSaulnier) - As Amended:  August 5, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :   29-10
           
          SUBJECT  :   Paid Family Leave

           SUMMARY  :   Extends eligibility for the paid family leave program  
          (PFL) to employees who need to care for a seriously ill  
          grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law.    
          Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Extends eligibility for the PFL program to employees who take  
            time off from work to care for a seriously ill grandparent,  
            grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law.  

          2)Defines "grandchild" as the child of the employee's child.

          3)Defines "grandparent" as a parent of the employee's parent.

          4)Defines "parent-in-law" as the parent of a spouse or a  
            domestic partner.

          5)Defines "sibling" as person related to another person by  
            blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or  
            biological parent.  

          6)Defers implementation until July 1, 2014.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Establishes the PFL program 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, domestic  
            partner, or to bond with a minor child within one year of  
            birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care  
            or adoption. 

          2)Establishes the State Disability Insurance (SDI) Program for  
            individuals who are unable to work due to sickness or injury,  
            the sickness or injury of a family member, or the birth,  
            adoption, or foster care placement of a new child.  








                                                                  SB 770
                                                                  Page  2


          3)Requires a claimant for SDI or PFL benefits to establish his  
            or her medical eligibility for each period of disability by  
            obtaining a certificate from a treating physician or  
            practitioner that establishes the sickness, injury, or  
            pregnancy of the employee, or the condition of the family  
            member that warrants the care of the employee.  As part of the  
            certificate of eligibility to care for a family member, the  
            physician or practitioner must provide an estimate of the time  
            needed by the employee to care for the child, parent, spouse,  
            or domestic partner.   
           
          4)Requires each employee to contribute to the Disability Fund to  
            pay the costs of DI benefits.   The rate of these employee  
            contributions ranges from 0.1% to 1.5% of wages, and are  
            calculated and announced annually by the Director of the EDD  
            based on the financial condition of the disability fund.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, EDD estimates that the additional benefit costs would  
          be $34 to $36 million annually.  This estimate assumes a 50  
          percent increase in payable PFL care claims and is the estimated  
          maximum potential liability to the Fund.

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose  .  According to the author, the definition of family  
            within the Paid Family Leave insurance program is overly  
            narrow and does not reflect many Californians' caregiving  
            responsibilities.  Workers are unable to use the program while  
            providing care to seriously ill siblings, grandparents,  
            grandchildren and parents-in-law.  The author cites the  
            following  in support of the need for broadening eligibility  
            for paid family leave:

                     A 2007 Senate Office of Research Report, Balancing  
                 Work and Family, found the Employment Development  
                 Department rejected about 10 percent of PFL claims  
                 because the employee sought leave to care for an excluded  
                 family member. Most of these denied claims were filed for  
                 siblings (35 percent), followed by grandparents (19  
                 percent) and mothers- and fathers-in-law (10 percent). 
                     California has the second highest percentage of  
                 multi-generational households in the country.
                     Nearly half of Californians are single and their  








                                                                  SB 770
                                                                  Page  3

                 closest relative may be a sibling.  
                     A recent study of caregivers of Alzheimer's patients  
                 showed that nearly 40 percent of caregivers were not  
                 covered by the definition of family in California's PFL  
                 law. 
                     A study found that nearly 20 percent of primary  
                 caregivers for chronically disabled individuals are  
                 neither the spouse nor the child of the person receiving  
                 care. 

           1)Paid Family Leave Program  .  PFL was enacted in 2002 to extend  
            disability compensation to individuals who take time off work  
            to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, domestic  
            partner, or to bond with a new minor child. California was the  
            first state in the nation to implement a paid family leave  
            benefit with benefit payments beginning on July 1, 2004.  The  
            PFL program provides weekly benefits ranging from $50 - $1011  
            for a maximum of six weeks within a 12 month period.  In  
            calendar year 2011, 205,833 PFL claims were filed, and 89  
            percent of them were filed to take time off to bond with a new  
            child.  The average duration of PFL claims has consistently  
            hovered around five weeks (out of a total possible six week  
            benefit period) and the average weekly benefit is $504.  
           
           2)Previous Legislation  .  

               a.     SB 1661 (Kuehl, Chapter 901 , Statutes of 2002)  
                 created the PFL program which began on January 1, 2004.  
               b.     SB 727 (Kuehl, Chapter 797,  Statutes of 2003) made  
                 changes that clarified the role of EDD in maintaining the  
                 program as well as ensuring the accumulation of enough  
                 funds to pay for the benefits.  
               c.     SB 727 (Kuehl) of 2007, which proposed to extend the  
                 PFL Program to caring for grandparents, grandchildren,  
                 siblings, and parents-in-law, was vetoed by the Governor.  

               d.     AB 804 (Yamada) of 2011, which proposed to extend  
                 the PFL program Program to caring for grandparents,  
                 grandchildren, siblings, and parents-in-law and was held  
                 in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           








                                                                  SB 770
                                                                  Page  4

          9 to 5
          A Better Balance
          AARP
          Asian Law Caucus
          Association of California Caregiver Resource Centers
          Association of Regional Center Agencies
          BreastfeedLA
          California Alliance for Retired Americans  
          California Employment Lawyers Association
          California Labor Federation
          California Senior Legislature
          California State Pipe Trades Council
          California Teachers Association
          California Women's Law Center
          Cancer Legal Resource Center
          Center for WorkLife Law 
          Childcare Resource and Referral Network
          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
          Glendale City Employees Association
          Legal Aid Society- Employment Law Center (sponsor)
          Legal Aid Society San Mateo County
          Los Angeles Alliance for a Better Economy
          Mujeres Unidas y Activas
          National Association of Social Workers
          National Center for Youth Law
          Organization of SMUD Employees
          Parent Voices
          San Bernardino Public Employees
          San Luis Obispo County Employees Association 
          Santa Rosa City Employees Association 
          SEIU California
          UAW Local 2865
          US Women's Chamber of Commerce
          USC Davis School of Gerontology, Family Caregiver Support  
          Program
          Women's Employment Rights Clinic of Golden Gate University  
          School of Law
          Zazie Restaurant
           








                                                                 SB 770
                                                                  Page  5

            Opposition 
           
          None received

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Paul Riches / INS. / (916) 319-2086