Amended in Assembly March 11, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 11

Introduced by Assembly Member Gonzalez

begin insert

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Alejo)

end insert

( begin delete Coauthor: end delete begin insert Coauthors: end insert Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members end insert Bonta begin insert , Calderon, Chiu, Cristina end insert begin insert  Garcia, Gray, Holden, and Mark Stone end insert )

begin insert

(Coauthors: Senators Block, Galgiani, Hancock, Jackson, Leno, and Mitchell)

end insert

December 1, 2014

An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 245.5 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 11, as amended, Gonzalez. Employment: paid sick days: in-home supportive services.

The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 provides, among other things, that an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days for prescribed purposes, to be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. Existing law provides that an employee under the act does not include a provider of in-home support services, as described.

This bill would revise the definition of an employee under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to, as of July 1, 2016, include providers of in-home support services, as described.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) Nearly every worker in begin delete the State of end delete California will at some
time during the year need some time off from work to take care
of his or her own health or the health of family members.

(b) Many workers in California do not have any paid sick days,
or have an inadequate number of paid sick days, to care for their
own health or the health of family members.

(c) Providers of in-home supportive services under Section
14132.95, 14132.952, or 14132.956 of, or Article 7 (commencing
with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of, the
Welfare and Institutions Code, do not qualify for the mandatory
paid sick leave benefit that had been provided under Assembly
Bill 1522, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.

(d) Providing workers time off to attend to their own health care
and the health care of family members will ensure a healthier and
more productive workforce in California.

(e) Paid sick days will have an enormously positive impact on
the public health of Californians by allowing sick workers paid
time off to care for themselves when ill, thus lessening their
recovery time, reducing the likelihood of spreading illness to other
members of the workforce, and increasing the likelihood that they
seek care from a primary health care provider instead of costly
emergency room services.

(f) Paid sick days will allow parents to provide personal care
for their sick children. Parental care ensures children’s speedy
recovery, prevents more serious illnesses, and improves children’s
overall mental and physical health.

(g) Providing paid sick days is affordable for employers.

(h) Employers who provide paid sick days enjoy greater
employee retention and reduce the likelihood of employees coming
to work sick. Studies have shown that costs of decreased
productivity caused by sick workers exceed the costs of employee
absenteeism.

(i) Workers whose jobs involve significant contact with the
public, such as providers of in-home support services, are very
unlikely to have paid sick days. Often, these workers have no
choice but to come to work when they are ill, thereby spreading
illness to coworkers and customers.

(j) Domestic violence and sexual assault affect many persons
without regard to age, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or
socioeconomic status.

(k) Domestic violence is a crime that has a devastating effect
on families, communities, and the workplace. It impacts
productivity, effectiveness, absenteeism, and employee turnover
in the workplace. The National Crime Survey estimates that
175,000 days of work each year are missed due to domestic
violence.

(l) Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault may be
vulnerable at work when trying to end an abusive relationship
because the workplace may be the only place where the perpetrator
knows to contact the victim. Studies show that up to one-half of
domestic violence victims experience job loss. Forty percent
reported on-the-job harassment. Nearly 50 percent of sexual assault
survivors lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the aftermath of
the assaults.

(m) Affording survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault
paid sick days is vital to their independence and recovery.

SEC. 2.  

In enacting this act, it is the intent of the Legislature
to do the following:

(a) Ensure that workers in California can address their own
health needs and the health needs of their families by requiring
employers to provide a minimum level of paid sick days including
time for family care.

(b) Decrease public and private health care costs in California
by enabling workers to seek early and routine medical care for
themselves and their family members and to address domestic
violence or sexual assault.

(c) Protect employees in California from losing their jobs while
they use sick days to care for themselves or their families.

(d) Provide economic security to employees in California who
take time off from work for reasons related to domestic violence
or sexual assault.

(e) Safeguard the welfare, health, safety, and prosperity of the
people of and visitors to California.

(f) Extend equal protection of paid sick leave benefits to
providers of in-home supportive services.

SEC. 3.  

Section 245.5 of the Labor Code, as added by Section
3 of Chapter 317 of the Statues of 2014, is amended to read:

245.5.  

As used in this article:

(a) “Employee” does not include the following:

(1) An employee covered by a valid collective bargaining
agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours
of work, and working conditions of employees, and expressly
provides for paid sick days or a paid leave or paid time off policy
that permits the use of sick days for those employees, final and
binding arbitration of disputes concerning the application of its
paid sick days provisions, premium wage rates for all overtime
hours worked, and regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30
percent more than the state minimum wage rate.

(2) An employee in the construction industry covered by a valid
collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides
for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of
employees, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked,
and regular hourly pay of not less than 30 percent more than the
state minimum wage rate, and the agreement either (A) was entered
into before January 1, 2015, or (B) expressly waives the
requirements of this article in clear and unambiguous terms. For
purposes of this subparagraph, “employee in the construction
industry” means an employee performing onsite work associated
with construction, including work involving alteration, demolition,
building, excavation, renovation, remodeling, maintenance,
improvement, repair work, and any other work as described by
Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the
Business and Professions Code, and other similar or related
occupations or trades.

(3) A provider of in-home supportive services under Section
14132.95, 14132.952, or 14132.956 of, or Article 7 (commencing
with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of, the
Welfare and Institutions Code.

(4) An individual employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or
cabin crew member that is subject to the provisions of Title II of
the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 181 et seq.),
provided that the individual is provided with compensated time
off equal to or exceeding the amount established in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (b) of Section 246.

(b) “Employer” means any person employing another under
any appointment or contract of hire and includes the state, political
subdivisions of the state, and municipalities.

(c) “Family member” means any of the following:

(1) A child, which for purposes of this article means a biological,
adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child to whom
the employee stands in loco parentis. This definition of a child is
applicable regardless of age or dependency status.

(2) A biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal
guardian of an employee or the employee’s spouse or registered
domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the
employee was a minor child.

(3) A spouse.

(4) A registered domestic partner.

(5) A grandparent.

(6) A grandchild.

(7) A sibling.

(d) “Health care provider” has the same meaning as defined in
paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section 12945.2 of the
Government Code.

(e) “Paid sick days” means time that is compensated at the same
wage as the employee normally earns during regular work hours
and is provided by an employer to an employee for the purposes
described in Section 246.5.

(f) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2016, and,
as of January 1, 2017, is repealed.

SEC. 4.  

Section 245.5 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

245.5.  

As used in this article:

(a) “Employee” does not include the following:

(1) An employee covered by a valid collective bargaining
agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours
of work, and working conditions of employees, and expressly
provides for paid sick days or a paid leave or paid time off policy
that permits the use of sick days for those employees, final and
binding arbitration of disputes concerning the application of its
paid sick days provisions, premium wage rates for all overtime
hours worked, and regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30
percent more than the state minimum wage rate.

(2) An employee in the construction industry covered by a valid
collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides
for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of
employees, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked,
and regular hourly pay of not less than 30 percent more than the
state minimum wage rate, and the agreement either (A) was entered
into before January 1, 2015, or (B) expressly waives the
requirements of this article in clear and unambiguous terms. For
purposes of this subparagraph, “employee in the construction
industry” means an employee performing onsite work associated
with construction, including work involving alteration, demolition,
building, excavation, renovation, remodeling, maintenance,
improvement, repair work, and any other work as described by
Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the
Business and Professions Code, and other similar or related
occupations or trades.

(3) An individual employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or
cabin crew member that is subject to the provisions of Title II of
the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 181 et seq.),
provided that the individual is provided with compensated time
off equal to or exceeding the amount established in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (b) of Section 246.

(b) “Employer” means any person employing another under
any appointment or contract of hire and includes the state, political
subdivisions of the state, and municipalities.

(c) “Family member” means any of the following:

(1) A child, which for purposes of this article means a biological,
adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child to whom
the employee stands in loco parentis. This definition of a child is
applicable regardless of age or dependency status.

(2) A biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal
guardian of an employee or the employee’s spouse or registered
domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the
employee was a minor child.

(3) A spouse.

(4) A registered domestic partner.

(5) A grandparent.

(6) A grandchild.

(7) A sibling.

(d) “Health care provider” has the same meaning as defined in
paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section 12945.2 of the
Government Code.

(e) “Paid sick days” means time that is compensated at the same
wage as the employee normally earns during regular work hours
and is provided by an employer to an employee for the purposes
described in Section 246.5.

(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2016.