BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      AB 64


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          Date of Hearing:  April 29, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          64 (Chávez) - As Introduced December 15, 2014


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          |Policy       |Public Employees,              |Vote:|6 - 0        |
          |Committee:   |Retirement/Soc Sec             |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
          |             |                               |     |             |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires that state civil service employees who work  
          on an hourly basis and are reinstated upon returning from  
          activity military duty be given the same shift and number of  
          work hours as they enjoyed prior to going on military leave.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Unknown, but very likely significant General and Special Fund  
          costs to state agencies, in excess of $150,000, to accommodate  
          disruptions to hourly staffing flexibility and scheduling needs.








                                                                      AB 64


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          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  The State Civil Service Act provides reinstatement  
            benefits to permanent, probationary, and exempt employees  
            returning home from active duty military service.  According  
            to the author, hourly civil service employees are not granted  
            the same rights under the Act, and therefore have no guarantee  
            of receiving the same work shift or hours upon returning from  
            active duty service.  The author contends California is home  
            to the highest percentage of veterans in the country, and  
            should strive to ensure women and men returning home from  
            deployment have their jobs returned to them.


          2)Permanent Intermittent Employees.  While this bill certainly  
            has a laudable policy goal, its mandate may not be compatible  
            with the very nature of the state's hourly civil service  
            employees, known as "permanent intermittent" employees.   
            Current statute defines intermittent positions as those in  
            which the employee works "periodically or for a fluctuating  
            portion of the full-time work schedule" (GOV 18552).  Many of  
            these employees are used to fill seasonal roles or roles with  
            irregular time schedules, and it may be essential that  
            scheduling for these roles remain flexible.  Intermittent  
            employees may have their schedules change, with respect to  
            both hours and shift times, on a weekly basis.  Requiring that  
            such employees be given a particular shift and hours upon  
            return from active duty service may not be consistent with the  
            requirements of their positions, the needs of their agency, or  
            even the season in which they work.


            California currently has approximately 21,000 permanent  
            intermittent employees statewide, though it is unknown what  
            percentage of these are members of the military.  According to  
            census data, approximately 1-2% of California's total  








                                                                      AB 64


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            workforce is in the military reserves.  If that were also true  
            of its permanent intermittent workforce, approximately 200-400  
            employees could be affected by this bill. 


          Analysis Prepared by:Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081