BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 304|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 304
Author: Gonzalez (D)
Amended: 6/22/15 in Assembly
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 7/8/15
AYES: Mendoza, Stone, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-0, 6/22/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Sick leave: accrual and limitations
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill amends the Health Workplaces, Healthy
Families Act of 2014 to provide clarification regarding which
workers are covered, how the paid time off is accrued, and
protections for employers that already provide paid sick leave.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of
2014 to provide employees who works in California for 30 or
more days within a year from the commencement of employment
with paid sick days at the rate of not less than one hour per
every 30 hours worked.
2)Authorizes the use of accrued paid sick days beginning on the
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90th day of employment and allows employers to limit the use
of paid sick days to 24 hours or three days per year.
3)Requires an employer to provide paid sick days for the
diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition
of, or preventive care for, the employee or the employee's
family member (defined as a child, parent, spouse, registered
domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild and sibling).
4)Requires an employer to provide paid sick days for specified
purposes, as defined, for an employee who is a victim of
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
5)Prohibits an employer from denying an employee the right to
use accrued sick days, discharge, threaten to discharge,
demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against an
employee for using accrued sick days, attempting to exercise
the right to use accrued sick days, filing a complaint with
the department or alleging a violation of this article,
cooperating in an investigation or prosecution of an alleged
violation of this article, or opposing any policy or practice
or act that is prohibited by this article.
This bill:
1) Provides that the definition of "employee" does not
include specified retired annuitants.
2) Specifies that an "employee in the construction industry"
means an employee performing work - deleting the reference
to "onsite work" in the current provisions of the law.
3) Specifies that the law applies to an employee who works in
California "for the same employer" for 30 or more days
within a year.
4) Provides that an employer may use a different accrual
method, other than providing one hour per every 30 hours
worked, provided that the accrual is on a regular basis so
that an employee has no less than 24 hours of accrued sick
leave or paid time off by the 120th calendar day of
employment or each calendar year, or in each 12-month
period.
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5) Provides that an employer may satisfy the accrual
requirements of this section by providing not less than 24
hours or three days of paid sick leave that is available to
the employee to use by the completion of his or her 120th
calendar day of employment.
6) Amends the law to specify that an employer is not required
to provide additional paid sick days if the employer has a
paid leave policy or paid time off policy, the employer
makes available (beginning July 1, 2015) an amount of leave
that may be used for the same purposes and under the same
conditions, and the policy satisfies one of the following
options:
a) Satisfies the accrual, carry over, and use
requirements of the law.
b) Provided paid sick leave or paid time off to a class
of employees before January 1, 2015, pursuant to a sick
leave policy that used an accrual method different than
providing one hour per every 30 hours worked, provided
that the accrual is on a regular basis so that an
employee, including an employee hired into that class
after January 1, 2015, has no less than one day or eight
hours of accrued leave within three months, and the
employee was eligible to earn at least three days or 24
hours within nine months. If an employer modifies the
accrual method used in the policy it had in place prior
to January 1, 2015, the employer shall comply with any
accrual method set forth in existing law or provide the
full amount of leave at the beginning of the year. This
bill shall not prohibit the employer from increasing the
accrual amount or rate.
c) Provides that specified sick leave or annual leave
benefits provided to specified state employees or
officers by statute or the provisions of a memorandum of
understanding meet the requirements of the paid sick
day's law.
7) Provides that an employer is not required to reinstate
accrued paid time off to a rehired employee that was paid
out at the time of termination, resignation, or separation
of employment.
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8) Provides that if an employer provides unlimited paid sick
leave or unlimited paid time off, the employer may satisfy a
specified written notice requirement of existing law by
indicating on the notice or the employee's itemized wage
statement that such leave is "unlimited."
9) Delays application of provisions related to the inclusion
of the amount of paid sick leave available on itemized wage
statements or separate writings until January 21, 2016, for
employers in the broadcasting and motion picture industries.
10) Provides that an employer shall calculate paid sick leave
using any of the following calculations:
a) Paid sick time for nonexempt employees shall be
calculated in the same manner as the regular rate of pay
for the workweek in which the employee uses paid sick
time, whether or not the employee actually works overtime
in that workweek.
b) Paid sick time for nonexempt employees shall be
calculated by dividing the employee's total wages, not
including overtime premium pay, by the employee's total
hours worked in the full pay periods of the prior 90 days
of employment.
c) Paid sick time for exempt employees shall be
calculated in the same manner as the employer calculates
wages for other forms of paid leave time.
11) Provides that an employer is not obligated to inquire into
or record the purpose for which an employee uses paid
leave or paid time off.
12) Provides that the provisions of this bill are severable,
as specified.
13) Contains an urgency clause.
Background
AB 1522 (Gonzalez, Chapter 317, Statutes of 2014), enacted the
Health
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Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to provide paid sick
days to specified California employees effective July 1, 2015.
AB 1522 was landmark legislation that extended the right to paid
sick days to an estimated 6.5 million California workers.
However, the passage of such a sweeping workplace benefit has
spurred a robust public discussion regarding the implementation
of the law. As such, the author wishes to clarify a handful of
the law's requirements in order to ease implementation of
California's new paid sick leave law.
This bill amends the Act in order to provide clarification
regarding which workers are covered, how the paid time off is
accrued, and protections for employers that already provide paid
sick leave. Previous versions of the bill were opposed by
various employer organizations, however, the author and
stakeholders were able to reach agreement on the language before
us which has addressed most of the employer concerns. In a
letter dated June 19, 2015, the California Chamber of Commerce
and a coalition of employer organizations removed their
opposition to the bill.
Summary of changes to the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families
Act of 2014:
Below is a summary of the changes to the paid sick law proposed
with this bill:
1)Conforms to State Law Governing CalPERS Retired Annuitants:
Under the Government Code, CalPERS retired annuitants are not
allowed to receive any form of compensation in addition to
their pay as it could affect their status under CalPERS. By
exempting retired annuitants from the provisions of AB 1522,
retired persons will be able to return to work while still
receiving their pension annuity.
2)Flexibility for Existing Paid Sick Leave Plans: Prior to the
signing of AB 1522, some employers were already engaged in the
practice of providing paid leave or paid time off. This bill
will clarify that employers are not required to provide
additional paid sick days if the employer had a policy prior
to January 1, 2015 that meets certain conditions, as
specified.
3)Alternative Accrual for Non-Hourly Payroll: The payroll
systems for many employers do not track their employees on an
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hourly basis. This bill will allow employers to comply with
state law if they accrue or front-load their sick leave
policies so employees receive three paid sick days by the
120th day of the year.
4)Labor-Management Consensus in Specific Industries: The motion
picture and broadcasting industry commonly uses different
third party payroll companies on each production. This bill
will extend the start date for written notice requirements to
January 21, 2016 as agreed to by both employer and labor
representatives in the industry.
5)Flexibility for Calculating Sick Pay: Nonexempt employees
often perform work at varying rates of pay, which can make it
difficult to calculate the rates at which sick leave is paid
to employees. This bill will allow employers to choose between
the methodology required under AB 1522 as well as the "regular
rate of pay" that is more familiar to many employers.
Related Legislation
AB 11 (Gonzalez, 2015): Held in Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 11 extends the provisions of paid sick days legislation
enacted last year to include providers of in-home supportive
services, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/8/15)
Air Conditioning Sheet Metal Association
Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors Association
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
California Chapters of the National Electrical Contractors
Association
California Employment Law Council
California Legislative Conference of the Plumbing, Heating and
Piping Industry
California State Association of Counties
Finishing Contractors Association of Southern California
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League of California Cities
Motion Picture Association of America
State Building and Construction Trades Council
United Contractors
Wall and Ceiling Alliance
Wine Institute
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/8/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, in order to
help employers meet requirements, clarify provisions and ensure
the smooth implementation of the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy
Families Act of 2014, this bill aims to conform state law
governing CalPERS retired annuitants, provide flexibility for
existing paid sick leave plans, allow for alternative accrual
for non-hourly payroll, provide for labor-management consensus
in specific industries, allow for flexibility in calculating
sick pay for nonexempt employees and make a number of minor
changes that are clarifying and technical in nature. Proponents
state that this bill makes important changes to the sick leave
law so that its provisions work better for employers and workers
and facilitate an orderly implementation.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-0, 6/22/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu,
Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier,
Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine,
Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson,
Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,
Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Travis Allen, Brough, Dahle, Beth Gaines,
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Gallagher, Harper, Mayes, Olsen, Ridley-Thomas, Waldron, Wood
Prepared by:Alma Perez / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
7/10/15 14:06:03
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