BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1383
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hernández, Chair
AB 1383
(Jones) - As Amended April 20, 2015
SUBJECT: Veterans preferences: voluntary policy
SUMMARY: Establishes the "Voluntary Veterans' Preference
Employment Policy Act" for employers to grant a veteran
preference in hiring, and expands the veteran's preference
exception to all veterans, regardless of when they served.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that it is unlawful for any employer to discriminate
against, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to
select or train that person in any apprenticeship training
program or any other training program leading to employment
because of the race, religious creed, color, national origin,
ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical
condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender,
gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation,
or military and veteran status of the person discriminated
against.
2)Provides that it is unlawful for an employer, labor
organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training
program or any training program leading to employment, or any
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other person, because of race, religious creed, color,
national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental
disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital
status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age,
sexual orientation, or military and veteran status, to harass
an employee, an applicant, or a person providing services
pursuant to a contract.
3)Allows employers, under the California Fair Employment and
Housing Act (FEHA) to use veterans' status as a factor in
employee selection or to give special consideration to
Vietnam-era veterans.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: The author points out, that currently California
already has a veteran's preference exception in Gov. Code
12940(a)(4) and argues the problem with the existing law is that
it is arguably outdated and narrow. In its current state, this
veteran's preference exception only applies to Vietnam War era
veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination
claims. This is problematic because the amount of Vietnam War
era veterans who are looking to utilize this preference
exception is steadily declining due to the fact that many of
these veterans are no longer searching for employment. Also it
omits any veteran that did not serve in the Vietnam War era and
clearly limits the amount of people who can use this veteran's
preference.
The author is seeking to correct an outdated law, which only
allows for a business to create a preference for Vietnam War era
veterans. While the original legislation was relevant when
first adopted, the existing law is now lacking because it only
provides preference to Vietnam War era veterans, and does not
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encompass all veterans.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures
(NCSL), similar veteran's preference laws have recently been
enacted in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia and
Washington. Also, similar measures are currently pending in
Alaska, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
Supporters state that despite the popular nature of these bills
and a universal desire to assist veterans, some employers and
human resource professionals have expressed concern that
exercising such a preference might inadvertently create
litigation under state or local anti-discrimination laws. This
law allows an employer to establish a voluntary veterans hiring
preference policy and clarifies that exercising such a
preference would not violate state or local anti-discrimination
laws. Lastly they state that by limiting this preference to
hiring decisions, this bill is narrowly focused and intended to
remedy the immediate problem of higher than normal unemployment
rates for veterans and removes veteran-related hiring barriers.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Legion-Department of California
AMVETS-Department of California
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California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
California State Council of SHRM
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapter's
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense-Military,
Community & Family Policy
Society for Human Resource Management
VFW, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
AB 1383
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