BILL NUMBER: AB 2337 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 15, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 22, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 4, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 9, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Burke
(Coauthor: Senator Jackson)
FEBRUARY 18, 2016
An act to amend Section 230.1 of the Labor Code, relating to
employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2337, Burke. Employment protections: victims of domestic
violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Existing law prohibits an employer from discharging or in any
manner discriminating or retaliating against an employee who is a
victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking for taking
time off from work for specified purposes related to addressing the
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Existing law provides
that any employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge,
demoted, suspended, or in any manner discriminated or retaliated
against in the terms and conditions of employment by his or her
employer because the employee has taken time off for those purposes
is entitled to reinstatement and reimbursement for lost wages and
work benefits caused by the acts of the employer, as well as
appropriate equitable relief, and is allowed to file a complaint with
the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement within the Department of
Industrial Relations. Existing law establishes the Labor
Commissioner as the head of the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement.
This bill would require employers to inform each employee of his
or her rights established under those laws by providing specific
information in writing to new employees upon hire and to other
employees upon request. The bill would also require the Labor
Commissioner, on or before July 1, 2017, to develop a form an
employer may elect to use to comply with these provisions and to post
it on the commissioner's Internet Web site. Employers would not be
required to comply with the notice of rights requirement until the
commissioner posts the form.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 230.1 of the Labor Code is amended to read:
230.1. (a) In addition to the requirements and prohibitions
imposed on employees pursuant to Section 230, an employer with 25 or
more employees shall not discharge, or in any manner discriminate or
retaliate against, an employee who is a victim of domestic violence,
sexual assault, or stalking for taking time off from work for any of
the following purposes:
(1) To seek medical attention for injuries caused by domestic
violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
(2) To obtain services from a domestic violence shelter, program,
or rape crisis center as a result of domestic violence, sexual
assault, or stalking.
(3) To obtain psychological counseling related to an experience of
domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
(4) To participate in safety planning and take other actions to
increase safety from future domestic violence, sexual assault, or
stalking, including temporary or permanent relocation.
(b) (1) As a condition of taking time off for a purpose set forth
in subdivision (a), the employee shall give the employer reasonable
advance notice of the employee's intention to take time off, unless
the advance notice is not feasible.
(2) When an unscheduled absence occurs, the employer shall not
take any action against the employee if the employee, within a
reasonable time after the absence, provides a certification to the
employer. Certification shall be sufficient in the form of any of the
categories described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section
230.
(3) To the extent allowed by law and consistent with subparagraph
(D) of paragraph (7) of subdivision (f) of Section 230, employers
shall maintain the confidentiality of any employee requesting leave
under subdivision (a).
(c) An employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge,
demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated or
retaliated against in the terms and conditions of employment by his
or her employer because the employee has taken time off for a purpose
set forth in subdivision (a) is entitled to reinstatement and
reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits caused by the acts of
the employer, as well as appropriate equitable relief. An employer
who willfully refuses to rehire, promote, or otherwise restore an
employee or former employee who has been determined to be eligible
for rehiring or promotion by a grievance procedure or hearing
authorized by law is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(d) (1) An employee who is discharged, threatened with discharge,
demoted, suspended, or in any other manner discriminated or
retaliated against in the terms and conditions of employment by his
or her employer because the employee has exercised his or her rights
as set forth in subdivision (a) may file a complaint with the
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of the Department of
Industrial Relations pursuant to Section 98.7.
(2) Notwithstanding any time limitation in Section 98.7, an
employee may file a complaint with the division based upon a
violation of subdivision (a) within one year from the date of
occurrence of the violation.
(e) An employee may use vacation, personal leave, or compensatory
time off that is otherwise available to the employee under the
applicable terms of employment, unless otherwise provided by a
collective bargaining agreement, for time taken off for a purpose
specified in subdivision (a). The entitlement of any employee under
this section shall not be diminished by any term or condition of a
collective bargaining agreement.
(f) This section does not create a right for an employee to take
unpaid leave that exceeds the unpaid leave time allowed under, or is
in addition to the unpaid leave time permitted by, the federal Family
and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 2601 et seq.).
(g) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Domestic violence" means any of the types of abuse set forth
in Section 6211 of the Family Code, as amended.
(2) "Sexual assault" means any of the crimes set forth in Section
261, 261.5, 262, 265, 266, 266a, 266b, 266c, 266g, 266j, 267, 269,
273.4, 285, 286, 288, 288a, 288.5, 289, or 311.4 of the Penal Code,
as amended.
(3) "Stalking" means a crime set forth in Section 646.9 of the
Penal Code or Section 1708.7 of the Civil Code.
(h) (1) Employers shall inform each employee of his or her rights
established under this section and subdivisions (c), (e), and (f) of
Section 230 in writing. The information shall be provided to new
employees upon hire and to other employees upon request.
(2) The Labor Commissioner shall develop a form that an employer
may use to comply with the notice requirements in paragraph (1). The
form shall set forth the rights and duties of employers and employees
under this section in clear and concise language. The Labor
Commissioner shall post the form on the commissioner's Internet Web
site to make it available to employers who are required to comply
with this section. If an employer elects not to use the form
developed by the Labor Commissioner, the notice provided by the
employer to the employees shall be substantially similar in content
and clarity to the form developed by the Labor Commissioner. The
Labor Commissioner shall develop the form and post it in accordance
with this paragraph on or before July 1, 2017.
(3) Employers shall not be required to comply with paragraph (1)
until the Labor Commissioner posts the form on the commissioner's
Internet Web site in accordance with paragraph (2).