BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2337


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          Date of Hearing:  May 4, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          AB  
          2337 (Burke) - As Amended April 20, 2016


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          |Policy       |Labor and Employment           |Vote:|7 - 0        |
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          |             |Judiciary                      |     |10 - 0       |
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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  NoReimbursable:  No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires an employer to inform each employee of his or  
          her rights under current law to take time off from work if the  
          employee is a victim of domestic violence. Specifically, this  
          bill:  


          1)Requires employers to provide these rights in writing to new  
            employees upon hire and to other employees upon request.








                                                                    AB 2337


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          2)Requires the Labor Commissioner to develop and post online, a  
            form that an employer may use to comply with the notice  
            requirements of the bill. Requires the form to set forth the  
            rights and duties of employers and employees in clear and  
            concise language. If an employer elects not to use the form  
            developed by the Labor Commissioner, the notice provided by  
            the employer to the employee is required to be substantially  
            similar in content and clarity to the form developed by the  
            Labor Commissioner.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Minor/absorbable costs to the Labor Commissioner to develop the  
          form as specified and post on their website. 


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. According to the author, despite the provisions and  
            protections of current law, many employees are still  
            uninformed about their worker rights when it comes to domestic  
            violence. This bill is needed to ensure that employers are  
            doing their part in spreading information about what rights  
            exist for employees.  In California the Legal Aid Society  
            Employment Law Center, found that nearly 40% of survivors in  
            the state reported being fired or fearing termination due to  
            intimate partner violence.  Addressing the information gap  
            about current protections could go a long way towards keeping  
            victims employed, significantly increasing their chances of  
            being able to leave dangerous relationships.


            There is no known opposition to this bill. 









                                                                    AB 2337


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          Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081