BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2337 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair AB 2337 (Burke) - As Amended April 20, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Labor and Employment |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | |Judiciary | |10 - 0 | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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 Page 3 Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081