BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2393
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|Author: |Campos |
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|Version: |June 9, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 15, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Lenin DelCastillo |
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Subject: School employees: sick leave: parental leave
SUMMARY
This bill requires K-14 classified school employees and
community college faculty on maternity or paternity leave to
receive differential pay for the12 weeks of unpaid and protected
family and medical leave, and makes clarifying changes to the
statutory provisions regarding differential pay for certificated
employees.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Provides differential pay to certificated employees for
illness or accident. Specifically, it provides that,
during each school year, when a person employed in a
position requiring certification qualifications has
exhausted all available sick leave, including all
accumulated sick leave, and continues to be absent from his
or her duties on maternity leave or paternity leave for a
period of up to twelve school weeks, whether or not the
absence arises out of or in the course of the employment of
the employee, the amount deducted from the salary due him
or her for any of the twelve weeks in which the absence
occurs shall not exceed the sum that is actually paid a
substitute employee employed to fill his or her position
during his or her absence or, if no substitute employee was
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employed, the amount that would have been paid to the
substitute had he or she been employed. Requires the
school district to make every reasonable effort to secure
the services of a substitute employee. Specifies that the
12-week period shall be reduced by any period of sick
leave, including accumulated sick leave, taken during a
period of maternity or paternity leave, as specified.
Specifies that an employee shall not be provided more than
one 12-week period per maternity leave or paternity leave.
Provides that if a school year terminates before the
five-month period is exhausted, the employee may take the
balance of the 12-week period in a subsequent school year.
(Education Code § 44977.5)
2) Requires that any employee has the right to use sick
leave and to obtain differential pay for absences
necessitated by pregnancy, miscarriage, childbirth, and
recovery. (Education Code § 44978)
ANALYSIS
This bill conforms the provisions of existing law that provide
differential pay to certificated school employees to classified
employees and community college faculty. Specifically, this
bill:
1) Provides that a certificated employee may use his or her
sick leave for up to 12 weeks for purposes of parental
leave during each school year, and makes other conforming
changes, as specified. Provides that if a school district
maintains a rule that credits a certificated employee with
no less than 100 working days of sick leave paid at no less
than 50 percent of his or her regular salary, when he or
she has exhausted all available sick leave, including all
accumulated sick leave, and continues to be absent from his
or her duties on account of parental leave, that person
shall be compensated at not less than 50 percent of his or
her regular salary for a period of up to 12 weeks for
parental leave.
2) Provides that nothing in the section shall be construed as
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requiring a certificated employee to use his or her sick
leave for the purposes of parental leave as a condition of
retaining his or her rights to unpaid parental leave, as
specified. Provides that if a certificated employee elects
to receive the differential pay benefit, his or her right
to unpaid parental leave shall be reduced by the amount of
time the employee receives the differential pay benefit.
3) Provides that a classified employee may use his or her sick
leave for up to 12 weeks for purposes of parental leave
during each school year.
4) Specifies that when a classified employee or community
college instructor has exhausted all available sick leave,
including all accumulated sick leave, and continues to be
absent from his or her duties on account of parental leave
the amount deducted from the salary due him or her for any
of the additional 12 weeks in which the absence occurs
shall not exceed the sum that is actually paid a substitute
or temporary employee employed to fill his or her position
during his or her absence.
5) Specifies that if a school or community college district
that maintains a rule that credits a classified employee or
community college instructor with no less than 100 days of
sick leave paid at no less than 50% of the employee's
regular salary, an employee on parental leave who has
exhausted all available sick leave, including all
accumulated sick leave, and continues to be absent shall be
compensated at no less than 50% of his or her regular
salary, as specified.
6) Specifies that the 12-week period shall be reduced by any
period of sick leave, including accumulated sick leave,
taken during a period of parental leave.
7) Specifies an employee shall not be provided more than one
12-week period for paid parental leave during any 12-month
period.
8) Specifies that these provisions are applicable whether or
not the absence from duty is for a leave of absence granted
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by the governing board of the school or community college
district.
9) Provides that nothing in the section shall be construed as
requiring a classified employee or community college
instructor to use his or her sick leave for the purposes of
parental leave as a condition of retaining his or her
rights to unpaid parental leave, as specified. Provides
that if the employee elects to receive the differential pay
benefit, his or her right to unpaid parental leave shall be
reduced by the amount of time the employee receives the
differential pay benefit.
10) Specifies that nothing in these provisions shall be
construed to diminish the obligation of a public school
employer to comply with any collective bargaining agreement
that provides greater parental leave rights to employees
than the rights established by this bill.
11) Defines "parental leave" as leave for reason of the birth
of a child of the employee, or the placement of a child
with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster
care of the child by the employee.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author's office,
"classified employees and community college faculty who are
new mothers and fathers are only entitled to 12 weeks of
unpaid parental leave under the California Family Rights
Act (CFRA). Most classified employees are not covered by
State Disability Insurance (SDI) and do not receive paid
parental leave under that program. In addition, classified
employees are the lowest paid employees working in our
schools and are denied paid parental leave while others are
not. Paid parental leave helps keep people in the
workforce after they have children."
This bill would provide classified school employees and
community college faculty with the same paid parental leave
rights as certificated employees.
2) Pregnancy disability leave. Existing law provides that it
is unlawful to refuse to allow a female employee disabled
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by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition to
take leave not to exceed four months. The employee is
entitled to use vacation leave during this time. Once the
vacation time is exhausted, the employee can receive
differential pay for the remaining time, for up to five
months.
3) Protected leave. Existing law also prohibits, except under
certain circumstances, the refusal to grant a request by
any employee with a certain amount of service to take up to
a total of 12 workweeks in a 12 month period for family
care and medical leave. The employer is required to
provide the employee a guarantee of employment in the same
or comparable position upon the termination of the leave.
The law specifies that this protected leave is separate and
distinct from the pregnancy disability leave. Once an
employee is cleared to return to work by a physician, the
employee may take this protected leave.
The federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California
Family Rights Act (CFRA) provide certain employees up to 12
weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year for the purpose of
bonding with a child, care for a parent, spouse, or child with a
serious health condition, or due to an employee's own serious
health condition, and requires group health benefits to be
maintained during the leave as if employees continued to work
instead of taking leave. But there is no pay associated with
the FMLA and CFRA, other than what the employee has earned in
other accrued leaves that may apply. The FMLA and CFRA are only
employment protected leaves.
4) Paid Family Leave (PFL). The PFL program extends
disability compensation to individuals (male or female) who
take time off work to care for a seriously ill child,
spouse, parent, domestic partner, or to bond with a new
child, or a child in connection with adoption or foster
care placement. The PFL program is a component of the
State Disability Insurance (SDI) program and workers
covered by the SDI program are also covered for this
benefit. The maximum benefit is six times the weekly
benefit amount, with no more than six weeks of PFL benefits
paid within any 12-month period. Employees may only be
eligible for the PFL program if they are covered by the SDI
program through a negotiated agreement with the State of
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California. If an employee does not pay into the SDI
program, he or she would not be eligible to receive
disability compensation under PFL. In this scenario and
assuming the employee is on leave for bonding time, the
employee would need to use vacation time, sick leave, or
personal necessity to receive compensation or elect to take
leave without pay.
5) Previous legislation. AB 375 (Campos, Chapter 400,
Statutes of 2015) expanded the instances in which
differential pay is provided to certificated employees for
purposes of maternity and paternity leave to include the 12
workweek protected leave.
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Federation of Teachers
California Labor Federation
California Professional Firefighters
California School Employees Association
California Teachers Association
Courage Campaign
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
Family Coalition
First 5 California
LIUNA Locals 777
Moreland Teachers Association
National Council of Jewish Women-CA
Oak Grove Educators Association
Saratoga Teacher's Association
Service Employees International Union
OPPOSITION
Association of California School Administrators
California School Boards Association
San Diego Unified School District
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