BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                              Senator Carol Liu, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:             AB 2393           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Author:    |Campos                                               |
          |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
          |Version:   |June 9, 2016                              Hearing    |
          |           |Date:    June 15, 2016                               |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |No               |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Consultant:|Lenin DelCastillo                                    |
          |           |                                                     |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          
          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  







          AB 2393 (Campos)                                        Page 2  
          of ?
          
          
               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  








          AB 2393 (Campos)                                        Page 3  
          of ?
          
          
               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  








          AB 2393 (Campos)                                        Page 4  
          of ?
          
          
               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  








          AB 2393 (Campos)                                        Page 5  
          of ?
          
          
               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  








          AB 2393 (Campos)                                        Page 6  
          of ?
          
          
               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

                                      -- END --
          











          AB 2393 (Campos)                                        Page 7  
          of ?