BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 2393|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 2393
          Author:   Campos (D) 
          Amended:  6/9/16 in Senate
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:  8-1, 6/15/16
           AYES:  Liu, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
           NOES:  Huff

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  53-22, 5/19/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   School employees:  sick leave:  parental leave


          SOURCE:    American Federation of State, County and Municipal  
          Employees

          DIGEST:  This bill requires K-14 classified school employees and  
          community college faculty on maternity or paternity leave to  
          receive differential pay for the 12 weeks of unpaid and  
          protected family and medical leave, and makes clarifying changes  
          the statutory provisions regarding differential pay for  
          certificated employees.

          ANALYSIS:  
          
          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,  








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             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 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)

          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  
             requiring a certificated employee to use his or her sick  







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             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  
             by the governing board of the school or community college  
             district.

           9) Provides that nothing in the section shall be construed as  







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             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.

          Comments
          
          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 provides classified school employees and community  
          college faculty with the same paid parental leave rights as  
          certificated employees.

          Pregnancy disability leave.  Existing law provides that it is  
          unlawful to refuse to allow a female employee disabled 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. 







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          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.

          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 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 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.  









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          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified6/17/16)


          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  
          (source)
          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:   (Verified6/17/16)


          Association of California School Administrators
          California School Boards Association
          San Diego Unified School District

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  53-22, 5/19/16
          AYES:  Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,  
            Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,  
            Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,  
            Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer,  
            Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Medina,  
            Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,  
            Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wood, Rendon
          NOES:  Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Dahle,  
            Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim,  







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            Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth,  
            Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Chang, Mathis, McCarty, Weber, Williams

          Prepared by:Lenin DelCastillo / ED. / (916) 651-4105
          6/17/16 15:03:53


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