BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 221|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 221
Author: Jackson (D)
Amended: 4/20/15
Vote: 21
SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/14/15
AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Nguyen, Roth
SENATE PUBLIC EMP. & RET. COMMITTEE: 5-0, 4/27/15
AYES: Pan, Morrell, Beall, Fuller, Hall
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: State public employees: sick leave: veterans with
service-related disabilities
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill permits state employees, who are military
veterans with service-connected disabilities, to receive 96
hours of additional sick leave dedicated to health care
treatment of those disabilities.
ANALYSIS: Existing federal law directs the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) to analyze and rate the
service-connected disabilities of qualified military veterans,
and to provide health care treatment and monetary compensation
to veterans with rated, service-connected disabilities.
Existing state law:
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1)Provides that state agency employees may accrue and apply sick
leave, and establishes procedures for agency administration of
those sick leave benefits.
2)Authorizes the Legislature to provide preferences to veterans
and their surviving spouses in state employment. (California
Constitution)
This bill:
1)Grants a state officer or employee, who is a military veteran
with a service-connected disability rated at 30% or more by
USDVA, and who is hired on or after January 1, 2016, an
additional credit for sick leave with pay of up to 96 hours.
2)Limits use of this sick leave to medical treatment of the
employee's military service-connected disability.
3)Requires that this sick leave be credited on the first day of
employment and remain available for use for the following 12
months of employment.
4)Prohibits this sick leave from being carried over after 12
months.
5)Permits employing agencies to require "submission of
satisfactory proof" that the sick leave is being used for
treatment of a service-connected disability, pursuant to rules
adopted by the Department of Human Resources (CalHR).
Background
Sick leave for state employees. Employees of California state
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government agencies are eligible to accrue sick leave credits,
which they may use to take time off from work at full pay.
Provided they have sufficient accrued credits, sick leave
compensates employees during periods of absence due to:
Being physically or mentally unable to work due to illness or
injury.
Obtaining professional diagnosis of treatment for a medical
condition.
Other medical reasons, such as pregnancy or obtaining a
physical examination.
Attending to illness of a child, parent, spouse, or domestic
partner.
The Government and Labor codes contain provisions for sick leave
with actual benefits for represented employees further specified
by collective bargaining agreements or memorandums of
understanding. Benefits for nonrepresented employees, who are
designated as managerial, supervisory, and confidential, are
further specified in CalHR regulations.
Federal benefits for service-connected disabilities. USDVA
provides health care treatment and monetary compensation to
veterans with service-connected disabilities.
1)Health care: USDVA's Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
operates the nation's largest integrated health care system
with over 1,700 sites of care, serving 8.76 million veterans
each year. California veterans are served by the numerous
hospitals and clinics owned, operated, and regionally
administered by the VHA.
2)Disability compensation: USDVA's Veterans Benefits
Administration provides disability compensation as a tax-free
monetary benefit to veterans rated with disabilities incurred
or aggravated during active military service. Compensation may
also be paid for post-service disabilities that are considered
related or secondary to disabilities occurring in service and
for disabilities presumed to be related to circumstances of
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military service, even though they may arise after service.
Generally, the degrees of disability specified are also
designed to compensate for considerable loss of working time
from exacerbations or illnesses.
USDVA disability ratings. The USDVA rates disabilities to
facilitate health care and compensation claims for injuries or
diseases that happened during active duty, or were made worse by
active military service. The amount of basic benefit paid varies
depending on the rated severity of the condition.
A veteran need not be totally disabled in order to be eligible
for compensation. USDVA rates disability along a continuum of
0%-to-100% in 10% increments, depending upon the level of
disability determined. The disability percentage also can be
derived by analyzing the composite condition of an individual
veteran with multiple disabilities.
The 10% rating is the lowest for which compensable income is
awarded. A veteran with a 100% rating will have one or more
disabilities that significantly interfere with normal life
functions. A veteran with a 0% rating may have a
service-connected condition, but the condition does not
interfere with normal life functions. The majority of disabled
veterans are rated between 10% to 30%.
As time passes, a veteran's disability claim may require
re-rating. Re-ratings can be caused by changes in law, advances
in medical knowledge, or fluctuations in the veteran's physical
or mental condition. A re-rating can cause an individual's
percentage to go up or down.
Related Legislation
AB 1522 (Gonzalez, Chapter 317, Statutes of 2014), the "Healthy
Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014," among other things:
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Provides, for the purposes of the Act, that "employer"
includes the state, political subdivisions of the state, and
municipalities.
Provides that an employee, who works in California for seven
or more days in a calendar year, is entitled to paid sick
days, as specified, on and after July 1, 2015.
Provides that an employee shall accrue paid sick days at the
rate of not less than one hour per every 30 hours worked,
beginning at the commencement of employment or the operative
date of the bill, whichever is later.
Provides that an employee shall be entitled to use accrued
paid sick days beginning on the 90th calendar day of
employment, after which the employee may use paid sick days as
they are accrued.
Provides that an "employee" does not include an employee
covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement that
expressly provides for paid sick days or similar policy, as
specified.
AB 1397 (Committee on Veterans Affairs, Chapter 645, Statutes of
2014) adds veterans preference to the list of selection devices
that CalHR must review and examine the validity of, and adds
veterans status to the list of specified data collected in order
to determine utilization of certain groups.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown, potentially over $50,000 for sick leave credit
(General/Special Funds)
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Unknown, potentially minor, administrative costs (General)
Exact costs will depend on the number of military veterans who
are hired into state service and who have a service-connected
disability rated at 30 percent or higher. Additionally, the
source of funding (General or Special) will depend on the
department that hires the veteran. Assuming the new employee
has a monthly salary of $4,000, the cost of an additional 96
hours in sick leave would be approximately $2,220 per employee.
There will be additional, unknown but likely minor, costs for
administering and tracking this new benefit.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/28/15)
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veteran Council
Military Officers Association of America - California Council of
Chapters
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of American - California State Council
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/28/15)
None received
Prepared by:Wade Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503
5/30/15 17:22:06
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