BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 579| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 579 Author: Jackson (D) Amended: 4/15/15 Vote: 21 SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 4/22/15 AYES: Mendoza, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell NOES: Stone SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT: Employees: time off SOURCE: Child Care Law Center Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center DIGEST: This bill expands on the currently authorized reasons for which an employee can take job-protected time off of work without the fear of discrimination or discharge by 1) allowing workers to use their paid sick days to care for a child during a child care or school emergency (which may include behavioral or discipline problems with a child, closure of the facility, a disaster or extreme weather condition); and 2) allowing workers to take job-protected time off from work to find child care or school for their children and to enroll them. ANALYSIS: Existing law, under the Family School Partnership Act: SB 579 Page 2 1) Prohibits an employer who employs 25 or more employees working at the same location from discharging or discriminating against an employee who is a parent, guardian, or grandparent having custody of a child in a licensed child day care facility or in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, for taking up to 40 hours each year of time off (not exceeding eight hours in any calendar month of the year), to participate in activities of the school or licensed child day care facility of any of his/her children. (Labor Code §230.8) 2) Requires the employee, prior to taking the time off, to give reasonable notice to the employer of the planned absence of the employee. 3) Requires an employee to provide documentation regarding these activities upon request by an employer. 4) Requires the employee to utilize existing vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time off for purposes of the planned absence. 5) Authorizes the employee to utilize time off without pay for this purpose, to the extent available by his/her employer. 6) Provides remedies to employees discharged, demoted, or in any other manner discriminated against as a result of his/her exercise of this right. Existing law, under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014: 7) States that starting on July 1, 2015, an employee who works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days at the rate of not less than one hour per every 30 hours worked SB 579 Page 3 (to be taken after the 90th day of employment). 8) Allows employers to limit the use of paid sick days to 24 hours or 3 days per year. 9) Requires, upon the oral or written request of an employee, an employer to provide paid sick days for: a) Diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, the employee or the employee's family member (defined as a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild and sibling). b) For specified purposes, as defined, for an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. 10)Prohibits an employer from denying an employee the right to use accrued sick days, discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, suspend, or in any manner discriminate against an employee for using accrued sick days, attempting to exercise the right to use accrued sick days, filing a complaint with the department or alleging a violation of this article, cooperating in an investigation or prosecution of an alleged violation of this article, or opposing any policy or practice or act that is prohibited by this article. Existing law, under the Kin Care law: 11)Requires an employer to permit an employee to use the employee's accrued and available sick leave entitlement to attend to the illness of a child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner of the employee and prohibits an employer from denying an employee the right to use sick leave or taking specific discriminatory action against an employee for using, or attempting to exercise the right to use, sick leave to attend to such an illness. This bill expands on the currently authorized reasons for which an employee can take job-protected time off of work without the fear of discrimination or discharge. Specifically, this bill: 1) Authorizes employees to take time off (whether unpaid or SB 579 Page 4 paid using vacation or other compensated leave) to find, enroll, or reenroll his/her child in a school or a licensed day care facility. 2) Authorizes employees to use paid sick days to address a child care or school emergency. 3) Defines "child care or school emergency" to mean that an employee's child cannot remain in a school or child care facility due to one of the following: Illness of, or injury to, the child. Behavioral or discipline problems. Closure of the facility. A disaster or extreme weather condition, including, but not limited to, fire, earthquake, or flood. 1) Aligns Kin Care law with the provisions in the new Paid Sick Days law that authorizes the use of sick leave to attend to any preventative care needs of the worker's child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner. Background According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), parents who used paid sick days were much less likely than other workers to use it for their own health, with more than half taking time to care for their children. Mothers were particularly likely to use paid sick days to care for their children and particularly unlikely to use it for their own health needs. Additionally, the study found that one in 10 parents reported using paid sick days to care for both a child and an older relative. (IWPR, "San Francisco's Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Outcomes for Employers and Employees," February 2011) The IWPR concluded that these findings suggest that many employees make trade-offs when using paid sick days and tend to use this time to care for others, perhaps using less time for their own health needs. Existing law allows workers the ability to take time off to participate in activities of the school or licensed child day care facility of his/her child; however, this time must be either unpaid or taken using a vacation, personal leave, or compensatory time off. Existing law allows workers to use, SB 579 Page 5 beginning in July of this year, paid sick days for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for, the employee or the employee's family member (defined as a child, parent, spouse, registered domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild and sibling). However, the author and proponents of this bill believe that more flexibility is needed in the use of both the time off to attend to child care or school activities and the new paid sick day's law. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified4/22/15) Child Care Law Center (co-source) Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (co-source) California Applicants' Attorneys Association California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union California Conference of Machinists California Employment Lawyers Association California Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO California Partnership to End Domestic Violence California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation California School Employees Association California Teamsters Public Affairs Council California Women's Law Center Consumer Attorneys of California County of Santa Cruz Board of Supervisors Disability Rights Legal Center Engineers & Scientists of California Glendale City Employees Association International Longshore & Warehouse Union National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter National Council of Jewish Women California Organization of SMUD Employees Professional & Technical Engineers Roots of Change San Bernardino Public Employees Association San Diego County Court Employees Association San Francisco Breastfeeding Promotion Coalition San Luis Obispo County Employees Association SB 579 Page 6 UNITE HERE, AFL-CIO Utility Workers Union of America OPPOSITION: (Verified4/22/15) California Association for Health Services at Home California Chamber of Commerce California League of Food Processors California Manufacturers and Technology Association California Professional Association of Specialty Contractors California Restaurant Association California State Association of Counties National Federation of Independent Business Western Growers Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, most children live in households where all parents work, and one-third of families with children are headed by single parents. Yet, many parents risk losing their jobs when they face a child care emergency; or, cannot have time off to engage in child care or school selection. The author argues that current law does not provide sufficient protections leading to parents being forced to choose between their job and whether to enroll/provide for the welfare and education of their child. SB 579 allows parents to use their paid sick days to care for a child during a child care or school emergency, and to take job-protected time off from work to find (and enroll) child care or school for their children. This bill also amends the Kin Care law to more closely align with the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act by allowing parents to use their sick days to take their family members to a preventative health appointment. The author argues that this bill does not increase the amount of time off parents are entitled to under these laws, but rather expands the permitted use of those laws to cover child care emergencies and enrollment. Proponents argue that parents need assurance they will not lose their job when they must leave work to attend to the well-being of their child. They believe that by allowing working parents to take time-off for these important reasons, the Legislature will strengthen its support for working mothers and fathers by helping them keep their jobs while fulfilling their parental obligations. Proponents argue that this bill also benefits SB 579 Page 7 employers by strengthening employee morale and job retention for working parents. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to opponents, this bill expands the paid sick leave law, which has yet to go into effect, to also cover events that have no relation to an employee's illness, or preventative care, or the illness or preventative care of a family member. Specifically, this bill expands the conditions under which an employee can utilize paid sick leave to include "child care or school emergency," defined as discipline or behavioral problems, closure of the facility, a disaster, or extreme weather conditions. Opponents argue that these listed events are completely unrelated to medical care or an illness of an employee or their family member, and is inconsistent with the intent of the paid sick leave law, which was to provide employees with an opportunity to attend to their health needs and the health needs of their family. Furthermore, opponents argue that utilizing paid sick leave for conditions and events that are completely unrelated to illness or medical care, begins to change the nature of the leave to resemble paid time off or vacation leave, which is a significant concern to the business community. Unused accrued paid time off and vacation as opposed to unused, accrued paid sick leave are considered wages that are due at the time of separation, given the ability for an employee to utilize that leave for events other than limited purposes. Moreover, they argue, California already provides employees with 40 hours of protected school activities leave, for a parent, guardian, or grandparent of a child, to participate in "school activities." This includes children at licensed child day care facilities, and would likely include several of the events this bill seeks to include under the paid sick leave law. Prepared by: Alma Perez / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556 5/6/15 16:16:28 **** END **** SB 579 Page 8