BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 579|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 579
Author: Jackson (D)
Amended: 6/2/15
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: Author
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 under the Family
School Partnership Act by allowing workers to take time off work
to 1) find, enroll, or reenroll his or her child in a school or
with a licensed child care provider, and 2) to address a child
care provider or school emergency, as defined.
Senate Floor Amendments of 6/2/15 revise the approach of this
bill in reaching the same outcome. Instead of making changes to
four different sections of the Labor Code, the amendments expand
on the provisions of the Family School Partnership Act (existing
law) to make it consistent with the provisions found in the
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Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (existing law
which provides for paid sick days) and to additionally allow a
family member to take time off of work to 1) enroll, or reenroll
his or her child in a school with a licensed child care
provider, and 2) to address a child care provider or school
emergency, if the employee gives notice to the employer. The
amendments further clarify what activities are acceptable for
taking the time off by defining what "child care provider or
school emergency" means. The amendments also specify that
"family member" includes the individuals already covered in
existing law to be consistent with the Healthy Workplaces,
Healthy Families Act of 2014 (paid sick days). The amendments
also delete all changes previously being made to the Healthy
Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (Labor Code §245.5 and
246.5) that were no longer necessary with these amendments and
remove a provision which would have allowed for the use of paid
sick leave for these purposes.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
Family School Partnership Act
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 or 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
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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.
Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014
7) Provides 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 (to be taken after the 90th day of employment).
8) Allows employers to limit the use of paid sick days to 24
hours or three 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
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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.
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:
1) 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 under the Family School
Partnership Act by allowing workers to take time off work to
a) find, enroll, or reenroll his or her child in a school or
with a licensed child care provider, and b) to address a
child care provider or school emergency, as defined.
2) Specifies that "child care provider or school emergency"
means that an employee's child cannot remain in a school or
with a child care provider due to one of the following:
a) The school or child care provider has requested that
the child be picked up, or has an attendance policy,
excluding planned holidays, that prohibits the child from
attending or requires the child to be picked up from the
school or child care provider.
b) Behavioral or discipline problems.
c) Closure or unexpected unavailability of the school or
child care provider, excluding planned holidays.
d) A natural disaster, including, but not limited to,
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fire, earthquake, or flood.
3) Revises the Kin Care provisions in existing law to be
consistent with the provisions in existing law under the
Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (paid sick
days). Specifically, to clarify that "family member" includes
the individuals already covered in existing law and that the
worker can take paid sick days for the reasons currently
specified in law.
Background
According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, 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 ten 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 Institute for Women's Policy
Research 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,
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
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SUPPORT: (Verified6/3/15)
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
Child Care 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
Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center
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
UNITE HERE, AFL-CIO
Utility Workers Union of America
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/3/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, most
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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 existing
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
employers by strengthening employee morale and job retention for
working parents.
Prepared by:Alma Perez / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556
6/3/15 17:11:37
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