BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1180
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|Author: |Jackson |
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|Version: |February 18, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: April 20, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Lenin Del Castillo |
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Subject: Public school employees: military veterans: leave of
absence for illness or injury
SUMMARY
This bill provides school employees who are military veterans
with service-connected disabilities with additional paid leaves
of absence for illness or injury, for the purpose of undergoing
medical treatment for those disabilities during their first year
of employment.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Provides every certificated employee that is employed five
days a week by a school district with 10 days of leave of
absence for illness or injury and additional days that the
governing board may allow for illness or injury with full
pay for a year of service. Certificated employees that are
employed less than five days per week shall be entitled to
that proportion of 10 days of this leave of absence as the
number of days worked per week is proportional to five days
per week. The governing board of each school district
shall adopt rules and regulations requiring and prescribing
the manner of proof of illness or injury to utilize sick
leave. (Education Code § 44978)
2) Provides every classified employee that is employed five
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days a week by a school district with 12 days of leave of
absence for illness or injury and such additional days as
the governing board may allow for illness or injury with
full pay for a fiscal year of service. Classified
employees that are employed less than five days per week
shall be entitled to that proportion of 12 days of this
leave of absence as the number of days worked per week is
proportional to five days per week. The governing board of
each school district shall adopt rules and regulations
requiring and prescribing the manner of proof of illness or
injury to utilize sick leave. (Education Code § 45191)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Provides school employees, who are military veterans with
service-connected disabilities rated at 30 percent or
higher, with leaves of absence for illness or injury, with
pay and in addition to any other entitlement for leave of
absence for illness or injury, for the purpose of
undergoing medical treatment for those disabilities, as
follows:
a) Up to 10 days for certificated employees, as
specified.
b) Up to 12 days for classified employees, as
specified.
2) Regarding certificated school employees:
a) Establishes eligibility for an employee
who is hired on or after January 1, 2017 and is a
military veteran with a service-connected disability
rated at 30 percent or more by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA).
b) Provides that certificated school
employees be entitled to a leave of absence for
illness or injury with pay of up to 10 days for the
purpose of undergoing medical treatment for the
service-connected disability, as specified.
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c) Provides that credit for this leave of
absence for illness or injury shall be credited on the
first day of employment and shall remain available for
use for the following 12 months of employment.
d) Provides that leave of absence not used
during the 12-month period shall not be carried over
and shall be forfeited.
e) Provides that submission of
satisfactory proof that use of this leave of absence
is for treatment of a service-connected disability may
be required pursuant to rules adopted by the governing
board of a school district.
f) Provides that an eligible employee,
employed less than five days per week, shall be
entitled to that proportion of 10 days of this leave
of absence as the number of days worked per week is
proportional to five days per week.
g) Provides that, to the extent that this
section conflicts with a provision of a collective
bargaining agreement entered into before January 1,
2017, this section shall not apply until expiration or
renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.
3) Regarding classified school employees, establishes
eligibility for an employee who is hired on or after
January 1, 2017 and is a military veteran with a
service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more by
the USDVA.
a) Provides that classified school
employees are entitled to a leave of absence for
illness or injury with pay of up to 12 days for the
purpose of undergoing medical treatment for the
service-connected disability, as specified.
b) Provides that credit for this leave of
absence for illness or injury shall be credited on the
first day of employment and shall remain available for
use for the following 12 months of employment.
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c) Provides that leave of absence not used
during the 12-month period shall not be carried over
and shall be forfeited.
d) Provides that submission of
satisfactory proof that use of this leave of absence
is for treatment of a service-connected disability may
be required pursuant to rules adopted by the governing
board of a school district.
e) Provides that a classified employee,
who is employed five days a week, and who is employed
for less than a full fiscal year, shall be entitled to
that proportion of 12 days this leave of absence
proportional as the number of months worked is
proportional to 12 months.
f) Provides that, to the extent that this
section conflicts with a provision of a collective
bargaining agreement entered into before January 1,
2017, this section shall not apply until expiration or
renewal of that collective bargaining agreement.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author's office, "many
school employees accrue their sick leave slowly or face
limitations on how much sick leave they can take in their
first months of employment. Many veterans are returning
from Iraq and Afghanistan with physical and mental health
issues that require medical attention. Veterans Affairs
(VA) appointments can be difficult to schedule and even
harder to reschedule. A shortage of mental health
specialists in the VA makes it particularly important to
follow up and attend appointments as soon as they are
received."
The bill is intended to provide disabled veterans who are
new school employees with access to the care they may
require during their first year of employment without
having to take unpaid leave or worry about using up their
regular allotment of sick leave.
2) Veterans with service-connected disabilities. The Senate
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Committee on Veterans Affairs indicates that the United
States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) provides
direct health care treatment and monetary compensation to
veterans with service-connected disabilities. A
service-connected disability is an injury or disease
certified by the USDVA as having occurred during active
duty, or made worse by active military service. The USDVA
rates disabilities to facilitate in-patient and out-patient
health care and to evaluate claims for disability
compensation. The extent of health care provided and the
amount of disability benefit paid may vary depending on the
condition's rated severity.
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% -
30%.
In general, it makes sense for a veteran to seek an initial
disability evaluation, even for a condition likely to
receive only a 0% rating (which is not monetarily
compensable). The reason is that the veteran, at a minimum,
will have documented a service-connected health condition,
which may deteriorate later into a more serious, perhaps
compensable disability. In addition, individuals with a 0%
rating may be eligible for federal and state veterans'
benefits other than monetary compensation. As time passes,
a veteran's disability claim may require re-ratings. The
re-ratings can be initiated by administrative decisions by
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 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.
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3) Collective bargaining agreements. The bill currently
requires that to the extent that its provisions conflict
with a collective bargaining agreement entered into before
January 1, 2017, they shall not apply until expiration or
renewal of that collective bargaining agreement. To enable
new school employees to benefit from the bill's provisions
immediately after its implementation date, staff
recommends, at the author's request, that the bill be
amended to specify that nothing in the bill prohibits a
collective bargaining agreement entered into by a public
school employer and an exclusive bargaining representative
that provides greater sick leave than the sick leave
established by this section.
SUPPORT
California Association of County Veteran Service Officers
California School Employees Association
VFW Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of American, California State Council
OPPOSITION
None received.
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