BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1180| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: SB 1180 Author: Jackson (D) Amended: 4/26/16 Vote: 21 SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: 4-0, 4/12/16 AYES: Nielsen, Hueso, Allen, Roth NO VOTE RECORDED: Nguyen SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/20/16 AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak SUBJECT: Public school employees: military veterans: leave of absence for illness or injury SOURCE: Author DIGEST: 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. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Provides every certificated employee, who 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, who are employed less than five days per week, shall be entitled to SB 1180 Page 2 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. 2)Provides every classified employee, who is employed five 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, who 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. This bill: Regarding certificated school employees: 1) Establishes eligibility for an employee who meets the following two criteria: a) Hired on or after January 1, 2017; b) Is a military veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 30% or more by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA). 2) Provides eligible certified 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. 3) 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. 4) Provides that leave of absence not used during the SB 1180 Page 3 12-month period shall not be carried over and shall be forfeited. 5) 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. 6) 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. 7) Provides that nothing in the above provisions shall be construed to diminish the obligation of a public school employer to comply with any collective bargaining agreement that provides greater leave of absence rights to employees than the rights established under this section. Regarding classified school employees: 8) Establishes eligibility for an employee who meets the following two criteria: a) Hired on or after January 1, 2017; b) Is a military veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 30% or more by the USDVA. 9) Provides eligible classified school employees be 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. 10) 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. 11) Provides that leave of absence not used during the 12-month period shall not be carried over and shall be forfeited. SB 1180 Page 4 12) 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. 13) 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. 14) Provides that nothing in the above provisions shall be construed to diminish the obligation of a public school employer to comply with any collective bargaining agreement that provides greater leave of absence rights to employees than the rights established under this section. Background School Employees. Certificated school employees are required to hold a credential from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. While teachers are the most common type of certificated employee, the category also includes counselors, speech therapists, school psychologists, nurses, and school site administrators. Classified school employees are not required to hold teaching credentials. They comprise all other school district employees not specifically exempted from classified service. Classified employees typically are those who maintain institutional infrastructure and support systems (e.g., security, food services, office and clerical work, school maintenance and operations, transportation, academic assistance and para-educator services, library and media assistance, computer services), but can include individuals who oversee other classified employees (e.g., director of food services) and certain other administrators. The distinctions between certificated and classified employees extend beyond the nature of their duties; for example, they typically have different employment, disciplinary, dismissal, SB 1180 Page 5 and layoff rights. In addition, they are represented by different unions in collective bargaining and other advocacy activities. Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities. The 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 compensation claims. The extent of health care provided and 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 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-rating. Re-ratings can be initiated by administrative SB 1180 Page 6 decisions by the USDVA, 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/Prior Legislation SB 221 (Jackson, Chapter 794, Statutes of 2015) grants a state officer or employee, who is a military veteran with a service-connected disability of 30% or more, and who is hired on or after January 1, 2016, an additional credit for sick leave with pay of up to 96 hours. This bill 1) limits use of the sick leave to medical treatment of the service-connected disability; 2) requires that the sick leave be credited on the first day of employment and remain available for use for the following 12 months of employment; 3) prohibits the sick leave from being carried over after 12 months; and 4) 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. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:NoLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified4/27/16) California Association of County Veterans Service Officers California School Employees Association Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California Vietnam Veterans of American - California State Council OPPOSITION: (Verified4/27/16) None received SB 1180 Page 7 Prepared by:Wade Cooper Teasdale / V.A. / (916) 651-1503 4/27/16 15:57:24 **** END ****