BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          SB 1149
                                                          Page  1

Date of Hearing:   July 14, 1999

           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT 
                    Darrell Steinberg, Chair
          SB 1149 (Speier) - As Amended:  May 18, 1999

  SENATE VOTE  :   24-14
  
SUMMARY  :   Expands coverage of the California Family Rights Act  
(CFRA) by covering employers who employ 20 or more persons  
rather than 50 or more persons as provided under current law.   
Allows CFRA leave for the care of an adult child.  Requires  
employers to provide to employees specified information about  
their leave policies, the CFRA, and Pregnancy Disability Leave  
(PDL).  Specifically,  this bill  :  

1)Lowers the threshold of coverage for employers under the CFRA  
  from employers who employ 50 or more persons to employers who  
  employ 20 or more persons.

2)Permits an employee to utilize leave under CFRA for care of  
  any adult child, by removing the limitation that an adult  
  child be a dependent.

3)Requires employers to provide their employees with specified  
  information concerning their rights under the CFRA. 

  Requires the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)  
  to prepare and distribute to employers information sheets,   
  containing specified information about employee rights under  
  the CFRA.  Employers are required to reproduce and distribute  
  the information sheets, or equivalent information, to  
  employees.

4)Requires employers to provide reasonable advance notice about  
  the employer's requirements pertaining to leave under the CFRA  
  and PDL, including requirements relating to employee's rights,  
  duties, and obligations when taking a leave, and other  
  specified information about the employer's attendance or leave  
  policies.

  Provides that an employer who fails to provide such  
  information may not take any adverse action against the  
  employee or deny the employee leave for failing to provide  
  advance notice of the need to take the leave. 








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  EXISTING LAW  

1)Provides, under the CFRA, the right of an eligible employee to  
  take up to 12 weeks of family care and medical leave (1) in  
  connection with the birth or adoption or serious health  
  condition of the employee's child, (2) to care for a parent or  
  spouse who has a serious health condition, or (3) because of  
  the employee's own serious health condition.  

  To qualify under the CFRA, an employee must have more than one  
  year of service with the employer and must have worked at  
  least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period.

2)Provides under the CFRA, that a "child" of the employee must  
  be a minor under 18 years of age or an adult dependent.

3)Provides under the PDL provision of the Fair Employment and  
  Housing Act up to four months of pregnancy disability leave. 

  FISCAL EFFECT  :  The Senate Appropriations Committee estimated  
that the cost of information sheets for the state's 280,000  
employees would exceed $150,000 annually.

  COMMENTS  :   

1)Proponents state that the bill will cover more workers.  Under  
  existing law, about five percent of the employers and 63  
  percent of the employees are covered by the CFRA.  This  
  measure would expand coverage to about 72 percent of the  
  employees.  Many low income women who work for small or  
  mid-sized businesses who need leave the most are not now  
  covered.

  Proponents also state that under existing law a parent could  
  risk losing his or her job to care for an adult child, whereas  
  the child is entitled to job-protected leave if the parent  
  were ill.

2)Opponents state that the CFRA provides an absolute right to  
  leave and that employers do not have a business necessity or  
  undue hardship defense.  Sixty percent of covered employers  
  report increased costs -- primarily due to replacement workers  
  and lost productivity.  This bill contains greatly expanded  
  recordkeeping and paperwork burdens.  If an employer fails to  








                                                          SB 1149
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  meet each of the 16 new compliance directives within the bill  
  they lose all ability to challenge any inappropriate use of  
  the leave.

3)SB 118 (Hayden) also pending before the Labor and Employment  
  Committee amends the CFRA to cover domestic partners, as  
  defined, grandparents and siblings, as well as adult children.

  REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

  Support  

American Cancer Society
American Civil Liberties Union
American Association of University Women
American Nurses' Association\California
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center
Breast Cancer Action
California Alliance Against Domestic Violence
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Conference of Machinists
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California School Employees Association
California State Employees Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
California Women's Law Center
California's Caregiver Resource Centers
Child Care Health Program
Child Care Law Center
Coalition for Civil Rights
Congress of California Seniors
Engineers and Scientists of California
Equal Rights Advocates
Golden Gate University, Women's Employment Rights Clinic
Hotel Employees, Restaurant Employees International Union
Labor Project for Working Families
Legal Aid Society of San Francisco
Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance
Margaret Cruz Latina Breast Cancer Foundation
National Partnership for Women & Families
Northern California Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Planning for Elders in the Central City
Public Advocates, Inc.
Region 8 States Council of the United Food & Commercial Workers








                                                          SB 1149
                                                          Page  4

San Mateo County Central Labor Council
The Breast Cancer Fund
United Food and Commercial Workers Union - Local 1179
Western Law Center for Disability Rights
  
Opposition  

California Chamber of Commerce
California Manufacturers Association


  Analysis Prepared by  :    Ralph Lightstone / L. & E. /  
(916)319-2091