BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 381
Author: Block (D)
Amended: 6/1/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMM : 6-0, 6/25/09
AYES: DeSaulnier, Wyland, Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Leno, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 7/6/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Hancock, Leno, Price, Runner,
Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Denham, Oropeza
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/11/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Unemployment compensation disability benefits:
academic
employees
SOURCE : Faculty Association of California Community
Colleges
DIGEST : This bill allows community college districts to
elect to provide State Disability Insurance (SDI) coverage
for certain employees, as specified, but stipulates that
the election would not be contingent upon coverage of other
employees of the community college district employer.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires private sector employers
to provide SDI coverage for their employees, while public
CONTINUED
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agencies (the state, cities, counties, school districts,
community college districts, and other local districts) are
not required to provide SDI coverage for employees.
California's SDI program is a partial wage-replacement
insurance plan for California workers that provides
affordable, short-term benefits to eligible workers for up
to 52 weeks in the event that a person suffers a
non-occupational injury or illness that prevents that
person from working. SDI benefits range from $50 to $959
per week, depending upon earnings during a 12-month base
period. Paid Family Leave is part of the SDI program and
replaces lost income to care for a sick relative or to bond
with a new child. The SDI programs are state-mandated, and
funded through employee payroll deductions. The SDI
program is administered through the Employment Development
Department.
Under existing law, public agencies that elect to provide
SDI coverage must do so under statutory rules that include:
1.All of the eligible employees who are part of a labor
organization are parties to an election that is the
result of a negotiated agreement between the employer and
the recognized employee organization.
2.All of the eligible employees in one or more places of
business who are not part of a labor organization are
parties to an election requested by a written petition
signed by a majority of the eligible employees.
Existing law allows public entities, except school district
and community college districts, to elect to cover all of
their employees who are part of an appropriate unit,
provided the election is the result of a negotiated
agreement between the public agency and the recognized
employee organization.
This bill allows community college districts to elect to
provide SDI coverage for certain employees, as specified,
but stipulates that the election would not be contingent
upon coverage of other employees of the community college
district employer. Specifically, this bill allows a
community college district:
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1.To elect to provide SDI coverage to all eligible
employees who are part of an employee organization
bargaining unit, as specified, but would not make the
election contingent upon coverage of other employees.
2.To elect to provide coverage to its management and
confidential employees and to its employees who are not
part of an appropriate unit, but would not make the
election contingent upon coverage of other employees.
3.To elect to provide disability compensation coverage to
specified permanent, part-time, or temporary academic
employees that is not contingent upon coverage of other
academic employees. "Academic employee" is defined as a
person employed by a community college district in an
academic position.
Comments
The SDI program provides partial wage-replacement insurance
for California workers that provides affordable, short-term
benefits to eligible workers in the event that a person
suffers a non-occupational injury or illness that prevents
that person from working. Existing law requires private
sector employers to provide SDI coverage for their
employees, while public agencies, including a community
college district, are not. Community college districts
employ academic faculty in both temporary part-time and
permanent full-time capacities.
Because of difference in sick leave, paid time off and
other personnel policies that might apply to workers in
either of these classifications, each set of workers might
have different perspectives on the need to opt in or out of
the SDI program. This legislation recognizes these
differences and would instead allow the different
classification of employees to choose whether or not to
participate in the SDI program. This bill allows those
employees who find value in the cost to participate in the
SDI program to do so, while at the same time those who do
not want to participate would not be required to pay for a
plan that they find no benefit.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/7/09)
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
(source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Federation of Teachers
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
Community College League of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
even in a good economy a short-term disability can be
economically disastrous for a part-time worker. The author
argues that currently, California's part-time community
college faculty lack adequate financial protection in the
event of a non-work related short-term disability.
Proponents argue that since public employers are not
required to provide SDI, part-time community college
faculty have only their accumulated leave, which can only
be used during an academic term in which they are employed,
to rely on in the event of an extended illness. To make
matters worse, proponents argue, if a faculty member is
collecting unemployment insurance and becomes ill and is
unable to look for work, he or she will become ineligible
to continue to receive unemployment benefits. However, if
the part-time faulty member participates in the SDI
program, he or she would be seamlessly transferred out of
UI and into SDI.
Proponents of the bill state that current law limits the
ability of employees within a bargaining unit to elect into
SDI, and when the district chooses to participate in SDI
both temporary and permanent full time faculty are required
to contribute. Proponents argue that since SDI is
completely employee paid, tenured faculty may feel that
they do not have need for the SDI plan considering they
have, on average, 10 sick days per year, and many have
access to a sick leave donation bank. This bill would
allow part-time faculty to participate in SDI even if the
tenured faculty of a bargaining unit choose differently.
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Similarly, this bill would also allow the full time faculty
to elect into SDI, even if the part-time faculty did not
want to.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Duvall, Yamada
AGB:nl 7/7/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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