BILL ANALYSIS
AB 381
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 381 (Block)
As Amended June 1, 2009
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(May 11, 2009) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 27, |
| | | | | |2009) |
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Original Committee Reference: INS.
SUMMARY : Allows community college districts to elect to provide
state disability insurance (SDI) coverage to academic employees
who are permanent, part-time, or temporary; and, to management,
confidential, and employees who are not part of a bargaining
unit.
The Senate amendments , modify the Assembly version of the bill
as follows:
1)Allow a community college district to elect to become an
employer for purposes of the SDI Program with regard to
employees who are part of an appropriate collective bargaining
unit if the community college district has reached agreement
with the certified employee organization on that point.
2)Allow a community college district to elect to provide
coverage to its management and confidential employees and to
its employees who are not part of an appropriate unit, but the
election shall not be contingent upon coverage of other
employees of the district.
3)Allow a community college district that employs an academic
employee to elect to provide coverage to permanent, part-time,
or temporary academic employees, including permanent,
part-time, temporary, or substitute faculty or instructors,
but the election shall not be contingent upon coverage of
other academic employees of the district.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires private sector employers to provide SDI coverage for
their employees, while public agencies (the state, cities,
counties, school districts, community college districts, and
AB 381
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other local districts) are not required to provide SDI
coverage for employees.
2)Specifies that public agencies that elect to provide SDI
coverage must do so under statutory rules including:
a) 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; and,
b) 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.
3)Specifies that SDI coverage provides a partial wage
replacement for up to 52 weeks in the event that a person
experiences a non-occupational injury or illness that prevents
that person from working. It is paid entirely by wage
deductions upon employee earnings.
4)Allows public entities, except school districts 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.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Allowed a community college district that employs academic
employees to elect to provide SDI coverage to permanent,
part-time, or temporary academic employees, including
substitute faculty or instructors, but the election would not
be contingent upon coverage of all other academic employees of
the community college district.
2)Defined "academic employee" as a person employed by a
community college district in an academic position.
FISCAL EFFECT : No direct state fiscal impact. SDI is paid
entirely by employee contributions. To the extent this bill
results in more community college staff access to SDI, more
payroll taxes payable by employees will be collected to pay the
benefits.
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COMMENTS :
1)According to the author, the purpose of this bill is to
provide part-time community college faculty within a
wall-to-wall bargaining unit the separate ability to elect, as
a group, to participate in the SDI Program.
2)Private sector employers are required to provide for SDI
coverage for employees. SDI coverage provides a partial wage
replacement for up to 52 weeks in the event that a person
experiences a non-occupational injury or illness that prevents
working. SDI benefits are paid entirely by employee
contributions and the benefits range from $50 to $959 per
week, depending upon earnings during a 12-month period. The
SDI taxable wage limit is $90,669 per employee for 2009, and
the withholding tax on employees is 1.1% of wages earned.
Public entities including the state, cities, counties, school
districts, and other local districts may elect to cover their
employees with SDI coverage. Paid Family Leave is part of the
SDI Program and it allows paid time off of work in order to
care for a sick family member or to bond with a newborn child.
3)According to the author and the bill's sponsor, the Faculty
Association of California Community Colleges, existing law
limits the ability of discreet classifications of employees
within a bargaining unit to elect into the SDI Program. For
community college faculty, this means that temporary and
full-time faculty must both participate. The Faculty
Association states that tenured faculty may feel that they do
not need the SDI Plan since they use few sick days per year
and may have access to a sick-leave donation bank. This bill
would allow part-time faculty to participate in SDI
independent of the full-time faculty, and vice versa.
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Hernandez / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN:
0001793