BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2468
Author: De Leon (D), et al
Amended: 3/24/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUS. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-1, 6/23/10
AYES: DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Leno, Yee
NOES: Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-1, 7/15/10
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alquist, Wyland, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 63-7, 4/26/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Lactation accommodation: workplace designation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows a business to use the
designation Breast-Feeding Mother Friendly Worksite in its
promotional materials if the Labor Commissioner determines
the employer breast-feeding policy meets specified criteria
and requires the Labor Commissioner to post a listing of
businesses with this designation on its Web site.
ANALYSIS :
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Existing law provides that
1. Every employer shall provide a reasonable amount of
unpaid break time to accommodate an employee to express
breast milk. The break time shall, if possible, run
concurrently with any break time already provided to the
employee.
2. Every employer must make reasonable efforts to provide
the employee with the use of a room or location, other
than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the
employee's work area. Specifies that the room or
location may include the place where the employee
normally works if it otherwise meets the requirements of
this section.
3. An employer who violates any of the lactation
accommodation requirements shall be subject to a $100
civil penalty for each violation, but specifies that
such a violation is not a misdemeanor.
Existing law also specifies that an employer does not have
to provide break time if to do so would seriously disrupt
the operations of the employer.
This bill allows an employer to use the designation
"Breast-Feeding Mother-Friendly Workplace" if the Labor
Commission determines that the policy submitted by the
employer provides for all of the following:
1. Flexible work scheduling, including the scheduling of
breaks and allowing work patterns that provide time for
the expression of breast milk.
2. A convenient, sanitary, safe and private location, other
than a toilet stall, for privacy while breast-feeding or
expressing breast milk.
3. A convenient, clean and safe water source with
facilities for washing hands and rinsing pumping
equipment located in or near the private location, as
specified.
4. A convenient hygienic refrigerator in the workplace for
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the temporary storage of the breast milk.
This bill also specifies that the penalty provisions for
lactation accommodation do not apply to the "Breast-Feeding
Mother-Friendly Workplace" designation.
Prior Legislation
AB 513 (De Leon), 2009 - 10 Session, would have required
health plans and those health insurers that provide
maternity benefits to provide coverage for lactation
consultation with an international board certified
lactation consultant and the provision of, or the rental
of, a breast pump. It passed the Senate Floor with a vote
of 24-15 on September 13, 2009, but was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger.
AB 514 (De Leon), 2009 - 10 Session, would have amended
existing law relating to lactation accommodation by
employers, by among other things, requiring an employer to
provide a 20-minute paid rest period during each four-hour
work period to accommodate employee desiring to express
breast milk for the employee's infant child and specified
that this rest period shall immediately precede or follow
any rest period to which the employee is entitled by law.
It was held under submission by the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 1025 (Frommer) Statutes of 2001, Chapter 821, requires
employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time and to
make reasonable efforts to provide the use of an
appropriate room for an employee to express breast milk for
the employee's infant child. Passed off the Senate Floor
with a vote of 25-9 on August 27, 2001.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
Review of workplace$5 to $60 annually; depending on
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Special*
and Web site publicationthe number of policies to be
reviewed and the work involved
determining if policies meet
criteria
set forth in bill
* Labor Enforcement and Compliance Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/3/10)
American Academy of Pediatrics-California District
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
District IX California Academy of Family Physicians
California Commission on the Status of Women
California District of the American Academy of Pediatrics
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Medical Association
California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing
Committee
California WIC Association
Commission on the Status of Women, State of California
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles County
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California WIC Association
states that women with children are the fastest growing
segment of the workforce, and that forty-nine percent of
working women in California with newborns return to the
workforce before their newborn is the age of one. The
Association believes that breastfeeding is an important and
realistic need for many working mothers in California and
the lack of lactation support services in the workplace can
have broad fiscal and public health ramifications for
employers and employees alike.
The California Academy of Family Physicians states that
breastfeeding is the physiological norm for both mothers
and their children, and that breastfeeding offers health
benefits not available from milk substitutes. The Academy
also notes that this bill encourages employers to provide
supportive work environments for new mothers without
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imposing mandates on employers.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Beall, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
La Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, Portantino, Ruskin, Saldana, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada
NOES: Anderson, Tom Berryhill, DeVore, Harkey, Knight,
Norby, Audra Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Bass, Bill Berryhill, Fuller,
Furutani, V. Manuel Perez, Salas, Silva, John A. Perez,
Vacancy
PQ:do 8/3/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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