BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Senator Ben Hueso, Chair
BILL NO: AJR 38 HEARING DATE: 6/24/14
AUTHOR: Salas
VERSION: 2/19/14, as introduced
FISCAL: No
VOTE: Majority
SUBJECT
Fair employment and housing: military and veteran status.
DESCRIPTION
Existing law:
See summary descriptions of federal and state law below under
Background section.
This bill:
Requests the Congress to pass and the President to sign Senate
Bill 1281 and House Resolution 2654, related to veterans and
military servicemembers employment and housing rights, and
encourages the members of the California Congressional
Delegation to join as coauthors on those measures.
(Urges federal adoption of antidiscrimination provisions for
military members and veterans similar to those enacted into
California law in 2013.)
BACKGROUND
Federal law prohibiting job discrimination
The following federal laws are enforced by the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII),
which prohibits employment discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin;
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and
women who perform substantially equal work in the same
establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA),
which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or
older;
Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which prohibit employment
discrimination against qualified individuals with
disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local
governments;
Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals
with disabilities who work in the federal government;
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits employment
discrimination based on genetic information about an
applicant, employee, or former employee; and
Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things,
provides monetary damages in cases of intentional
employment discrimination.
Other federal laws not enforced by EEOC also prohibit
discrimination and reprisal against federal employees and
applicants. For example, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
(CSRA) contains a number of prohibitions, known as "prohibited
personnel practices," which are designed to promote overall
fairness in federal personnel actions (5 U.S.C. 2302). The CSRA
prohibits any employee who has authority to take certain
personnel actions from discriminating for or against employees
or applicants for employment on the bases of race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, age or disability. It also
provides that certain personnel actions cannot be based on
attributes or conduct that do not adversely affect employee
performance, such as marital status and political affiliation.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has interpreted the
prohibition of discrimination based on conduct to include
discrimination based on sexual orientation. The CSRA is enforced
AJR 38 (Salas) 2
by both the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems
Protection Board.
State law prohibiting job discrimination
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)
enforces laws that protect employees from illegal discrimination
and harassment in employment based on actual or perceived:
Ancestry
Age (40 and above)
Color
Disability (physical and mental, including HIV and AIDS)
Genetic information
Gender, gender identity, and gender expression
Marital status
Medical condition (genetic characteristics, cancer or a
history of cancer)
Military or veteran status
National origin (includes language use restrictions)
Race
Religion (includes religious dress and grooming
practices)
Sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding
and/or related medical conditions)
Sexual orientation
AJR 38 (Salas) 3
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (Government Code
sections 12900 through 12996) and its implementing regulations
(California Code of Regulations, title 2, sections 7285.0
through 8504):
Prohibit harassment of employees, applicants, and
independent contractors by any persons and require
employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent
harassment. This includes a prohibition against sexual
harassment, gender harassment, harassment based on
pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and/or related medical
conditions, as well as harassment based on all other
characteristics listed above.
Prohibit employers from limiting or prohibiting the use
of any language in any workplace unless justified by
business necessity. The employer must notify employees of
the language restriction and consequences for violation.
Require that all employers provide information to each
of their employees on the nature, illegality, and legal
remedies that apply to sexual harassment. Employers may
either develop their own publications, which must meet
standards set forth in California Government Code section
12950, or use a brochure from the DFEH.
Require employers with 50 or more employees and all
public entities to provide sexual harassment prevention
training for all supervisors.
Require employers to reasonably accommodate an employee
or job applicant's religious beliefs and practices,
including the wearing or carrying of religious clothing,
jewelry or artifacts, and hair styles, facial hair, or body
hair, which are part of an individual's observance of his
or her religious beliefs.
Require employers to reasonably accommodate employees or
job applicants with a disability to enable them to perform
the essential functions of a job.
AJR 38 (Salas) 4
Veterans unemployment challenges
According to the California Department of Veterans Affairs
(CalVet), California is home to more than 1.8 million
veterans-representing roughly nine percent of the veteran
population nationwide. Further, CalVet estimates that 35,000 to
40,000 veterans will return to California each year for the next
few years. These veterans generally will be in the younger age
groups, which have recently experienced the highest levels of
unemployment. Moreover, according to the federal EEOC, 25
percent of recent veterans have service-connected disabilities,
compared to about 13 percent of all veterans, which could pose
additional challenges for them in finding work.
Veterans fare slightly better with regard to unemployment than
nonveterans, with some exceptions. An analysis of American
Community Survey data showed that the unemployment rate among
veterans during 2011 was 11.3 percent, compared to 11.9 percent
for the nonveteran population. However, the unemployment rate
among veterans age 25 to 34 was 17.1 percent, compared to 11.7
percent among nonveterans in the same age group. Further, the
unemployment rate for both veterans and nonveterans age 18 to 24
was 22 percent or more.
It is not unusual for veterans transitioning from military to
civilian employment to enter the workforce years behind high
school classmates, who did not opt for military service. These
non-veteran contemporaries often have completed college, held
internships, entered the workforce, established expertise in
their fields, and built a professional network of contacts. On
the other hand, the veterans, despite the wealth of valuable
experiences they could bring to the workforce, often discover
that their military service may not be understood or appreciated
by civilian employers and they often are forced to begin their
civilian careers at or near the bottom of the employment ladder.
Misperceptions about veterans greatly contribute to high levels
of veteran unemployment and underemployment. For example,
veterans must overcome the negative press about the effects and
repercussions of prolonged wars, such as post-traumatic stress
disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other mental health issues
affecting increasing numbers of returning veterans. Although
AJR 38 (Salas) 5
these challenges affect only a minority of veterans, a common
but false perception of veterans has evolved that depicts them
as "ticking time bombs," who are unreliable or even dangerous.
COMMENT
Committee Staff Comments :
In 2014 the Legislature enacted AB 556, which added military and
veteran status to the California Fair Employment and Housing
Act. This assembly joint resolution urges congressional
enactment of two legislative measures that would accomplish the
same aims at the federal level - Senate Bill 1281 (Blumenthal,
D-CT) and House Resolution 2654 (Kilmer, D-WA).
Related legislation .
AB 556 (Salas, Ch. 691, Stats. 2013) prohibits employment
discrimination against all active duty military and veterans
of the Armed Services.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author.
Support: American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service
Officer
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Military Officers Association of America, California
Council of Chapters
Veterans of Foreign Wars, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Oppose: None on file.
Analysis by: Wade Cooper Teasdale
AJR 38 (Salas) 6
AJR 38 (Salas) 7