BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2536
Author: Mullin (D)
Amended: 6/3/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/11/14
AYES: Hueso, Wyland, Leno, Padilla, Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14 - (Consent) See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Employees: emergency rescue personnel
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the definition of emergency rescue
personnel to include an officer, employee, or member of a
disaster medical response team sponsored or requested by the
state. This bill also requires an employee who is a health care
provider to notify his/her employer at the time the employee
becomes designated as emergency rescue personnel and time of
deployment.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines emergency rescue personal as
any person who is an officer, employee, or member of a fire
department or fire protection or firefighting agency of the
federal government, State of California, a city, county, among
others, whether that person is a volunteer or partly paid or
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AB 2536
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fully paid, while he/she is actually engaged in providing
emergency services.
Existing law states that no employer shall discharge or in any
manner discriminate against an employee for taking time off to
perform emergency duty as a volunteer firefighter, a reserve
peace officer, or emergency rescue personnel.
Existing law requires an employer employing 50 or more employees
to permit an employee who is a volunteer firefighter to take
temporary leaves of absence, not to exceed 14 days per calendar
year, for the purpose of engaging in fire or law enforcement
training.
Existing law states that an employee who works for an employer
employing 50 or more employees who is discharged, threatened
with discharge, demoted, suspended, or in any other manner
discriminated against for taking time off to engage in fire or
law enforcement training is entitled to reinstatement and
reimbursement for lost wages and work benefits.
Existing federal law prohibits under the Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), employment
discrimination against a person on the basis of past military
service, current military obligations, or intent to serve in the
uniformed services. An employer must not deny initial
employment, reemployment, retention in employment, promotion, or
any benefit of employment to a person on the basis of a past,
present, or future service obligation. An employer must not
retaliate against a person because of an action taken to enforce
or exercise any USERRA right or for assisting in an USERRA
investigation. In addition, certain disaster response work (and
authorized training for such work) is considered "service in the
uniformed services" and therefor protected under USERRA.
This bill expands the definition of emergency rescue personnel
to include an officer, employee, or member of a disaster medical
response team sponsored or requested by the state. This bill
also requires an employee who is a health care provider to
notify his/her employer at the time the employee becomes
designated as emergency rescue personnel and time of deployment.
Prior Legislation
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AB 2536
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AB 11 (Logue, Chapter 120, Statutes of 2013) requires an
employer employing 50 or more employees to allow an employee who
performs duty as a reserve peace officer or emergency rescue
personnel to take temporary leaves of absence, for up to 14 days
in a calendar year, to engage in fire, law enforcement, or
emergency rescue training.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/23/14)
AFSCME, AFL-CIO
California American College of Emergency Physicians
California Disaster Medical Services Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents argue that this bill makes
California safer by expanding the definition of emergency rescue
personnel to include an officer, employee, or member of a
disaster medical response team sponsored or requested by the
state. Proponents contend that this bill enables many
Californians to serve or consider signing up with state
coordinated emergency response programs without fear of losing
their full-time jobs in the event of an emergency.
Proponents also argue in support of this bill's notification
provision that requires a health care provider to notify his/her
employer when they become a part of the disaster medical
response team and when they will be deployed. Proponents argues
that this specific provision provides as much advance notice as
possible to plan for adequate emergency department staffing when
emergency physicians deploy to help in disasters. Proponents
contend that this requirement can balance the public health need
of those in need of disaster assistance as well as those who
seek care in emergency departments.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 5/15/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
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4
Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, V.
Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Vacancy
PQ:d 6/23/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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