Office of Employee Relations & Compliance

Legislative Updates

Following are short descriptions of recent legislation signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. It is the intent of the Office of Employee Relations and Compliance (OERC) to provide an informational overview of some of the bills signed during the past two years that relate to diversity and equity issues and may be of interest to the SDSU community. Also listed are bills currently in session for this fiscal year. You are encouraged to read the entire text of any bill by visiting the State Legislature’s Web site <http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html>.

Signed Bills 2005/2006

AB 124 Civil Service: Equal Opportunity Programs. The State Civil Service Act requires each state agency and department to establish an effective affirmative action program with specified components, and to establish goals and timetables designed to overcome any identified underutilization of minorities and women in their respective organizations. Existing law requires the State Personnel Board to conduct specified activities in this regard. Portions of these provisions have been held to be in violation of the California Constitution and the United States Constitution. This bill would revise and recast these provisions to instead require each state agency to establish an equal opportunity program to ensure that the state policy of providing equal access to state jobs, work assignments, training, and other employment-related opportunities for all qualified job applicants and employees, based on merit and nondiscrimination in every aspect of personnel policies and employment practices, is fully implemented. It would require the State Personnel Board to conduct specified activities, including the collection of specific employment data based on race, ethnicity, gender, and disability in this regard. (signed 10/07/2005)

AB 378 Statute of Limitation: Protected Classes. Existing law provides that all persons within this jurisdiction have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or position in a labor dispute, or because another person perceives them to have any of those characteristics. Among other things, a civil penalty of $25,000 may be awarded to the person denied this right in any action brought by the aggrieved party, the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney. Existing law generally prescribes a one-year statute of limitation for the commencement of any action brought upon a statute for a penalty or forfeiture, and 3 years for an action upon a liability created by statute. This bill would provide for a 3-year statute of limitation for the commencement of any action brought pursuant to the above provision. (signed 07/25/2005)

AB 1400 The Civil Rights Act of 2005. The Unruh Civil Rights Act generally prohibits business establishments from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition. The Unruh Civil Rights Act provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions. This bill further prohibits discrimination on the basis of marital status or sexual orientation, and defines related terms. This bill also integrates those definitions into other related provisions, and makes specified findings and declarations in that regard. (signed 09/29/2005)

AB 1669 Employment: Discrimination. Under existing provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, a person filing a complaint for an unlawful practice with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is required to file the complaint within one year, except that the period for filing may be extended in specified circumstances. This bill additionally provides that the period for filing a complaint for an unlawful practice may be extended for a period of time not to exceed one year from the date a person allegedly aggrieved by an unlawful practice attains the age of majority. (signed 10/07/2005)

AB 2095 Employment Practices. Existing law makes certain specified employment practices unlawful, including the harassment of an employee directly by the employer or indirectly by agents of the employer with the employer’s knowledge. Existing law additionally requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide, by January 1, 2006, at least 2 hours of training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees, as specified, who have been employed as of January 1, 2005, unless the employer has provided that training and education to these employees after January 1, 2003. This training must be provided to all supervisory employees once every 2 years and to all new supervisory employees within 6 months of their assumption of supervisory duties. This bill limits the training requirement to supervisory employees within California. This bill also makes technical, non-substantive changes to these provisions. Under existing law, all wages earned by a person in any employment are due and payable twice during each calendar month, except as specified. Existing law provides that this requirement shall be deemed satisfied if the wages are paid not more than 7 calendar days following the close of the payroll period, and further provides that the payment of wages for labor in excess of the normal work period must be made no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period. Existing law further requires an employer to furnish each employee semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages with an accurate itemized statement showing, among other things, the total hours worked by the employee, with a specified exception. This bill provides that an employer has complied with the latter requirement if overtime hours worked in the current pay period are itemized as corrections on the pay stub for the next regular pay period. This bill further requires that corrections included in a subsequently issued pay stub identify the dates of the pay period to which they refer. (signed 09/29/2006)

ACR 19 Irish-American Heritage Month. This measure, in honor of the multitude of contributions that Irish-Americans have made to make this a better country and state for all people, designates March 2005 and March 2006 to be Irish-American Heritage Month in California and calls upon the people of the state to observe the month of March with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities, especially on March 17, since everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. (chaptered 04/14/2005 — Chapter 12)

ACR 29 Access Awareness Month. This measure takes great pleasure in recognizing July 2005, as Access Awareness Month, urging all citizens to join in the recognition of the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and encouraging businesses and the disabled to work together in the same bipartisan spirit that accompanied the original enactment of this act, in order to achieve a greater cooperation towards compliance in this state. (chaptered 08/30/2005 — Chapter 99)

ACR 40 League of Women Voters’ 85th Anniversary. The people of California recognize the origins and accomplishments, and the important and unique contributions of the League of Women Voters during its 85-year history as a nonpartisan organization dedicated to increasing voter awareness and participation, and memorializes the 85th anniversary of that organization. (chaptered 06/27/2005 - Chapter 55)

ACR 74 Title IX: 33rd Anniversary of Its Enactment and California Schools’ Athletics Policies. This measure commemorates the 33rd anniversary of the enactment of Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and acknowledges the many ways in which that landmark enactment has enriched the lives of millions of Americans, urging all Californians to appropriately recognize this anniversary in the inclusive spirit of Title IX; and urges all educational institutions in California, including the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, and private institutions of higher education in California to refrain from relying on various sources of information rather than a single survey to determine whether the institution is fully and effectively accommodating the athletic interests and abilities of both sexes. (chaptered 09/19/2005 — Chapter 133)

ACR 115 Cesar Chavez Day. This measure recognizes March 31, 2006, as the anniversary of the birth of Cesar Chavez, and calls upon all Californians to participate in appropriate observances to remember Cesar Chavez as a symbol of hope and justice to all persons. (chaptered 04/05/2006 - Chapter 14)

ACR 127 Women’s History Month. This measure declares that the Legislature joins the California Commission on the Status of Women and the National Women’s History Project in honoring the contributions of women, and proclaims the month of March 2006 as Women’s History Month. (chaptered 04/10/2006 - Chapter 22)

AJR 19 Voting Rights Act of 1965. This measure memorializes the President and Congress of the United States to declare their public support for reauthorizing the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, certain provisions of which are scheduled to expire in 2007 unless extended by Congress. (chaptered 06/27/2005 — Chapter 60)

AJR 27 Organized Labor. This measure memorializes the Congress of the United States to enact the pending federal legislation that would protect and preserve the freedom of America’s workers to organize and join unions by authorizing the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as the bargaining representative when a majority of employees voluntarily sign authorization cards (commonly known as “card check” recognition), providing for first contract mediation and arbitration, and establishing meaningful penalties for violations of a worker’s right to join a union. (chaptered 08/30/2005 — Chapter 103)

AJR 30 Women’s Equality Day. This measure memorializes the United States Congress and the President of the United States to do all of the following: (1) Dedicate themselves to upholding the current legal protections of equality for women; (2) Continue to pioneer new protections of equality for women until women achieve parity with men; and (3) Encourage all Americans to participate in the national celebration of Women’s Equality Day in recognition of the 85th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and its historic importance in promoting women’s rights. (chaptered 09/19/2005 — Chapter 145)

AJR 37 Voting Rights Act of 1965. This measure memorializes the Congress and President of the United States to extend the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that are set to expire in the year 2007. (chaptered 06/01/2006 — Chapter 59)

HR 16 Relative to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, that the Assembly of the State of California proclaims June 2005 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, and urges all residents to join in celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, and encourages the people of California to work to help advance the cause of equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

SB 1441 Discrimination: State Programs and Activities: Sexual Orientation. Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other things, race, national origin, ethnic group identification, religion, age, sex, color, or disability, against any person in any program or activity conducted, operated, or administered by the state or by any state agency, or that is funded directly by the state, or that receives any financial assistance from the state. Existing law also requires, with respect to disability that these programs and activities meet the protections and prohibitions contained in certain provisions of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the federal rules and regulations implementing that act, or state law if the state protections and prohibitions are stronger. This bill adds sexual orientation to these provisions and defines for these purposes “sex” and “sexual orientation.” The bill also expands the definition of discrimination under these provisions to include a perception that a person has any of these enumerated characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of these characteristics. (chaptered 08/28/2006 — Chapter 182)

SJR 7 Equal Pay Day. This bill proclaims April 19, 2005, as Equal Pay Day in California and urges California citizens to recognize the full value and worth of women and their contributions to the California workforce; and respectfully urges the Congress of the United States to protect the fundamental right of all American women to receive equal pay for equal work, and to continue to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex. (chaptered 05/03/2005 — Chapter 35)

Proposed Legislation 2007/2008

AB 14 Discrimination: Civil Rights Act of 2007: This bill would enact the Civil Rights Act of 2007, and would subject licensees to disciplinary action if discrimination is based upon the prospective recipient’s sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation. This bill would also provide that nothing in these provisions would require any healing arts practitioner to perform a licensed activity for which he or she is not qualified. This bill would also prohibit funds from being used for membership or participation with any private organization that discriminates on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, age, ethnic group identification, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation.

AB 147 Discrimination: Persons With Disabilities. Existing federal law, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, prohibits the discrimination against an individual with a disability on the basis of that disability in specified situations, including employment opportunities, and access to public accommodations, services, and transportation. This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would assist with the implementation and enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

AB 394 Safe Schools: Discrimination and Harassment. (1) Existing law prohibits discrimination on the basis of specified protected characteristics, including, but not limited to, actual and perceived gender identification and sexual orientation, in any program or activity conducted by an educational institution, as specified. This bill would require the State Department of Education to monitor adherence to the antidiscrimination and antiharassment requirements as part of its regular monitoring and review of public schools and school districts and to assess whether schools have done certain things, including, among others, adopted a policy that prohibits discrimination and harassment and adopted a process for receiving and investigating complaints of discrimination and harassment. The department would be required to display information on training, curricula, and other resources that specifically address bias-related discrimination and harassment on specified Internet Web sites. The bill would require a school district to publicize, as defined, its antidiscrimination and antiharassment policies, and to take specified actions related to increasing awareness of, identifying, and responding to, discrimination and harassment based on those protected characteristics. By requiring school districts to perform additional duties, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

AB 435 Wage Discrimination. Existing law prohibits any employer from discriminating in the amount of wages paid for equal work, based upon the sex of the employee. These provisions are enforced by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement by investigating complaints filed by employees and filing and prosecuting civil actions on their behalf. Existing law requires employers to maintain the wage and job classification records of its employees for 2 years. This bill would require employers to maintain these records for 5 years. Existing law provides a 2-year statute of limitations for an employee to bring a civil action against an employer to recover wages. This limitation is increased to 3 years in the case of willful violation by the employer. This bill would extend the statute of limitations to 4 years for a civil action by an employee to recover wages and to 5 years for actions in which there is willful misconduct of the employer.

AB 1501 Fair Employment: Sexual Harassment Education. Existing law requires an employer having 50 or more employees to provide at least 2 hours of classroom or other effective interactive training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees in California who are employed as of July 1, 2005 and to all new supervisory employees within 6 months of their assumption of a supervisory position. Existing law also requires that the training and education regarding sexual harassment be presented by trainers or educators with knowledge and expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. This bill would delete the 2-hour classroom requirement and the provision that the trainers or educators have knowledge and expertise in the prevention of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.

AB 1708 Committee on Labor and Employment — Employment: Age Discrimination. The Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits age discrimination in employment. This bill would require the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to establish a targeted enforcement and education program to address issues of age discrimination in employment. The bill would require the department to report to the Governor and the Legislature on or before December 31 each year regarding the program’s activities.

AB 1725 Committee on Judiciary — Discrimination: Medical Care. The Unruh Civil Rights Act entitles all persons within the jurisdiction of this state to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments, regardless of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation. Under existing law, persons holding licenses under the provisions of the Business and Professions Code are subject to disciplinary action for refusing, or aiding or inciting another licensee to refuse, to perform the licensed services because of the prospective recipient’s race, color, sex, religion, ancestry, disability, marital status, or national origin. This bill would further prohibit a business establishment subject to those licensing provisions from discriminating against a patient based upon sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual orientation, except as specified. SB 549 Employee’s Right to Bereavement Leave. Existing law provides employees with the right to take time off work without discharge or discrimination for a number of reasons. This bill would add the right to inquire about, request, and take time off for bereavement leave. For state employees, if this leave conflicts with a memorandum of understanding, the terms of the memorandum of understanding would be controlling.

SB 747 Disabled Persons: Equal Access Rights. Under existing law, individuals with certain disabilities are entitled to equal access rights to various facilities, and individuals licensed to train dogs as guide dogs, signal dogs, or service dogs may take the dogs, for purposes of training, into specified places where disabled individuals are required to be given access. Under existing law, a person who denies or interferes with admittance to, or enjoyment of, public facilities or otherwise interferes with the rights of an individual with a disability, is liable for each offense for the actual damages and any amount determined by a jury, or the court sitting without a jury, up to a maximum of 3 times the amount of actual damages, but in no case less than $1,000. Existing federal law, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, prohibits discrimination against an individual with a disability on the basis of that disability in specified situations, including employment opportunities and access to public accommodations, services, and transportation. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that will promote increased compliance by businesses with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, state laws that govern access to public facilities, and federal and state regulations adopted pursuant to those laws, through education and certification programs, with the complementary goal of reducing litigation that seeks attorney’s fees and damages without facilitating compliance with those laws.

SB 777 Discrimination. (1) Existing law states that it is the policy of the state to afford equal rights and opportunities to all persons in the public or private elementary and secondary schools and postsecondary educational institutions of the state regardless of their sex, ethnic group identification, race, national origin, religion, or mental or physical disability and prohibits a person from being subjected to discrimination on those bases and contains various provisions to implement that policy. Existing law prohibits a teacher from giving instruction, and a school district from sponsoring any activity that reflects adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin, or ancestry. Existing law prohibits the State Board of Education and the governing board of a school district from adopting for use in the public schools any instructional materials that reflect adversely upon persons because of their race, sex, color, creed, handicap, national origin, or ancestry. This bill would revise the list of prohibited bases of discrimination and the kinds of prohibited instruction, activities, and instructional materials and instead, would refer to disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic contained in the definition of hate crimes that is contained in the Penal Code. The bill would define disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation for this purpose. (2) Existing laws relating to education refer to “handicapped pupils,” “handicapped adults,” “physically handicapped pupils,” “physically handicapped adults,” “the handicapped,” and “handicapped persons.” This bill would change these terms to “pupils with disabilities,” “adults with disabilities,” “pupils with physical disabilities,” “adults with physical disabilities,” and “persons with disabilities.”

SB 836 Fair Employment: Familial Status. Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act, protects and safeguards the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination or abridgment on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation. This bill would include “familial status” as an additional basis upon which the right to seek, obtain, and hold employment cannot be denied.

SB 942 Workers’ Compensation. (1) Existing Workers’ Compensation Law requires employers to secure the payment of workers’ compensation, including medical treatment, for injuries incurred by their employees that arise out of, or in the course of, employment. Existing law declares that it is the policy of this state that there should not be discrimination against workers who are injured in the course or scope of their employment. This bill would require an employer to reinstate an employee to his or her preinjury job within 5 working days after receipt of a written statement by the treating physician that the employee is able to perform the essential functions of the employee’s regular position, notwithstanding the risks inherent in the position, without a risk of further injury to the employee due to the effects of the injury or illness, and when the employee is willing and available to return to work. The bill would provide that if the employer refuses to reinstate such an employee to his or her preinjury job, the employer shall be required to reimburse the employee for lost wages and work benefits. The bill would prohibit an employer from requiring an employee to perform additional physical duties that were not required of the employee prior to his or her injury or illness as a condition for returning to employment, unless the additional physical duties are reasonably required to accommodate the employee’s disability. The bill would require an employer to reimburse the employee for lost wages and work benefits for any time that the employee is unable to work due to the imposition of additional physical duties that are not reasonably required to accommodate the employee’s disability. (2) Existing law provides for the payment of temporary disability indemnity payments to any injured employee under specified circumstances, with certain exceptions, and provides that, if an injury causes permanent partial disability and the injured employee does not return to work for the employer within 60 days of the termination of temporary disability indemnity payments, the injured employee shall receive a supplemental job displacement benefit, as specified. Existing law further provides that an employer shall not be liable for supplemental job displacement benefits if, within 30 days of termination of temporary disability indemnity payments, the employer offers, and the employee rejects, or fails to accept, in the form and manner prescribed by the administrative director, modified work, accommodating the employee’s work restrictions, lasting at least 12 months. This bill would, instead, provide that, for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2008, if the injury causes permanent partial disability and the injured employee does not return to work for the employer within 60 days after the disability becomes permanent and stationary, the employee shall receive a supplemental job displacement benefit, and would revise the amounts of benefits an injured employee would be eligible to receive, as specified. (3) Existing law provides that the employer shall not be liable for the supplemental job displacement benefit if, within 30 days of the termination of temporary disability indemnity benefits, the employer offers, and the employee rejects, or fails to accept, modified or alternative work, as specified. This bill instead would provide that an employer shall not be liable for supplemental job displacement benefits if, within 60 days of the disability becoming permanent and stationary, the employer offers the injured employee regular work, modified work, or alternative work, and, the employee rejects, or fails to accept, modified or alternative work. It would also make a technical, clarifying change.

SCR 13 Irish-American Heritage Month. In honor of the multitude of contributions that Irish-Americans have made to make this a better country and state for all people, designates March 2007 and March 2008 to be Irish-American Heritage Month in California and calls upon the people of the state to observe the month of March with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities, especially on March 17, since everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.