Bill Text: CA SB135 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Paid family leave.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - Died on file pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB135 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB135-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  March 25, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 135

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Introduced by Senator Jackson
(Principal coauthor: Senator Leyva)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Limón)(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Limón)

January 15, 2019

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An act relating to unemployment benefits. An act to amend Section 12945.2 of, and to repeal Section 12945.6 of, the Government Code, to amend Section 245.5 of the Labor Code, and to amend Sections 3301, 3302, 3303, and 3303.1 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to paid family leave, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 135, as amended, Jackson. Disability compensation: paid Paid family leave.

(1) Existing law prohibits an employer with 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius to refuse to grant an employee a request to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family care and medical leave if the employee worked 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months. Existing law includes within “family care and medical leave” the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child and the serious health condition of the employee’s child, parent, or spouse.

This bill would expand the scope of those provisions to instead prohibit an employer with 5 or more employees to refuse to grant an employee a request to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family care and medical leave if the employee had 180 days of service with the employer. The bill would expand the definition of “family care and medical leave” to include leave for reason of the birth or placement of a child if the employee has identified the child as their designated person, as defined, leave to care for a grandparent, grandchild, sibling, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition, and leave because of a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States. The bill would delete a provision specifying that, if both parents are employed by the employer and are entitled to leave, the employer is not required to grant leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child that is greater than 12 weeks.

(2) Existing law, the New Parent Leave Act, prohibits an employer with 20 or more employees in a 75-mile radius to refuse to grant an employee a request to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to bond with a new child within one year of the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of the child if the employee worked 1,250 hours in the prior 12 months.

This bill would repeal those provisions.

(3) Existing law establishes within the state disability insurance program a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the Paid Family Leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement, as specified, and, on and after January 1, 2021, to take time off to participate in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individuals’ spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

This bill would expand the scope of those provisions to include time off to care for a seriously ill designated person or child-in-law, as those terms are defined, or to bond with a designated person or child-in-law within one year of the birth or placement of the designated person or child-in-law.

(4) Existing law makes an individual ineligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits on any day that another family member is ready, willing, able, and available to provide the required care or participate in the qualified exigency, as specified. Existing law authorizes an employer to require an employee to take up to 2 weeks of vacation leave before the employee receives the benefits.

This bill would delete those provisions.

(5) Under existing law, workers are required to pay contributions to the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury, and those funds are continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of administrative expenses.

By authorizing the expenditure of these funds for a new purpose, the bill would make an appropriation.

Existing law establishes, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program, also known as the paid family leave program, for the provision of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill family member or to bond with a minor child within one year of birth or placement, as specified.

This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would strengthen California’s family leave laws and to create more equitable access to California’s family leave programs, as specified. The bill would also state various findings and declarations in that regard.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NOYES   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 (a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1)

(a) California led the way by creating the nation’s first paid family leave program to address the critical need for working families to be able to bond with a newborn and care for seriously ill family members. But paid family leave is meaningless if people can lose their jobs for taking it, cannot afford to take it, or the program does not reflect their needs.

(2)

(b) Research shows that access to leave leads to improved health outcomes for parents, infants, and families. For example, longer maternity leave is associated with decreased maternal depression and improved infant childhood cognitive development. Paid leave is associated with healthier children, and increased immunizations and preventive health services for children.

(3)

(c) Paid family leave programs available to all extend childcare roles beyond the traditional maternal caretaker. Since 2005, men have been taking longer family leaves.

(4)

(d) Paid family leave allows workers to care for older family members with serious health problems. Forty-eight percent of family caregivers who have to take time off to meet their care responsibilities lose income. With paid leave, workers can help loved ones recover from illness, receive treatment, and avoid complications and hospital readmissions, which can help lower healthcare health care costs.

(5)

(e) Paid family leave preserves jobs and saves businesses money. Turnover, recruitment, and training costs for new employees cost roughly 20 percent of the original worker’s salary. Employees who can take protected leave to bond with their newborns are less likely to leave their jobs, which thus reduces the burden to their employers. According to the Department of Labor, wage costs per worker and turnover rates went down on average after paid family leave was introduced in California.

(6)

(f) Small businesses have reported that paid family leave has had either a “positive effect” or “no noticeable effect” on productivity (89 percent), profitability/performance (91 percent), turnover (92 percent), and morale (99 percent).

(b)It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would strengthen California’s family leave laws and to create more equitable access to California’s family leave programs by doing all of the following:

(1)Ensuring that all workers have job protection when they take paid family leave.

(2)Extending the time period workers can take paid family leave to care for an ill family member and so that every newborn can be cared for by a parent or close family member for their first six months of life.

(3)Expanding and harmonizing the definition of family member in our family leave laws to reflect the realities of today’s working families.

(4)Increasing the wage replacement amount to ensure families can afford to take leave.

SEC. 2.

 Section 12945.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:

12945.2.

 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), it It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, as defined in paragraph (2) (5) of subdivision (c), (b), to refuse to grant a request by any employee with more than 12 months 180 days of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period, employer to take up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave. Family care and medical leave requested pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed to have been granted unless the employer provides the employee, upon granting the leave request, a guarantee of employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave. The commission shall adopt a regulation specifying the elements of a reasonable request.

(b)Notwithstanding subdivision (a), it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to grant a request for family care and medical leave by an employee if the employer employs less than 50 employees within 75 miles of the worksite where that employee is employed.

(c)

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of a person standing in loco parentis who is either of the following: a child of a domestic partner, a child-in-law, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.

(A)Under 18 years of age.

(B)An adult dependent child.

(2) “Child-in-law” means the spouse or domestic partner of a child.

(3) “Designated person” means a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests family care and medical leave. An employer may limit an employee to designating only one person per 12-month period for family care and medical leave.

(4) “Domestic partner” has the same meaning as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.

(2)

(5) “Employer” means either of the following:

(A) Any person who directly employs 50 5 or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary.

(B) The state, and any political or civil subdivision of the state and cities.

(3)

(6) “Family care and medical leave” means any of the following:

(A) Leave for reason of the birth of a child of the employee, employee or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster care of the child by the employee, or the serious health condition of a child of the employee.

(B) Leave for reason of the birth or the placement of a child in connection with the adoption or foster care of a child if an employee has identified the child as their designated person.

(B)

(C) Leave to care for a parent or a spouse child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition.

(C)

(D) Leave because of an employee’s own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of that employee, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

(E) Leave because of a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States as specified in Section 3302.2 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.

(4)

(7) “Employment in the same or a comparable position” means employment in a position that has the same or similar duties and pay that can be performed at the same or similar geographic location as the position held prior to the leave.

(5)

(8) “FMLA” means the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3).

(9) “Grandchild” means a child of the employee’s child.

(10) “Grandparent” means a parent of the employee’s parent.

(6)

(11) “Health care provider” means any of the following:

(A) An individual holding either a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 2080) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, an osteopathic physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 2099.5) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, or an individual duly licensed as a physician, surgeon, or osteopathic physician or surgeon in another state or jurisdiction, who directly treats or supervises the treatment of the serious health condition.

(B) Any other person determined by the United States Secretary of Labor to be capable of providing health care services under the FMLA.

(7)

(12) “Parent” means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.

(13) “Parent-in-law” means the parent of a spouse or domestic partner.

(8)

(14) “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either of the following:

(A) Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility.

(B) Continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.

(15) “Sibling” means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.

(d)

(c) An employer shall not be required to pay an employee for any leave taken pursuant to subdivision (a), except as required by subdivision (e). (d).

(e)

(d) An employee taking a leave permitted by subdivision (a) may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute, for leave allowed under subdivision (a), any of the employee’s accrued vacation leave or other accrued time off during this period or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer. If an employee takes a leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employee may also elect, or the employer may also require the employee, to substitute accrued sick leave during the period of the leave. However, an employee shall not use sick leave during a period of leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child, or to care for a child, parent, or spouse grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person with a serious health condition, unless mutually agreed to by the employer and the employee.

(f)

(e) (1) During any period that an eligible employee takes leave pursuant to subdivision (a) or takes leave that qualifies as leave taken under the FMLA, the employer shall maintain and pay for coverage under a “group health plan,” as defined in Section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, for the duration of the leave, not to exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period, commencing on the date leave taken under the FMLA commences, at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment continuously for the duration of the leave. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall preclude an employer from maintaining and paying for coverage under a “group health plan” beyond 12 workweeks. An employer may recover the premium that the employer paid as required by this subdivision for maintaining coverage for the employee under the group health plan if both of the following conditions occur:

(A) The employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired.

(B) The employee’s failure to return from leave is for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition that entitles the employee to leave under subdivision (a) or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.

(2) Any employee taking leave pursuant to subdivision (a) shall continue to be entitled to participate in employee health plans for any period during which coverage is not provided by the employer under paragraph (1), employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, pension and retirement plans, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans to the same extent and under the same conditions as apply to an unpaid leave taken for any purpose other than those described in subdivision (a). In the absence of these conditions an employee shall continue to be entitled to participate in these plans and, in the case of health and welfare employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, or other similar plans, the employer may, at the employer’s discretion, require the employee to pay premiums, at the group rate, during the period of leave not covered by any accrued vacation leave, or other accrued time off, or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer, as a condition of continued coverage during the leave period. However, the nonpayment of premiums by an employee shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan.

For purposes of pension and retirement plans, an employer shall not be required to make plan payments for an employee during the leave period, and the leave period shall not be required to be counted for purposes of time accrued under the plan. However, an employee covered by a pension plan may continue to make contributions in accordance with the terms of the plan during the period of the leave.

(g)

(f) During a family care and medical leave period, the employee shall retain employee status with the employer, and the leave shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan. An employee returning from leave shall return with no less seniority than the employee had when the leave commenced, for purposes of layoff, recall, promotion, job assignment, and seniority-related benefits such as vacation.

(h)

(g) If the employee’s need for a leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with reasonable advance notice of the need for the leave.

(i)

(h) If the employee’s need for leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable due to a planned medical treatment or supervision, the employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment or supervision to avoid disruption to the operations of the employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of the individual requiring the treatment or supervision.

(j)

(i) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave to care for a child, a spouse, or a parent parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of the individual requiring care. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:

(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.

(B) The probable duration of the condition.

(C) An estimate of the amount of time that the health care provider believes the employee needs to care for the individual requiring the care.

(D) A statement that the serious health condition warrants the participation of a family member to provide care during a period of the treatment or supervision of the individual requiring care.

(2) Upon expiration of the time estimated by the health care provider in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), the employer may require the employee to obtain recertification, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.

(k)

(j) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the employee’s health care provider. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:

(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.

(B) The probable duration of the condition.

(C) A statement that, due to the serious health condition, the employee is unable to perform the function of the employee’s position.

(2) The employer may require that the employee obtain subsequent recertification regarding the employee’s serious health condition on a reasonable basis, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.

(3) (A) In any case in which the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the certification provided pursuant to this section, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a second health care provider, designated or approved by the employer, concerning any information certified under paragraph (1).

(B) The health care provider designated or approved under subparagraph (A) shall not be employed on a regular basis by the employer.

(C) In any case in which the second opinion described in subparagraph (A) differs from the opinion in the original certification, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a third health care provider, designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee, concerning the information certified under paragraph (1).

(D) The opinion of the third health care provider concerning the information certified under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be final and shall be binding on the employer and the employee.

(4) As a condition of an employee’s return from leave taken because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employer may have a uniformly applied practice or policy that requires the employee to obtain certification from the employee’s health care provider that the employee is able to resume work. Nothing in this paragraph shall supersede a valid collective bargaining agreement that governs the return to work of that employee.

(l)

(k) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, any individual because of any of the following:

(1) An individual’s exercise of the right to family care and medical leave provided by subdivision (a).

(2) An individual’s giving information or testimony as to the individual’s own family care and medical leave, or another person’s family care and medical leave, in any inquiry or proceeding related to rights guaranteed under this section.

(m)

(l) This section shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until January 1, 1993, whichever occurs first.

(n)

(m) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 827 of the Statutes of 1993 shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until February 5, 1994, whichever occurs first.

(o)

(n) This section shall be construed as separate and distinct from Section 12945.

(p)

(o) Leave provided for pursuant to this section may be taken in one or more periods. The 12-month period during which 12 workweeks of leave may be taken under this section shall run concurrently with the 12-month period under the FMLA, and shall commence the date leave taken under the FMLA commences.

(q)In any case in which both parents entitled to leave under subdivision (a) are employed by the same employer, the employer shall not be required to grant leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child that would allow the parents family care and medical leave totaling more than the amount specified in subdivision (a).

(r)

(p) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), an employer may refuse to reinstate an employee returning from leave to the same or a comparable position if all of the following apply:

(A) The employee is a salaried employee who is among the highest paid 10 percent of the employer’s employees who are employed within 75 miles of the worksite at which that employee is employed.

(B) The refusal is necessary to prevent substantial and grievous economic injury to the operations of the employer.

(C) The employer notifies the employee of the intent to refuse reinstatement at the time the employer determines the refusal is necessary under subparagraph (B).

(2) In any case in which the leave has already commenced, the employer shall give the employee a reasonable opportunity to return to work following the notice prescribed by subparagraph (C).

(s)

(q) Leave taken by an employee pursuant to this section shall run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the FMLA, except for any leave taken under the FMLA for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The aggregate amount of leave taken under this section or the FMLA, or both, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, shall not exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. An employee is entitled to take, in addition to the leave provided for under this section and the FMLA, the leave provided for in Section 12945, if the employee is otherwise qualified for that leave.

(t)

(r) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section.

SEC. 3.

 Section 12945.6 of the Government Code, as added by Section 2 of Chapter 686 of the Statutes of 2017, is repealed.

12945.6.

(a)It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to do any of the following:

(1)Refuse to allow an employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period, and who works at a worksite in which the employer employs at least 20 employees within 75 miles, upon request, to take up to 12 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement. If, on or before the commencement of this parental leave, the employer does not provide a guarantee of employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave, the employer shall be deemed to have refused to allow the leave. The employee shall be entitled to utilize accrued vacation pay, paid sick time, other accrued paid time off, or other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer, during the period of parental leave.

(2)Refuse to maintain and pay for coverage for an eligible employee who takes parental leave pursuant to this section under a group health plan, as defined in Section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, for the duration of the leave, not to exceed 12 weeks over the course of a 12-month period, commencing on the date that the parental leave commences, at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued to work in his or her position for the duration of the leave.

(b)An employee is entitled to take, in addition to the leave provided pursuant to this section, leave provided pursuant to Section 12945 if the employee is otherwise qualified for that leave.

(c)This section shall not apply to an employee who is subject to both Section 12945.2 and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

(d)An employer may recover the premium that the employer paid as required by this section for maintaining coverage for the employee under the group health plan, if both of the following conditions occur:

(1)The employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired.

(2)The failure of the employee to return from leave is for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.

(e)In any case in which both parents entitled to leave under subdivision (a) are employed by the same employer, the employer is not required to grant leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child that would allow the parents parental leave totaling more than the amount specified in subdivision (a). The employer may, but is not required to, grant simultaneous leave to both of these employees.

(f)Parental leave taken pursuant to this section shall run concurrently to parental leave taken as described in Sections 44977.5, 45196.1, 87780.1, and 88196.1 of the Education Code.

(g)It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, an individual because of either of the following:

(1)An individual’s exercise of the right to parental leave provided by subdivision (a).

(2)An individual’s giving information or testimony as to his or her own parental leave, or another person’s parental leave, in an inquiry or proceeding related to rights guaranteed under this section.

(h)It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section.

(i)For purposes of this section, “employer” means either of the following:

(1)A person who directly employs 20 or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary.

(2)The state, and any political or civil subdivision of the state and cities.

(j)To the extent that state regulations interpreting the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act, also known as the California Family Rights Act (Sections 12945.2 and 19702.3), are within the scope of, and not inconsistent with this section or with other state law, including the California Constitution, the council shall incorporate those regulations by reference to govern leave under this section.

(k)The department, upon receiving the necessary funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall create a parental leave mediation pilot program. Under the pilot program, an employer may, within 60 days of receipt of a right-to-sue notice, request all parties to participate in the department’s Mediation Division Program. If an employer requests mediation within 60 days of receipt of a right-to-sue notice, an employee shall not pursue any civil action under this section until the mediation is complete. The employee’s statute of limitations, including for all related claims not under this section, shall be tolled upon receipt of the employer’s request to participate in the department’s Mediation Division Program until the mediation is complete. For purposes of this subdivision, a mediation is complete when, at any time after the employer’s request, either party notifies the department’s Mediation Division Program and all other parties that it is electing not to participate in, or is withdrawing from, the mediation or the department notifies the parties that it believes further mediation would be fruitless.

(l)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 4.

 Section 12945.6 of the Government Code, as added by Section 3 of Chapter 686 of the Statutes of 2017, is repealed.

12945.6.

(a)It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to do any of the following:

(1)Refuse to allow an employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period, and who works at a worksite in which the employer employs at least 20 employees within 75 miles, upon request, to take up to 12 weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child within one year of the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement. If, on or before the commencement of this parental leave, the employer does not provide a guarantee of employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave, the employer shall be deemed to have refused to allow the leave. The employee shall be entitled to utilize accrued vacation pay, paid sick time, other accrued paid time off, or other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer, during the period of parental leave.

(2)Refuse to maintain and pay for coverage for an eligible employee who takes parental leave pursuant to this section under a group health plan, as defined in Section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, for the duration of the leave, not to exceed 12 weeks over the course of a 12-month period, commencing on the date that the parental leave commences, at the level and under the conditions that coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued to work in his or her position for the duration of the leave.

(b)An employee is entitled to take, in addition to the leave provided pursuant to this section, leave provided pursuant to Section 12945 if the employee is otherwise qualified for that leave.

(c)This section shall not apply to an employee who is subject to both Section 12945.2 and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

(d)An employer may recover the premium that the employer paid as required by this section for maintaining coverage for the employee under the group health plan, if both of the following conditions occur:

(1)The employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired.

(2)The failure of the employee to return from leave is for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.

(e)In any case in which both parents entitled to leave under subdivision (a) are employed by the same employer, the employer is not required to grant leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child that would allow the parents parental leave totaling more than the amount specified in subdivision (a). The employer may, but is not required to, grant simultaneous leave to both of these employees.

(f)Parental leave taken pursuant to this section shall run concurrently to parental leave taken as described in Sections 44977.5, 45196.1, 87780.1, and 88196.1 of the Education Code.

(g)It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, an individual because of either of the following:

(1)An individual’s exercise of the right to parental leave provided by subdivision (a).

(2)An individual’s giving information or testimony as to his or her own parental leave, or another person’s parental leave, in an inquiry or proceeding related to rights guaranteed under this section.

(h)It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section.

(i)For purposes of this section, “employer” means either of the following:

(1)A person who directly employs 20 or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary.

(2)The state, and any political or civil subdivision of the state and cities.

(j)To the extent that state regulations interpreting the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act, also known as the California Family Rights Act (Sections 12945.2 and 19702.3), are within the scope of, and not inconsistent with this section or with other state law, including the California Constitution, the council shall incorporate those regulations by reference to govern leave under this section.

(k)This section shall take effect January 1, 2020.

SEC. 5.

 Section 245.5 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

245.5.

 As used in this article:

(a) “Employee” does not include the following:

(1) An employee covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees, and expressly provides for paid sick days or a paid leave or paid time off policy that permits the use of sick days for those employees, final and binding arbitration of disputes concerning the application of its paid sick days provisions, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and regular hourly rate of pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage rate.

(2) An employee in the construction industry covered by a valid collective bargaining agreement if the agreement expressly provides for the wages, hours of work, and working conditions of employees, premium wage rates for all overtime hours worked, and regular hourly pay of not less than 30 percent more than the state minimum wage rate, and the agreement either (A) was entered into before January 1, 2015, or (B) expressly waives the requirements of this article in clear and unambiguous terms. For purposes of this subparagraph, “employee in the construction industry” means an employee performing work associated with construction, including work involving alteration, demolition, building, excavation, renovation, remodeling, maintenance, improvement, repair work, and any other work as described by Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, and other similar or related occupations or trades.

(3) An individual employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or cabin crew member that is subject to the provisions of Title II of the federal Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.), provided that the individual is provided with compensated time off equal to or exceeding the amount established in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 246.

(4) An employee of the state, city, county, city and county, district, or any other public entity who is a recipient of a retirement allowance and employed without reinstatement into his or her the employee’s respective retirement system pursuant to either Article 8 (commencing with Section 21220) of Chapter 12 of Part 3 of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, or Article 8 (commencing with Section 31680) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 4 of Title 3 of the Government Code.

(b) “Employer” means any person employing another under any appointment or contract of hire and includes the state, political subdivisions of the state, and municipalities.

(c) “Family member” means any of the following:

(1) A child, which for purposes of this article means a biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, legal ward, or a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. This definition of a child is applicable regardless of age or dependency status.

(2) A biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or the employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.

(3) A spouse.

(4) A registered domestic partner.

(5) A grandparent.

(6) A grandchild.

(7) A sibling.

(d) “Health care provider” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (6) (11) of subdivision (c) (b) of Section 12945.2 of the Government Code.

(e) “Paid sick days” means time that is compensated at the same wage as the employee normally earns during regular work hours and is provided by an employer to an employee for the purposes described in Section 246.5.

SEC. 6.

 Section 3301 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 849 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

3301.

 (a) (1) The purpose of this chapter is to establish, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program. Family temporary disability insurance shall provide up to six weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, designated person, or domestic partner, or to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child or designated person in connection with foster care or adoption.

(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge the rights and responsibilities conveyed under the CFRA or pregnancy disability leave.

(b) An individual’s “weekly benefit amount” shall be the amount provided in Section 2655. An individual is eligible to receive family temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of his or her the individual’s weekly benefit amount for each full day during which he or she the individual is unable to work due to caring for a seriously ill or injured family member or bonding with a minor child or designated person within one year of the birth or placement of the child or designated person in connection with foster care or adoption.

(c) The maximum amount payable to an individual during any disability benefit period for family temporary disability insurance shall be six times his or her the individual’s “weekly benefit amount,” but in no case shall the total amount of benefits payable be more than the total wages paid to the individual during his or her their disability base period. If the benefit is not a multiple of one dollar ($1), it shall be computed to the next higher multiple of one dollar ($1).

(d) No more than six weeks of family temporary disability insurance benefits shall be paid within any 12-month period.

(e) An individual shall file a claim for family temporary disability insurance benefits not later than the 41st consecutive day following the first compensable day with respect to which the claim is made for benefits, which time shall be extended by the department upon a showing of good cause. If a first claim is not complete, the claim form shall be returned to the claimant for completion and it shall be completed and returned not later than the 10th consecutive day after the date it was mailed by the department to the claimant, except that such time shall be extended by the department upon a showing of good cause.

(f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 7.

 Section 3301 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as added by Section 2 of Chapter 849 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

3301.

 (a) (1) The purpose of this chapter is to establish, within the state disability insurance program, a family temporary disability insurance program. Family temporary disability insurance shall provide up to six weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, designated person, or domestic partner, to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child or designated person in connection with foster care or adoption, or to participate in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(2) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abridge the rights and responsibilities conveyed under the CFRA or pregnancy disability leave.

(b) An individual’s “weekly benefit amount” shall be the amount provided in Section 2655. An individual is eligible to receive family temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of his or her the individual’s weekly benefit amount for each full day during which he or she the individual is unable to work due to caring for a seriously ill or injured family member, bonding with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption, or participating in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(c) The maximum amount payable to an individual during any disability benefit period for family temporary disability insurance shall be six times his or her the individual’s “weekly benefit amount,” but in no case shall the total amount of benefits payable be more than the total wages paid to the individual during his or her their disability base period. If the benefit is not a multiple of one dollar ($1), it shall be computed to the next higher multiple of one dollar ($1).

(d) No more than six weeks of family temporary disability insurance benefits shall be paid within any 12-month period.

(e) An individual shall file a claim for family temporary disability insurance benefits not later than the 41st consecutive day following the first compensable day with respect to which the claim is made for benefits, which time shall be extended by the department upon a showing of good cause. If a first claim is not complete, the claim form shall be returned to the claimant for completion and it shall be completed and returned not later than the 10th consecutive day after the date it was mailed by the department to the claimant, except that such time shall be extended by the department upon a showing of good cause.

(f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.

SEC. 8.

 Section 3302 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:

3302.

 On and after July 1, 2014, for purposes of this part:

(a) “Care recipient” means the family member who is receiving care for a serious health condition or the new child or designated person with whom the care provider is bonding.

(b) “Care provider” means the family member who is providing the required care for a serious health condition or the family member who is bonding with the new child. child or designated person.

(c) “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster son or daughter, a stepson or stepdaughter, a legal ward, a son or daughter of a domestic partner, a child-in-law, or the person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.

(d) “Child-in-law” means the spouse or domestic partner of a child.

(e) “Designated person” means a person identified by the employee at the time of the request for family temporary disability insurance benefits. An employee may designate only one person within a 12-month period.

(d)

(f) “Domestic partner” has the same meaning as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.

(e)

(g) “Family care leave” means any of the following:

(1) Leave to bond with a minor child or designated person within the first year of the child’s or designated person’s birth or placement in connection with foster care or adoption.

(2) Leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, designated person, or domestic partner who has a serious health condition.

(f)

(h) “Family member” means child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, designated person, or domestic partner as defined in this section.

(g)

(i) “Grandchild” means a child of the employee’s child.

(h)

(j) “Grandparent” means a parent of the employee’s parent.

(i)

(k) “Parent” means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.

(j)

(l) “Parent-in-law” means the parent of a spouse or a domestic partner.

(k)

(m) “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility, or continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider, as defined in Section 12945.2 of the Government Code.

(l)

(n) “Sibling” means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.

(m)

(o) “Spouse” means a partner to a lawful marriage.

(n)

(p) “Valid claim” means any claim for family temporary disability insurance benefits made in accordance with the provisions of this code, and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder, if the individual claiming benefits is unemployed and has been paid the necessary wages in employment for employers to qualify for benefits under Section 2652 and is caring for a seriously ill family member, or bonding with a minor child or designated person during the first year after the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption.

(o)

(q) “Twelve-month period,” with respect to any individual, means the 365 consecutive days that begin with the first day the individual first establishes a valid claim for family temporary disability benefits.

SEC. 9.

 Section 3303 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as amended by Section 6 of Chapter 849 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

3303.

 (a) On and after July 1, 2014, an individual shall be deemed eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of his or her the individual’s weekly benefit amount on any day in which he or she the individual is unable to perform his or her their regular or customary work because he or she the individual is bonding with a minor child or designated person during the first year after the birth or placement of the child or designated person in connection with foster care or adoption, or caring for a seriously ill child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, designated person, or domestic partner, only if the director finds both of the following:

(1) The individual has made a claim for temporary disability benefits as required by authorized regulations.

(2) The individual has filed a certificate, as required by Sections 2708 and 2709.

(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 10.

 Section 3303 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as added by Section 7 of Chapter 849 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

3303.

 (a) On and after July 1, 2014, only if the director makes both of the findings described in subdivision (b), an individual shall be deemed eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits equal to one-seventh of his or her the individual’s weekly benefit amount on any day in which he or she the individual is unable to perform his or her their regular or customary work because of any of the following:

(1) The individual is bonding with a minor child or designated person during the first year after the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption.

(2) The individual is caring for a seriously ill child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, designated person, or domestic partner.

(3) The individual is participating in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(b) An individual shall be deemed eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits described in subdivision (a) only if the directors finds both of the following:

(1) The individual has made a claim for temporary disability benefits as required by authorized regulations.

(2) The individual has filed a certificate, as required by Sections 2708 and 2709, or for purposes of participating in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States, has provided the information requested pursuant to Section 3307.

(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.

SEC. 11.

 Section 3303.1 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as amended by Section 8 of Chapter 849 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

3303.1.

 (a) An individual is not eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits with respect to any day that any of the following apply:

(1) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, unemployment compensation benefits under Part 1 (commencing with Section 100) or under an unemployment compensation act of any other state or of the federal government.

(2) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, “other benefits” in the form of cash benefits as defined in Section 2629.

(3) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, state disability insurance benefits under Part 2 (commencing with Section 2601) or under a disability insurance act of any other state.

(4)Another family member, as defined in Section 3302, is ready, willing, and able and available for the same period of time in a day that the individual is providing the required care.

(b) An individual who is entitled to leave under the FMLA and the CFRA must take Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI) leave concurrent with leave taken under the FMLA and the CFRA.

(c)As a condition of an employee’s initial receipt of family temporary disability insurance benefits during any 12-month period in which an employee is eligible for these benefits, an employer may require an employee to take up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation leave prior to the employee’s initial receipt of these benefits. This subdivision may not be construed in a manner that relieves an employer of any duty of collective bargaining the employer may have with respect to the subject matter of this subdivision.

(d)

(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 12.

 Section 3303.1 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, as added by Section 9 of Chapter 849 of the Statutes of 2018, is amended to read:

3303.1.

 (a) An individual is not eligible for family temporary disability insurance benefits with respect to any day that any of the following apply:

(1) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, unemployment compensation benefits under Part 1 (commencing with Section 100) or under an unemployment compensation act of any other state or of the federal government.

(2) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, “other benefits” in the form of cash benefits as defined in Section 2629.

(3) The individual has received, or is entitled to receive, state disability insurance benefits under Part 2 (commencing with Section 2601) or under a disability insurance act of any other state.

(4)Another family member, as defined in Section 3302, is ready, willing, and able and available for the same period of time in a day that the individual is providing the required care or participating in a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of the individual’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States.

(b) An individual who is entitled to leave under the FMLA and the CFRA shall take Family Temporary Disability Insurance (FTDI) leave concurrent with leave taken under the FMLA and the CFRA.

(c)As a condition of an employee’s initial receipt of family temporary disability insurance benefits during any 12-month period in which an employee is eligible for these benefits, an employer may require an employee to take up to two weeks of earned but unused vacation leave prior to the employee’s initial receipt of these benefits. This subdivision may not be construed in a manner that relieves an employer of any duty of collective bargaining the employer may have with respect to the subject matter of this subdivision.

(d)

(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.