Following the end of the 2013-14 legislative session, the following bills now await action by Governor Brown.

AB 1522 (Gonzalez) - Oppose
As Amended on August 29, 2014

Assembly Bill 1522, by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez, provides that an employee who works in California for 30 or more days in a calendar year is entitled to one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, for up to six six days per year. The bill was amended to specify that an employer is not required to provide additional paid sick days if the employer has a paid leave policy or paid time off policy that satisfy’s the bill’s requirements and/or provides no less than 24 hours or three days of paid sick leave (or paid leave or paid time off) for employee use each year of employment or calendar year or 12-month basis. The bill was additionally amended on the last day of session to exempt in-home support service providers, an exemption requested by CSAC and other stakeholders.

AB 2126 (Bonta) - OPPOSE
As Amended on May 23, 2014

Assembly Bill 2126, by Assembly Member Rob Bonta, would eradicate local control of collective bargaining procedures by requiring the following:

MANDATORY MEDIATION. The bill would allow either the public agency or employee organization to request mediation if, after impasse is declared, the parties fail to reach agreement. The parties must agree upon the appointment of a mediator within five days of the request and if they are unable to agree, either party can request that PERB appoint a mediator (PERB must then appoint a mediator within five days of that request).

SCOPE OF FACTFINDING. AB 2126 would allow differences arising from ANY dispute over ANY matter within the scope of representation, when the obligation to meet and confer exists, to be submitted to a factfinding panel. Currently, the ability for either party to request factfinding only applies to those disputes arising during collective bargaining for a new or successor memorandum of understanding.

AB 2378 (Perea) - OPPOSE
As Amended on May 23, 2014

Assembly Bill 2378, by Assembly Member Henry Perea, would essentially remove Labor Code Section 4850 benefits from the 104-week limit on aggregate disability payments for work-related injuries that cause temporary disability, Therefore, public safety officers would receive full salary benefits for one year under Labor Code Section 4850 and two years of temporary disability benefits instead of one year when injured on the job.

AB 2616 (Skinner) - OPPOSE
As Amended on August 26, 2014

AB 2616, by Assembly Member Nancy Skinner would create special rules for certain hospital employees in the workers’ compensation system by creating a legal presumption that any methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is related to employment. This special standard would apply to such claims received while the hospital worker is employed and continues for up to 60 days after s(he) leaves employment, making employers powerless to question the compensability of a claim.