An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 245.5 of the Labor Code, relating to employment.

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


SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) Nearly every worker in
the State of
California will at some time during the year need some time off from work to take care of his or her own health or the health of family members.
(b) Many workers in California do not have any paid sick days, or have an inadequate number of paid sick days, to care for their own health or the health of family members.
(c) Providers of in-home supportive services under Section 14132.95, 14132.952, or 14132.956 of, or Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, do not qualify for the mandatory paid sick leave benefit that had been provided under Assembly Bill 1522, the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.
(d) Providing workers time off to attend to their own health care and the health care of family members will ensure a healthier and more productive workforce in California.
(e) Paid sick days will have an enormously positive impact on the public health of Californians by allowing sick workers paid time off to care for themselves when ill, thus lessening their recovery time, reducing the likelihood of spreading illness to other members of the workforce, and increasing the likelihood that they seek care from a primary health care provider instead of costly emergency room services.
(f) Paid sick days will allow parents to provide personal care for their sick children. Parental care ensures children’s speedy recovery, prevents more serious illnesses, and improves children’s overall mental and physical health.
(g) Providing paid sick days is affordable for employers.
(h) Employers who provide paid sick days enjoy greater employee retention and reduce the likelihood of employees coming to work sick. Studies have shown that costs of decreased productivity caused by sick workers exceed the costs of employee absenteeism.
(i) Workers whose jobs involve significant contact with the public, such as providers of in-home support services, are very unlikely to have paid sick days. Often, these workers have no choice but to come to work when they are ill, thereby spreading illness to coworkers and customers.
(j) Domestic violence and sexual assault affect many persons without regard to age, race, national origin, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.
(k) Domestic violence is a crime that has a devastating effect on families, communities, and the workplace. It impacts productivity, effectiveness, absenteeism, and employee turnover in the workplace. The National Crime Survey estimates that 175,000 days of work each year are missed due to domestic violence.
(l) Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault may be vulnerable at work when trying to end an abusive relationship because the workplace may be the only place where the perpetrator knows to contact the victim. Studies show that up to one-half of domestic violence victims experience job loss. Forty percent reported on-the-job harassment. Nearly 50 percent of sexual assault survivors lose their jobs or are forced to quit in the aftermath of the assaults.
(m) Affording survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault paid sick days is vital to their independence and recovery.
SEC. 2.
In enacting this act, it is the intent of the Legislature to do the following:
(a) Ensure that workers in California can address their own health needs and the health needs of their families by requiring employers to provide a minimum level of paid sick days including time for family care.
(b) Decrease public and private health care costs in California by enabling workers to seek early and routine medical care for themselves and their family members and to address domestic violence or sexual assault.
(c) Protect employees in California from losing their jobs while they use sick days to care for themselves or their families.
(d) Provide economic security to employees in California who take time off from work for reasons related to domestic violence or sexual assault.
(e) Safeguard the welfare, health, safety, and prosperity of the people of and visitors to California.
(f) Extend equal protection of paid sick leave benefits to providers of in-home supportive services.
SEC. 3.
Section 245.5 of the Labor Code, as added by Section 3 of Chapter 317 of the Statues of 2014, 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 onsite 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) A provider of in-home supportive services under Section 14132.95, 14132.952, or 14132.956 of, or Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(4) 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. 181 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.
(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) of subdivision (c) 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.
(f) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2016, and, as of January 1, 2017, is repealed.
SEC. 4.
Section 245.5 is added to the Labor Code, 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 onsite 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. 181 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.
(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) of subdivision (c) 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.
(f) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2016.

Summary: The Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 provides, among other things, that an employee who, on or after July 1, 2015, works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the commencement of employment is entitled to paid sick days for prescribed purposes, to be accrued at a rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. Existing law provides that an employee under the act does not include a provider of in-home support services, as described.
This bill would revise the definition of an employee under the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 to, as of July 1, 2016, include providers of in-home support services, as described.