THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 556
Author: Salas (D)
Amended: 4/11/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/11/13
AYES: Evans, Walters, Anderson, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 05/16/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Fair Employment and Housing Act: military veterans
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill adds "military and veteran status," as
defined, to the list of categories protected from employment
discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
The bill also provides an exemption for an inquiry by an
employer regarding military or veteran status for the purpose of
awarding a veteran's preference as permitted by law.
ANALYSIS :
Existing federal law:
1.The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
(USERRA), prohibits discrimination and retaliation against
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active duty military and veterans on the basis of the person's
military membership, application for membership, performance
of service, application for service, or obligation.
2.Prohibits an employer's use of the employee's military
membership, performance of service, application for service,
or obligation as a motivating factor as cause for an adverse
employment decision against the employee.
3.Provides, under the USERRA, that any person whose absence from
a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service
in the uniformed services shall be entitled to specified
reemployment rights and benefits and other employment benefits
of this chapter.
Existing law:
1.Prohibits discrimination by a person, public entity, or
official against any officer, warrant officer, or enlisted
member of the military or naval forces because of that
membership, and prohibits prejudice or injury by any person,
employer, or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or
firm with respect to that member's employment, position or
status or be denied or disqualified for employment by virtue
of the membership.
2.Prohibits an employer or officer or agent of any corporation,
company, or firm, or other person, from: (a) discharging any
person from employment because of the performance of any
ordered military duty or training or by reason of being an
officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the military
or naval forces of this state; (b) preventing that person from
performing any military service or from attending any military
encampment or place of drill or instruction he/she may be
called upon to perform or attend by proper authority; (c)
using prejudice or harm against an employee in any manner in
his/her employment, position, or status by reason of the
employee's performance of military service or duty or
attendance at military encampments or places of drill or
instruction; or (d) dissuading, preventing, or stopping any
person from enlistment or accepting a warrant or commission in
the California National Guard or Naval Militia by threat or
injury to the employee in respect to his/her employment,
position, status, trade, or business because of enlistment or
acceptance of a warrant or commission.
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3.Prohibits a private employer, officer or agent of any
corporation, company, or firm, or other person, from
restricting or terminating any collateral benefit for
employees by reason of an employee's temporary incapacitation
(any period of incapacitation of 52 weeks or less) incident to
duty in the National Guard or Naval Militia.
4.Provides that a violation of the above state employment
protections is a misdemeanor and that any person violating any
of these provisions is liable for actual damages and
reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the injured party.
5.Provides that a covered employee has an absolute right to be
restored to the former office or position and status formerly
had by him/her in the same locality and in the same office,
board, commission, agency, or institution of the public agency
upon the termination of temporary military duty. If the
office or position has been eliminated during the employee's
absence, the employee must be reinstated to a position of like
seniority, status, and pay if a position exists, or if no
position exists, the employee will have the same rights and
privileges that he/she would have had if he/she had occupied
the position when it ceased to exist and had not taken
temporary military leave of absence.
6.Entitles any public employee, who has been in the service of
the public agency from which a leave is taken for a period of
not less than one year immediately prior to the date upon
which a temporary military leave of absence begins, to receive
the same vacation, sick leave, and holiday privileges, and the
same rights and privileges to promotion, continuance in
office, employment, reappointment to office, or reemployment
that the employee would have enjoyed had he/she not been
absent therefrom.
7.Prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on the
basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin,
ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical
condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation
under FEHA.
This bill:
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1.Adds "military or veteran status" to the list of
characteristics on which basis a person may not be
discriminated against in employment.
2.Defines "military or veteran status" as a member or veteran of
the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces
Reserve, the United States National Guard, and the California
National Guard.
3.Makes technical and conforming changes to various code
sections.
Background
Various statutes, such as FEHA and the Unruh Civil Rights Act,
prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public
accommodation and services provided by business establishments
on the basis of specified personal characteristics such as sex,
race, color, national origin, religion, and disability. Over
time, these statutes have been amended to include other
characteristics such as medical conditions, marital status, and
sexual orientation. Also over time, other statutes were amended
to reflect the state's public policy against discrimination in
all forms.
USERRA provides employment discrimination protection for a
person who is an active duty military or a veteran and has an
obligation to perform service in a uniformed service (United
States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, the
United States National Guard). The California Military and
Veterans Code, incorporates this discrimination protection and
further extends it to members or veterans of the California
National Guard.
Prior Legislation
SB 36 (Baca, Chapter 201, Statutes of 1999), required any city,
county, or city and county, general law or chartered, when it
has established a civil service system, to implement a veterans'
preference system, or adopt a resolution identifying reasons
that the local agency does not do so.
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SB 1150 (Fletcher and Burns, Chapter 123, Statutes of 1945),
required military veteran preference on civil service employment
lists.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/24/13)
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
VFW - Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author writes:
Veterans of the United States Armed Forces are currently
not protected from discriminatory hiring practices that may
come as a result of incorrect assumptions regarding the
prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, personality
issues, insensitivity to military culture, and because
military applicants are non-traditional applicants.
Employers express concern over military members stating
that they are too non-traditional, too old and will not
take orders from younger civilians, and that they have
fallen behind their civilian counterparts.
This bill would remedy these injustices and would allow
Veterans to attain or not attain employment based solely on
their merit instead of prejudice and discrimination.
Veterans already have a difficult time readjusting to
civilian life from which they have been temporarily
displaced. In October of 2012, the unemployment rate for
young veterans in California peaked at 43%. Many Veterans
returning from foreign conflicts of the past decade are at
risk of homelessness as a result of not being able to
secure steady employment.
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This bill would allow Veterans to secure and maintain
employment without discrimination from employers, and
agents, or any other person. Rather than amending a carbon
copy of the FEHA language into the Military and Veterans
Code, including "military and veteran status" as a
protected group in FEHA would provide a more clear and
substantive framework for protecting military and veterans
from discrimination and harassment. Existing law
regulating anti-military and veteran discrimination is
silent on discrimination by labor organizations, employment
agencies, apprenticeship programs and any person or entity
who aids, abets, incites, compels, or coerces the doing of
a discriminatory act, as well as retaliation against those
who report.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/16/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue,
Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,
V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Buchanan, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Grove,
Holden, Melendez, Morrell, Stone, Vacancy
AL:ej 6/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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