Public social services.

Existing law provides for the award of attorney's fees and costs to, and the recovery of damages by, a plaintiff, when it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a defendant is liable for physical abuse or neglect of an elder or dependent adult and the defendant has also been guilty of recklessness, oppression, fraud, or malice in the commission of the abuse. This bill would revise these provisions to change the standard of proof to a preponderance of the evidence. Existing law authorizes a plaintiff to recover damages for the sake of example and by way of punishing the defendant in addition to the actual damages. Existing law provides that an employer is not liable for punitive damages based on the acts of an employee unless certain conditions are satisfied. Existing law requires that these conditions regarding the imposition of punitive damages on an employer based upon the acts of an employee be satisfied before any damages or attorney's fees permitted due to liability for physical abuse or neglect of an elder or dependent adult are authorized to be imposed against an employer. This bill would instead require that these conditions regarding the imposition of punitive damages on an employer be satisfied before any punitive damages may be imposed against an employer found liable for physical abuse, as defined, or neglect, as defined. This bill would state that these provisions are not intended to affect the specified standard of proof for punitive damages.