Pregnant peace officers: duty assignment policy.

Existing law creates the Department of Human Resources, which is headed by the Director of the Department of Human Resources, and commits to the director the duty to administer and enforce the laws relating to personnel. Pursuant to this authority, the department prescribes rules regarding leave. Existing law creates the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and grants it jurisdiction over specified prisons and institutions. Existing law requires an open examination for the position of correctional officer, correctional program supervisor, and other custodial positions that normally afford entry into the department's service to include a demonstration of the physical ability to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the position, as specified. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in consultation with the Department of Human Resources, on or before January 1, 2021, to establish a policy pursuant to which a pregnant peace officer shall be permitted to perform alternate, light duty assignments, subject to a medical certification that establishes the nature of their pregnancy-related limitations. The bill would require the policy to include specified elements. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to carefully weigh any request for an alternate, light duty assignment and to base final determinations upon the employee's medical limitations or restrictions, the employee's classification, and the needs of the department. The bill would require the department to provide a publicly available report that contains the reasons for the denial of a request for an alternate, light duty assignment. The bill would require all denials, including the denial of an initial request that was later modified and granted, and denial of an extension of the duration of time during which a pregnant peace officer shall be permitted to perform an alternate, light duty assignment, to be submitted for review by the deputy director of facility support for the Division of Adult Institutions, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as specified.