Employment practices: leave time.

(1) Existing law prohibits an employer from discharging, or discriminating or retaliating against, an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, for taking time off from work to obtain or attempt to obtain relief to help ensure the health, safety, or welfare of the victim or victim's child. Existing law requires an employee, as a condition of taking time off for these purposes, to give the employer reasonable advance notice of the employee's intention to take time off, unless doing so is not feasible. Existing law prohibits an employer, when an unscheduled absence occurs, from taking any action against the employee if the employee, within a reasonable time after the absence, provides a certification to the employer meeting certain criteria, including documentation from one of specified persons that the employee was undergoing treatment for specific injuries. Existing law authorizes an employee to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement for a violation of that prohibition, and makes it a misdemeanor for an employer to refuse to rehire, promote, or restore an employee who has been determined to be so eligible by a grievance procedure or legal hearing. This bill would expand the above provision to prohibit an employer from discharging, or discriminating or retaliating against, an employee who is a victim of crime or abuse for taking time off from work to obtain or attempt to obtain relief, as prescribed. The bill would also prohibit an employer from taking action against an employee, when an unscheduled absence occurs, if the employee victim of crime or abuse provides certification that they were receiving services for certain injuries, or if the documentation is from a victim advocate, as defined. The bill would additionally prohibit such action if the employee provides certification in any other form of documentation that reasonably verifies that the crime or abuse occurred. The bill would also define "victim" and "crime" for purposes of these provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law also prohibits an employer with 25 or more employees from discharging, or discriminating or retaliating against, an employee who is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking for taking time off from work for any of specified purposes, including seeking medical attention for injuries caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This bill would prohibit the discharge of, or discrimination or retaliation against, an employee who is a victim, as defined, for taking off work, as specified. The bill would revise the categories of time off work under these circumstances, to include taking time off work to seek medical attention for injuries caused by crime or abuse, to obtain services from prescribed entities as a result of the crime or abuse, to obtain psychological counseling or mental health services related to an experience of crime or abuse, or to participate in safety planning and take other actions to increase safety from future crime or abuse. The bill would define terms for these purposes. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.