SACRAMENTO -- The California Chamber of Commerce called proposed legislation mandating that employers offer up to 10 business days of unpaid bereavement leave a “job killer.”
Assembly Bill 2999 would require offering 10 days of leave after the death of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, sibling, grandparent or grandchild, regardless of how long the employee has been on the job, the Chamber said.
Under the legislation, called the Bereavement Leave Act of 2020, employees who are fired, disciplined or face discrimination for taking the leave could file a complaint with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or file a civil suit for reinstatement, damages and attorney’s fees. It would not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that offers bereavement leave.
The National Federation of Independent Business is opposed to the legislation, said California state director John Kabateck.
"California small business owners are already required to offer the most generous employee leave programs and benefits in the nation,” Kabateck told the Northern California Record. “The notion of mandating more expensive leave programs that are not necessary, and add massive new costs to mom-and-pops, is absurd and will add even more uncertainty and stress to an already devastated Main Street community.”
Most small businesses already offer bereavement leave voluntarily, Kabateck said.
“It's outrageous to assume that's not happening and insulting to heap more cost burdens to them when this pandemic is sealing the fate of so many,” he added. “This legislation is unnecessary and merely a means for progressive politicians to curry favor with labor unions and plaintiffs' attorneys, and will yield the reverse impact of what these expanded leave proponents intend for workers -- send them packing for the unemployment line."
The bill would impose a "significant new burden on employers of every size," the Chamber said. It would also open up "new avenues for litigation against California employers by establishing a new private right of action," the Chamber added.