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AB-1033 California Family Rights Act: parent-in-law: small employer family leave mediation: pilot program.(2021-2022)



Current Version: 09/27/21 - Chaptered

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AB1033:v93#DOCUMENT

Assembly Bill No. 1033
CHAPTER 327

An act to amend Sections 12945.2 and 12945.21 of the Government Code, relating to employment.

[ Approved by Governor  September 27, 2021. Filed with Secretary of State  September 27, 2021. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1033, Bauer-Kahan. California Family Rights Act: parent-in-law: small employer family leave mediation: pilot program.
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), establishes the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and sets forth its powers and duties relating to enforcement of civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment and to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to obtain and hold employment without discrimination based on specified characteristics or status. Existing law grants the department the power to receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute complaints alleging unlawful employment practices.
Existing law, the Moore-Brown-Roberti Family Rights Act, commonly known as the California Family Rights Act, which is a part of FEHA, makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, as defined, to refuse to grant a request by an eligible employee to take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid protected leave during any 12-month period for family care and medical leave, as specified. Existing law defines family care and medical leave to include, among other things, leave to care for a parent.
This bill would additionally include leave to care for a parent-in-law within the definition of family care and medical leave, and would make other conforming changes.
Existing law requires the department to create a small employer family leave mediation pilot program, for alleged violations of these family care and medical leave provisions, applicable to employers with between 5 and 19 employees. Existing law authorizes the employer or the employee to request that all parties participate in mediation through the department’s dispute resolution division after the department issues a right-to-sue notice.
Existing law requires the department to initiate the mediation promptly following a request, prohibits an employee from pursuing a civil action until the mediation is complete, and tolls the statute of limitations for the employee, including for all related claims not subject to mediation, from the date of receipt of a request to participate in the program until the mediation is complete. Existing law repeals the pilot program on January 1, 2024.
This bill would recast those provisions to require the department, when an employee requests an immediate right to sue alleging a violation of the above-described family care and medical leave provisions by an employer, to notify the employee in writing of the requirement for mediation prior to filing a civil action, if mediation is requested by the employer or employee. The bill would also require the employee to contact the department’s dispute resolution division, in the manner specified by the department, prior to filing an action and to indicate whether they are requesting mediation.
This bill would require the department, upon contacting the dispute resolution division regarding the intent to pursue a legal action for an employer’s violation of the family and medical leave provisions, to notify all named respondents of the alleged violation and the requirement for mediation, if mediation is requested by the employee or employer, in writing. The bill would require the department to terminate its activity if neither the employee nor the employer requests mediation within 30 days of receipt by all named respondents of the notification, as specified. The bill would require the department, if it receives a request for mediation from the employer or employee within 30 days of receipt, as described above, to initiate the mediation within 60 days of the department’s receipt of the request or the receipt of the notification by all named respondents, whichever is later. The bill would require the mediator, once mediation has been initiated and no later than 7 days before the mediation date, to notify the employee of their right to request certain labor-related information and to help facilitate other reasonable requests for information, as specified. The bill would prohibit the employee from pursuing a civil action unless the mediation is not initiated by the department within the time period prescribed above or until the mediation is complete or deemed unsuccessful. The bill would toll the statute of limitations applicable to the employee’s claim from the date the employee contacts the department’s dispute resolution division regarding the intent to pursue a legal action until the mediation is complete or deemed unsuccessful.
This bill would entitle a respondent or defendant in a civil action that did not receive the required notification as a result of the employee’s failure to contact the department’s alternative dispute resolution prior to filing a civil action and who had 5 to 19 employees at the time that the alleged violation occurred, to a stay of any pending civil action or arbitration until the mediation is complete or deemed unsuccessful.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12945.2 of the Government Code proposed by AB 1041 to be operative only if this bill and AB 1041 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 12945.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:

12945.2.
 (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), to refuse to grant a request by any employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period or who meets the requirements of subdivision (r), to take up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave. Family care and medical leave requested pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed to have been granted unless the employer provides the employee, upon granting the leave request, a guarantee of employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave. The council shall adopt a regulation specifying the elements of a reasonable request.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.
(2) “Domestic partner” has the same meaning as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.
(3) “Employer” means either of the following:
(A) Any person who directly employs five or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary.
(B) The state, and any political or civil subdivision of the state and cities.
(4) “Family care and medical leave” means any of the following:
(A) Leave for reason of the birth of a child of the employee or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster care of the child by the employee.
(B) Leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner who has a serious health condition.
(C) Leave because of an employee’s own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of that employee, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
(D) Leave because of a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States, as specified in Section 3302.2 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
(5) “Employment in the same or a comparable position” means employment in a position that has the same or similar duties and pay that can be performed at the same or similar geographic location as the position held prior to the leave.
(6) “FMLA” means the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3).
(7) “Grandchild” means a child of the employee’s child.
(8) “Grandparent” means a parent of the employee’s parent.
(9) “Health care provider” means any of the following:
(A) An individual holding either a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 2080) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, an osteopathic physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 2099.5) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, or an individual duly licensed as a physician, surgeon, or osteopathic physician or surgeon in another state or jurisdiction, who directly treats or supervises the treatment of the serious health condition.
(B) Any other person determined by the United States Secretary of Labor to be capable of providing health care services under the FMLA.
(10) “Parent” means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.
(11) “Parent-in-law” means the parent of a spouse or domestic partner.
(12) “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either of the following:
(A) Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility.
(B) Continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.
(13) “Sibling” means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.
(c) An employer shall not be required to pay an employee for any leave taken pursuant to subdivision (a), except as required by subdivision (d).
(d) An employee taking a leave permitted by subdivision (a) may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute, for leave allowed under subdivision (a), any of the employee’s accrued vacation leave or other accrued time off during this period or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer. If an employee takes a leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employee may also elect, or the employer may also require the employee, to substitute accrued sick leave during the period of the leave. However, an employee shall not use sick leave during a period of leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child, or to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner with a serious health condition, unless mutually agreed to by the employer and the employee.
(e) (1) During any period that an eligible employee takes leave pursuant to subdivision (a) or takes leave that qualifies as leave taken under the FMLA, the employer shall maintain and pay for coverage under a “group health plan,” as defined in Section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, for the duration of the leave, not to exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period, commencing on the date leave taken under the FMLA commences, at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment continuously for the duration of the leave. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall preclude an employer from maintaining and paying for coverage under a “group health plan” beyond 12 workweeks. An employer may recover the premium that the employer paid as required by this subdivision for maintaining coverage for the employee under the group health plan if both of the following conditions occur:
(A) The employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired.
(B) The employee’s failure to return from leave is for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition that entitles the employee to leave under subdivision (a) or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.
(2) Any employee taking leave pursuant to subdivision (a) shall continue to be entitled to participate in employee health plans for any period during which coverage is not provided by the employer under paragraph (1), employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, pension and retirement plans, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans to the same extent and under the same conditions as apply to an unpaid leave taken for any purpose other than those described in subdivision (a). In the absence of these conditions an employee shall continue to be entitled to participate in these plans and, in the case of health and welfare employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, or other similar plans, the employer may, at the employer’s discretion, require the employee to pay premiums, at the group rate, during the period of leave not covered by any accrued vacation leave, or other accrued time off, or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer, as a condition of continued coverage during the leave period. However, the nonpayment of premiums by an employee shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan.
For purposes of pension and retirement plans, an employer shall not be required to make plan payments for an employee during the leave period, and the leave period shall not be required to be counted for purposes of time accrued under the plan. However, an employee covered by a pension plan may continue to make contributions in accordance with the terms of the plan during the period of the leave.
(f) During a family care and medical leave period, the employee shall retain employee status with the employer, and the leave shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan. An employee returning from leave shall return with no less seniority than the employee had when the leave commenced, for purposes of layoff, recall, promotion, job assignment, and seniority-related benefits such as vacation.
(g) If the employee’s need for a leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with reasonable advance notice of the need for the leave.
(h) If the employee’s need for leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable due to a planned medical treatment or supervision, the employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment or supervision to avoid disruption to the operations of the employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of the individual requiring the treatment or supervision.
(i) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner who has a serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of the individual requiring care. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:
(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.
(B) The probable duration of the condition.
(C) An estimate of the amount of time that the health care provider believes the employee needs to care for the individual requiring the care.
(D) A statement that the serious health condition warrants the participation of a family member to provide care during a period of the treatment or supervision of the individual requiring care.
(2) Upon expiration of the time estimated by the health care provider in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), the employer may require the employee to obtain recertification, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.
(j) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the employee’s health care provider. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:
(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.
(B) The probable duration of the condition.
(C) A statement that, due to the serious health condition, the employee is unable to perform the function of the employee’s position.
(2) The employer may require that the employee obtain subsequent recertification regarding the employee’s serious health condition on a reasonable basis, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.
(3) (A) In any case in which the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the certification provided pursuant to this section, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a second health care provider, designated or approved by the employer, concerning any information certified under paragraph (1).
(B) The health care provider designated or approved under subparagraph (A) shall not be employed on a regular basis by the employer.
(C) In any case in which the second opinion described in subparagraph (A) differs from the opinion in the original certification, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a third health care provider, designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee, concerning the information certified under paragraph (1).
(D) The opinion of the third health care provider concerning the information certified under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be final and shall be binding on the employer and the employee.
(4) As a condition of an employee’s return from leave taken because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employer may have a uniformly applied practice or policy that requires the employee to obtain certification from the employee’s health care provider that the employee is able to resume work. Nothing in this paragraph shall supersede a valid collective bargaining agreement that governs the return to work of that employee.
(k) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, any individual because of any of the following:
(1) An individual’s exercise of the right to family care and medical leave provided by subdivision (a).
(2) An individual’s giving information or testimony as to the individual’s own family care and medical leave, or another person’s family care and medical leave, in any inquiry or proceeding related to rights guaranteed under this section.
(l) This section shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until January 1, 1993, whichever occurs first.
(m) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 827 of the Statutes of 1993 shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until February 5, 1994, whichever occurs first.
(n) This section shall be construed as separate and distinct from Section 12945.
(o) Leave provided for pursuant to this section may be taken in one or more periods. The 12-month period during which 12 workweeks of leave may be taken under this section shall run concurrently with the 12-month period under the FMLA, and shall commence the date leave taken under the FMLA commences.
(p) Leave taken by an employee pursuant to this section shall run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the FMLA, except for any leave taken under the FMLA for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The aggregate amount of leave taken under this section or the FMLA, or both, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, shall not exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. An employee is entitled to take, in addition to the leave provided for under this section and the FMLA, the leave provided for in Section 12945, if the employee is otherwise qualified for that leave.
(q) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section.
(r) (1) An employee employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or cabin crew member meets the eligibility requirements specified in subdivision (a) if all of the following requirements are met:
(A) The employee has 12 months or more of service with the employer.
(B) The employee has worked or been paid for 60 percent of the applicable monthly guarantee, or the equivalent annualized over the preceding 12-month period.
(C) The employee has worked or been paid for a minimum of 504 hours during the preceding 12-month period.
(2) As used in this subdivision, the term “applicable monthly guarantee” means both of the following:
(A) For employees described in this subdivision other than employees on reserve status, the minimum number of hours for which an employer has agreed to schedule those employees for any given month.
(B) For employees described in this subdivision who are on reserve status, the number of hours for which an employer has agreed to pay those employees on reserve status for any given month, as established in the collective bargaining agreement or, if none exists, in the employer’s policies.
(3) The department may provide, by regulation, a method for calculating the leave described in subdivision (a) with respect to employees described in this subdivision.

SEC. 1.5.

 Section 12945.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:

12945.2.
 (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), to refuse to grant a request by any employee with more than 12 months of service with the employer, and who has at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the previous 12-month period or who meets the requirements of subdivision (r), to take up to a total of 12 workweeks in any 12-month period for family care and medical leave. Family care and medical leave requested pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed to have been granted unless the employer provides the employee, upon granting the leave request, a guarantee of employment in the same or a comparable position upon the termination of the leave. The council shall adopt a regulation specifying the elements of a reasonable request.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, a child of a domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis.
(2) “Designated person” means a person identified by the employee at the time the employee requests family care and medical leave. An employer may limit an employee to one designated person per 12-month period for family care and medical leave.
(3) “Domestic partner” has the same meaning as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code.
(4) “Employer” means either of the following:
(A) Any person who directly employs five or more persons to perform services for a wage or salary.
(B) The state, and any political or civil subdivision of the state and cities.
(5) “Family care and medical leave” means any of the following:
(A) Leave for reason of the birth of a child of the employee or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with the adoption or foster care of the child by the employee.
(B) Leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition.
(C) Leave because of an employee’s own serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of that employee, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
(D) Leave because of a qualifying exigency related to the covered active duty or call to covered active duty of an employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent in the Armed Forces of the United States, as specified in Section 3302.2 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
(6) “Employment in the same or a comparable position” means employment in a position that has the same or similar duties and pay that can be performed at the same or similar geographic location as the position held prior to the leave.
(7) “FMLA” means the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-3).
(8) “Grandchild” means a child of the employee’s child.
(9) “Grandparent” means a parent of the employee’s parent.
(10) “Health care provider” means any of the following:
(A) An individual holding either a physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 2080) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, an osteopathic physician’s and surgeon’s certificate issued pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 2099.5) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, or an individual duly licensed as a physician, surgeon, or osteopathic physician or surgeon in another state or jurisdiction, who directly treats or supervises the treatment of the serious health condition.
(B) Any other person determined by the United States Secretary of Labor to be capable of providing health care services under the FMLA.
(11) “Parent” means a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.
(12) “Parent-in-law” means the parent of a spouse or domestic partner.
(13) “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either of the following:
(A) Inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential health care facility.
(B) Continuing treatment or continuing supervision by a health care provider.
(14) “Sibling” means a person related to another person by blood, adoption, or affinity through a common legal or biological parent.
(c) An employer shall not be required to pay an employee for any leave taken pursuant to subdivision (a), except as required by subdivision (d).
(d) An employee taking a leave permitted by subdivision (a) may elect, or an employer may require the employee, to substitute, for leave allowed under subdivision (a), any of the employee’s accrued vacation leave or other accrued time off during this period or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer. If an employee takes a leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employee may also elect, or the employer may also require the employee, to substitute accrued sick leave during the period of the leave. However, an employee shall not use sick leave during a period of leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care of a child, or to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person with a serious health condition, unless mutually agreed to by the employer and the employee.
(e) (1) During any period that an eligible employee takes leave pursuant to subdivision (a) or takes leave that qualifies as leave taken under the FMLA, the employer shall maintain and pay for coverage under a “group health plan,” as defined in Section 5000(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, for the duration of the leave, not to exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period, commencing on the date leave taken under the FMLA commences, at the level and under the conditions coverage would have been provided if the employee had continued in employment continuously for the duration of the leave. Nothing in the preceding sentence shall preclude an employer from maintaining and paying for coverage under a “group health plan” beyond 12 workweeks. An employer may recover the premium that the employer paid as required by this subdivision for maintaining coverage for the employee under the group health plan if both of the following conditions occur:
(A) The employee fails to return from leave after the period of leave to which the employee is entitled has expired.
(B) The employee’s failure to return from leave is for a reason other than the continuation, recurrence, or onset of a serious health condition that entitles the employee to leave under subdivision (a) or other circumstances beyond the control of the employee.
(2) Any employee taking leave pursuant to subdivision (a) shall continue to be entitled to participate in employee health plans for any period during which coverage is not provided by the employer under paragraph (1), employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, pension and retirement plans, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans to the same extent and under the same conditions as apply to an unpaid leave taken for any purpose other than those described in subdivision (a). In the absence of these conditions an employee shall continue to be entitled to participate in these plans and, in the case of health and welfare employee benefit plans, including life insurance or short-term or long-term disability or accident insurance, or other similar plans, the employer may, at the employer’s discretion, require the employee to pay premiums, at the group rate, during the period of leave not covered by any accrued vacation leave, or other accrued time off, or any other paid or unpaid time off negotiated with the employer, as a condition of continued coverage during the leave period. However, the nonpayment of premiums by an employee shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan.
For purposes of pension and retirement plans, an employer shall not be required to make plan payments for an employee during the leave period, and the leave period shall not be required to be counted for purposes of time accrued under the plan. However, an employee covered by a pension plan may continue to make contributions in accordance with the terms of the plan during the period of the leave.
(f) During a family care and medical leave period, the employee shall retain employee status with the employer, and the leave shall not constitute a break in service, for purposes of longevity, seniority under any collective bargaining agreement, or any employee benefit plan. An employee returning from leave shall return with no less seniority than the employee had when the leave commenced, for purposes of layoff, recall, promotion, job assignment, and seniority-related benefits such as vacation.
(g) If the employee’s need for a leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable, the employee shall provide the employer with reasonable advance notice of the need for the leave.
(h) If the employee’s need for leave pursuant to this section is foreseeable due to a planned medical treatment or supervision, the employee shall make a reasonable effort to schedule the treatment or supervision to avoid disruption to the operations of the employer, subject to the approval of the health care provider of the individual requiring the treatment or supervision.
(i) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave to care for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, domestic partner, or designated person who has a serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the health care provider of the individual requiring care. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:
(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.
(B) The probable duration of the condition.
(C) An estimate of the amount of time that the health care provider believes the employee needs to care for the individual requiring the care.
(D) A statement that the serious health condition warrants the participation of a family member to provide care during a period of the treatment or supervision of the individual requiring care.
(2) Upon expiration of the time estimated by the health care provider in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1), the employer may require the employee to obtain recertification, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.
(j) (1) An employer may require that an employee’s request for leave because of the employee’s own serious health condition be supported by a certification issued by the employee’s health care provider. That certification shall be sufficient if it includes all of the following:
(A) The date on which the serious health condition commenced.
(B) The probable duration of the condition.
(C) A statement that, due to the serious health condition, the employee is unable to perform the function of the employee’s position.
(2) The employer may require that the employee obtain subsequent recertification regarding the employee’s serious health condition on a reasonable basis, in accordance with the procedure provided in paragraph (1), if additional leave is required.
(3) (A) In any case in which the employer has reason to doubt the validity of the certification provided pursuant to this section, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a second health care provider, designated or approved by the employer, concerning any information certified under paragraph (1).
(B) The health care provider designated or approved under subparagraph (A) shall not be employed on a regular basis by the employer.
(C) In any case in which the second opinion described in subparagraph (A) differs from the opinion in the original certification, the employer may require, at the employer’s expense, that the employee obtain the opinion of a third health care provider, designated or approved jointly by the employer and the employee, concerning the information certified under paragraph (1).
(D) The opinion of the third health care provider concerning the information certified under paragraph (1) shall be considered to be final and shall be binding on the employer and the employee.
(4) As a condition of an employee’s return from leave taken because of the employee’s own serious health condition, the employer may have a uniformly applied practice or policy that requires the employee to obtain certification from the employee’s health care provider that the employee is able to resume work. Nothing in this paragraph shall supersede a valid collective bargaining agreement that governs the return to work of that employee.
(k) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to refuse to hire, or to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against, any individual because of any of the following:
(1) An individual’s exercise of the right to family care and medical leave provided by subdivision (a).
(2) An individual’s giving information or testimony as to the individual’s own family care and medical leave, or another person’s family care and medical leave, in any inquiry or proceeding related to rights guaranteed under this section.
(l) This section shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until January 1, 1993, whichever occurs first.
(m) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 827 of the Statutes of 1993 shall not be construed to require any changes in existing collective bargaining agreements during the life of the contract, or until February 5, 1994, whichever occurs first.
(n) This section shall be construed as separate and distinct from Section 12945.
(o) Leave provided for pursuant to this section may be taken in one or more periods. The 12-month period during which 12 workweeks of leave may be taken under this section shall run concurrently with the 12-month period under the FMLA, and shall commence the date leave taken under the FMLA commences.
(p) Leave taken by an employee pursuant to this section shall run concurrently with leave taken pursuant to the FMLA, except for any leave taken under the FMLA for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The aggregate amount of leave taken under this section or the FMLA, or both, except for leave taken for disability on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, shall not exceed 12 workweeks in a 12-month period. An employee is entitled to take, in addition to the leave provided for under this section and the FMLA, the leave provided for in Section 12945, if the employee is otherwise qualified for that leave.
(q) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of, or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under this section.
(r) (1) An employee employed by an air carrier as a flight deck or cabin crew member meets the eligibility requirements specified in subdivision (a) if all of the following requirements are met:
(A) The employee has 12 months or more of service with the employer.
(B) The employee has worked or been paid for 60 percent of the applicable monthly guarantee, or the equivalent annualized over the preceding 12-month period.
(C) The employee has worked or been paid for a minimum of 504 hours during the preceding 12-month period.
(2) As used in this subdivision, the term “applicable monthly guarantee” means both of the following:
(A) For employees described in this subdivision other than employees on reserve status, the minimum number of hours for which an employer has agreed to schedule those employees for any given month.
(B) For employees described in this subdivision who are on reserve status, the number of hours for which an employer has agreed to pay those employees on reserve status for any given month, as established in the collective bargaining agreement or, if none exists, in the employer’s policies.
(3) The department may provide, by regulation, a method for calculating the leave described in subdivision (a) with respect to employees described in this subdivision.

SEC. 2.

 Section 12945.21 of the Government Code is amended to read:

12945.21.
 (a) The department shall create a small employer family leave mediation pilot program for employers with between 5 and 19 employees. Under the pilot program, when an employee requests an immediate right to sue alleging a violation of Section 12945.2 by an employer having between 5 and 19 employees, the department shall notify the employee in writing of the requirement for mediation prior to filing a civil action if mediation is requested by the employer or employee. The employee shall contact the department’s dispute resolution division prior to filing a civil action.
(b) (1) Under the pilot program, the employee shall contact the department’s dispute resolution division prior to filing a civil action in the manner specified by the department. The employee shall also indicate whether they are requesting mediation.
(2) Upon contacting the dispute resolution division regarding the intent to pursue a legal action for a violation of Section 12945.2 by an employer having between 5 and 19 employees, the department shall notify all named respondents of the alleged violation and the requirement for mediation, if mediation is requested by the employee or employer, in writing.
(3) The department shall terminate its activity if neither the employee nor the employer requests mediation within 30 days of receipt by all named respondents of the notification specified in paragraph (2).
(4) If the department receives a request for mediation from the employee or employer within 30 days of receipt by all named respondents of the notification specified in paragraph (2), the department shall initiate the mediation within 60 days of the department’s receipt of the request or the receipt of the notification by all named respondents, whichever is later.
(5) Once the mediation has been initiated, no later than seven days before the mediation date, the mediator shall notify the employee of their right to request information pursuant to Sections 226 and 1198.5 of the Labor Code. The mediator shall also help facilitate any other reasonable requests for information that may be necessary for either party to present their claim in mediation.
(c) (1) The employee shall not pursue any civil action under Section 12945.2 unless the mediation is not initiated by the department within the time period specified in subdivision (b) or until the mediation is complete or the mediation is deemed unsuccessful.
(2) The statute of limitations applicable to the employee’s claim, including for all related claims under Section 12945.2 and not under Section 12945.2, shall be tolled from the date the employee contacts the department’s dispute resolution division regarding the intent to pursue a legal action until the mediation is complete or the mediation is deemed unsuccessful.
(d) (1) For purposes of this section, the following shall apply:
(2) A mediation is deemed complete when any of the following occur:
(A) Neither the employee nor the employer requests the mediation within 30 days of receipt by all named respondents of the notification or both parties agree not to participate in the mediation.
(B) The employer fails to respond to the notification or mediation request within 30 days of receipt.
(C) The department fails to initiate the mediation within 60 days of the department’s receipt of the request for mediation or the receipt by all named respondents of the notification, whichever is later.
(D) The department notifies the parties that it has determined that further mediation would be fruitless, both parties agree that further mediation would be fruitless, one of the parties failed to submit information requested by the other party and deemed by the mediator to be reasonably necessary or fair for the other party to obtain, or the mediator determines that the core facts of the employee’s complaint are unrelated to Section 12945.2.
(3) A mediation is unsuccessful if the claim is not resolved within 30 days of the department’s initiation of mediation, unless the department notifies the parties that it has determined more time is needed to make the mediation successful.
(e) A respondent or defendant in a civil action that did not receive a notification pursuant to subdivision (b) as a result of the employee’s failure to contact the department’s alternative dispute resolution division prior to filing a civil action, and who had between 5 and 19 employees at the time that the alleged violation occurred, shall, upon a timely request, be entitled to a stay of any pending civil action or arbitration until mediation is complete or is deemed unsuccessful.
(f) If a request for an immediate right to sue includes other alleged violations under this part, this section shall only apply to the claim alleging a violation of Section 12945.2. Notwithstanding this subdivision, nothing in this section prohibits the parties from voluntarily choosing to mediate all alleged violations.
(g)  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2024, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 12945.2 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 1041. That section of this bill shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2022, (2) each bill amends Section 12945.2 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1041, in which case Section 1 of this bill shall not become operative.