The Unruh Civil Rights Act generally prohibits business establishments from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition. The act provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to adopt or enforce a policy that prohibits the use of any language in the workplace, except if that policy is justified by business necessity, as defined, and prescribed notice of the policy and consequences for violation of the policy is given to employees. This bill would make it a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act to adopt or enforce a policy that requires, limits, or prohibits the use of any language in or with a business establishment, unless the policy is justified by a business necessity, as defined, and notification has been provided to persons subject to the language restriction or requirement of the circumstances and the time when the language restriction or requirement is to be observed and of the consequences for its violation. The bill would define business necessity to require, among other things, that the language restriction or requirement is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the business and that an equally effective, but less discriminatory, alternative practice does not exist. The bill would provide for an award of damages, and attorney's fees as may be determined by the court, for a violation of its provisions.
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This resolution would recognize the month of January 2012, and each following January, as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and it would recognize February 1, 2012, and each following February 1, as California's Free From Slavery Day.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Motor Vehicles, in order to continue improving the quality of products and services it provides to its customers, to establish contracts for electronic programs that allow qualified private industry partners to join the department in providing services that include processing and payment programs for vehicle registration and titling transactions. This bill would additionally authorize the department to pursue the use and development of existing or emerging technologies, including technological applications that impact traffic safety or law enforcement procedures developed and evaluated in conjunction with the Department of the California Highway Patrol, for the purpose of maximizing the efficient delivery of vehicle registration services and achieving cost savings for business partners, service providers, or other customer groups as determined by the department. The bill would also require the department to follow the procurement procedures adopted by the Department of General Services as set forth in the State Contracting Manual for contracts entered into pursuant to these provisions, including the use of a specified solutions-based procurement, and would authorize the department to use a savings-based compensation model.
(1) The Charter Schools Act of 1992 permits teachers and parents to petition the governing board of a school district to approve a charter school to operate independently from the existing school district structure as a method of accomplishing, among other things, improved pupil learning. Existing law exempts charter schools from the laws governing school districts except those of the Charter Schools Act, those establishing minimum age for public school attendance, specified building code regulations, and other specified laws. Existing law requires a charter school to comply with its charter and requires a charter to include the procedures that the school will follow to ensure the health and safety of pupils and staff, including the requirement that each employee of the school furnish the school with a criminal record summary. This bill would require a charter school to comply with all laws governing the health and safety of pupils and school employees. To the extent this bill would impose additional duties on charter schools, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Under existing law, the family temporary disability insurance program provides up to 6 weeks of wage replacement benefits to workers who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, domestic partner, or to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption. These benefits are payable for family temporary disability leaves that begin on and after July 1, 2004. This bill would expand the scope of the family temporary disability program to include time off to care for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or parent-in-law, as defined. The bill would also make conforming and clarifying changes in provisions relating to family temporary disability compensation, and would become operative on July 1, 2012. Under existing law, workers are required to pay contributions to the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund, a special fund in the State Treasury, and those funds are continuously appropriated for the purpose of providing disability benefits and making payment of expenses in administering those provisions. This bill, by authorizing expenditure of money in the Unemployment Compensation Disability Fund for a new purpose, would make an appropriation.
Existing law provides that, when a child is removed from his or her family by the juvenile court, placement of the child in foster care should secure, as nearly as possible, the custody, care, and discipline equivalent to that which should have been given the child by his or her parents. Existing law provides enumerated rights for children who are placed in foster care. Existing law establishes the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson to disseminate specified information, including the stated rights of foster youth, and to investigate and attempt to resolve complaints made by or on behalf of children placed in foster care, related to their care, placement, or services. This bill would enumerate rights for foster youth relating to mental health services. The bill would require the office, in consultation with various entities, to develop, no later than July 1, 2012, standardized information explaining the rights specified and to distribute this information to foster youth.
Existing law establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is responsible for administering various programs and services for the benefit of veterans. This bill would appropriate the sum of $7,300,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide for specified veterans' services.
Under existing law, the State Department of Public Health licenses and regulates hospitals, as defined. Violation of these provisions is a crime. Existing law requires hospitals, not less than annually, to conduct a security and safety assessment and, using the assessment, develop a security plan with measures to protect personnel, patients, and visitors from aggressive or violent behavior. Existing law provides that the plan may include, but is not limited to, prescribed considerations. This bill would, instead, require the plan to include these considerations, as well as other considerations prescribed by the bill. It would also require the hospital to adopt specified security policies as part of the plan. The bill would also require the hospital to evaluate and treat an employee who is involved in a violent incident and to provide specified followup care. The bill would prohibit a hospital from prohibiting an employee from, or taking punitive or retaliatory action against an employee for, seeking assistance from local emergency services or law enforcement when a violent incident occurs. Under existing law, an act of assault that results in injury or involves the use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon against on-duty hospital personnel is required to be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours of the occurrence of the incident. This bill would, instead, require reporting to law enforcement within 24 hours. This bill would also require a hospital to report incidents of assault or battery to the department, as specified. This bill would allow the imposition of a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $100 per day for each day that certain incidents are not reported, as prescribed. The bill would require the department to make an onsite inspection or investigation when it receives a report from a hospital that indicates an ongoing, urgent, or emergent threat of imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to patient, personnel, or visitors. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature, as prescribed, beginning on January 1, 2014, and annually thereafter until January 1, 2018, certain information regarding incidents of violence at hospitals. Under existing law, all hospital employees who are regularly assigned to the emergency department are required to receive, on a continuing basis as provided by the security plan, specified training. This bill would require training to be provided annually, and would include in the required training hospital employees who provide direct care to patients. Because this bill expands the definition of a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. Under existing law, the Corrections Standards Authority is required to establish minimum standards for state and local correctional facilities. This bill would require the standards to include a safety and security plan to protect health care personnel who provide care to persons confined in state and local correctional facilities, as specified. 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.
Existing law provides for the regulation of secondhand dealers, as defined, and makes it unlawful for a person to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer without a license issued by the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission. Existing law makes it a crime, punishable by specified fines or imprisonment, or both, if a person knowingly violates the provisions regulating secondhand dealers. Existing law authorizes the district attorney or the Attorney General to bring an action to enjoin a violation or threatened violation of the provisions regulating secondhand dealers. This bill would require a person conducting business as a secondhand dealer to provide a valid secondhand dealer's license to any peace officer upon demand and would authorize a peace officer to impound all tangible personal property found in the possession or control of the person if a secondhand dealer's license is not provided to the peace officer and the peace officer has probable cause to believe the property was acquired while the person was operating as a secondhand dealer without being licensed, except as specified. The bill would authorize the imposition of storage charges for personal property impounded pursuant to these provisions, would authorize the property to be stored up to 90 days, and would set forth requirements for the redemption, or the forfeiture and sale, of the impounded property. The bill would require an impounding agency to satisfy specified requirements regarding impounded property that has not been redeemed and would require the district attorney or city attorney to follow specified procedures relative to forfeiture and claims to the property. The bill would establish a $100 fee for asserting a claim to impounded property that is subject to forfeiture, would require the fee to be reimbursed to a prevailing claimant, and would, if a claimant does not prevail, require the fee to be distributed equally between the district attorney or city attorney and the Trial Court Trust Fund. The bill would also authorize a nonprofit association composed of 50 or more licensed secondhand dealers to bring an action to enjoin a person from conducting business as a secondhand dealer without being licensed and would authorize an association that prevails in such an action to be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of suit, as specified. Because a knowing violation of the bill's provisions by a person engaging in the business of a secondhand dealer would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.