AB 1383
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1383 (Jones)
As Amended May 28, 2015
Majority vote
Committee
Labor
Votes
7-0
Ayes
Roger Hernández, Harper,
Chu, Low, McCarty,
Patterson, Thurmond
Appropriations
17-0
Gomez, Bigelow, Bonta,
Calderon, Chang, Daly,
Eggman, Gallagher,
Eduardo Garcia, Gordon,
Holden, Jones, Quirk,
Rendon, Wagner, Weber,
Wood
Noes
SUMMARY: Establishes the "Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act" for
employers to grant a veteran preference in hiring, and expands the veteran’s preference exception to
all veterans, regardless of when they served.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Provides that it is unlawful for any employer to discriminate against, to refuse to hire or employ
a person or to refuse to select or train that person in any apprenticeship training program or any
other training program leading to employment because of the race, religious creed, color,
national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic
information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual
orientation, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
2) Provides that it is unlawful for an employer, labor organization, employment agency,
apprenticeship training program or any training program leading to employment, or any other
person, because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability,
mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender
identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status, to harass an
employee, an applicant, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract.
3) Allows employers, under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to use
veterans' status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam–era
veterans.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, ongoing General Fund
administrative costs to the Department of Veteran Affairs in the range of $195,000 to $365,000. It is
difficult to estimate the number of inquiries the department would receive related to veteran
verification. There are 2 million veterans in California; roughly half are of working age. For
illustration, if the department were to process 2,500 inquires annually; administrative costs would be
in the lower end of this range.
AB 1383
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COMMENTS: The author points out, that currently California already has a veteran's preference
exception in Government Code Section 12940(a)(4) and argues the problem with the existing law is
that it is arguably outdated and narrow. In its current state, this veteran's preference exception only
applies to Vietnam War era veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination
claims. This is problematic because the amount of Vietnam War era veterans who are looking to
utilize this preference exception is steadily declining due to the fact that many of these veterans are
no longer searching for employment. Also, it omits any veteran that did not serve in the Vietnam
War era and clearly limits the amount of people who can use this veteran's preference.
The author is seeking to correct an outdated law, which only allows for a business to create a
preference for Vietnam War era veterans. While the original legislation was relevant when first
adopted, the existing law is now lacking because it only provides preference to Vietnam War era
veterans, and does not encompass all veterans.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, similar veteran's preference laws have
recently been enacted in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Also, similar measures are currently pending in
Alaska, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
and Utah.
Supporters state that despite the popular nature of these bills and a universal desire to assist veterans,
some employers and human resource professionals have expressed concern that exercising such a
preference might inadvertently create litigation under state or local anti-discrimination laws. This
law allows an employer to establish a voluntary veterans hiring preference policy and clarifies that
exercising such a preference would not violate state or local anti-discrimination laws. Lastly, they
state that by limiting this preference to hiring decisions, this bill is narrowly focused and intended to
remedy the immediate problem of higher than normal unemployment rates for veterans and removes
veteran-related hiring barriers.
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
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