BILL NUMBER: AB 2340 VETOED DATE: 09/25/2010 To Members of the California State Assembly: I am returning Assembly Bill 2340 without my signature. This bill would prohibit an employer from discharging, disciplining, or in any way discriminating against an employee for inquiring about, requesting, or taking up to three days of unpaid bereavement leave upon the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or domestic partner. The bill would allow an employee who believes he or she has been discharged, disciplined, or discriminated against to file a complaint with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement or bring a civil action in court. This bill is nearly identical to Senate Bill 549 (Corbett, 2007), which I vetoed. While well-intended, the choice of whether or not to offer unpaid bereavement leave should be left to the employer. Further, this bill would impose new and somewhat ambiguous burdens on businesses as well as subjecting them to new threats of litigation over California-specific employment laws. During this challenging economic period, I am unwilling to add new burdens on them and subject them to new grounds for lawsuits. For these reasons. I am returning this bill without my signature. Sincerely, Arnold Schwarzenegger