BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          AB 1001
                                                          Page  1

Date of Hearing:   May 26, 1999

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                    Carole Migden, Chairwoman

      AB 1001 (Villaraigosa) - As Amended: April 28, 1999 

Policy Committee:                              Housing and  
Community Development                          Vote:7-4
             Labor and Employment                   6-3

Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local  
Program:NoReimbursable:            

  SUMMARY  :

This bill increases the time allowed for filing a claim of  
employment discrimination based on sexual orientation from 30  
days to one year of an alleged incident.  (This is the effect of  
moving provisions governing such discrimination from the Labor  
Code to the Fair Employment and Housing Code.)

  FISCAL EFFECT  :

Estimated annual General Fund costs of about $450,000 to  
investigate the higher number of cases that probably be filed  
within the longer statute of limitations.

(The estimate is based on an analysis done by the Department of  
Fair Employment and Housing [DFEH] in 1997 for AB 257  
[Villaraigosa], which is substantially similar to this bill and  
was vetoed by Governor Wilson.  The analysis assumed that the  
350 additional investigations of discrimination would be  
conducted annually as a result of the bill.)

  COMMENTS  :

  1)Purpose  . According to the author, current law places  
  protection against discrimination of gay, lesbian, and  
  bisexual individuals in a completely different category from  
  other groups.  Gays thus do not have equivalent protection to  
  other California employees, who are protected by the Fair  
  Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).  In addition, the author  
  believes that a lack of awareness and the restrictive  
  deadlines of the Labor Code in comparison to FEHA make FEHA a  








                                                          AB 1001
                                                          Page  2

  preferable alternative to present California law.  

  2)Opposition  . Opponents of this bill argue that churches will be  
  forced to hire homosexual employees if this bill passes,  
  although nonprofit religious organizations are specifically  
  exempt from FEHA.  Opponents also object to providing  
  protection for a group of people whose behavior offends them.   
  Opponents object to giving homosexuals "minority status."   
  However, this bill does not create a new protected class  
  because discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual  
  orientation is already prohibited under current law.   This  
  bill simply provides the same statute of limitations,  
  administrative procedures, and remedies for all victims of  
  discrimination.

  Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)319-2081