SACRAMENTO – A bill that will extend family leave rights to military families passed the California State Assembly with overwhelming bipartisan support Wednesday.  The measure is Assembly Bill 2134 by Assemblymember Sandré R. Swanson (D-Oakland).  The bill passed the Assembly floor on a 63-0 vote.

On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.  Among other things, the Act significantly broadened the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to support military families.

Specifically, the Federal bill provides two things.  First, it provided up to 26 weeks of leave for family members caring for military veterans who are injured while on active duty in the United States Armed Forces.  The amendments permit a "spouse, son, daughter, parent or next of kin" to take the leave.  Second, the Federal bill allows family members to take up to 12 weeks of leave for "any qualifying exigency" that arises when a family member is on active duty or is notified of an impending call to duty in support of a military operation.

This bill conforms the state law CFRA to the recent amendments to the Federal FMLA so that the military leave provisions are expressly contained in State law as well. 

In addition, this bill expands the list of eligible family members who are able to take leave to care for a member of the military to include eligible "siblings, grandparents and grandchildren."

"The President rightly agreed that our family leave laws need special provisions to assist military families who need to care for returning military veterans," said Swanson.  "The Governor vetoed my legislation last year that would have expanded California's unpaid family leave laws to include other family members.  That's the Governor's prerogative.  But I hope he agrees that at least military families, in the largest sense of the word, should have this protection."

The bill next heads to the California State Senate.