Lieu Introduces Legislation to Help Military Families

AB 392 will help military families spend more time with their loved ones.

(Sacramento, CA) – Assembly Member Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) introduced AB 392, which allows the spouse of a military member who has deployed to take ten days of unpaid leave from their job to spend time with the military member when that person returns from an overseas deployment.

“Overseas conflicts, like Afghanistan and Iraq, put an enormous burden on military families by taking servicemen and women away from their spouses,” said Assemblyman Lieu.  “No one should be put in the position of losing their job because they want to spend time with their husband or wife.”

For our safety and security, families of our military service men and women sacrifice time spent with their loved ones.  AB 392 recognizes this sacrifice and ensures spouses of our men and women in uniform time off when their spouses return from service.

AB 392 applies to employers that employ 25 or more employees.  It requires an employee to give reasonable advance notice of their intention to take the leave, and requires the employee to submit written documentation certifying that the spouse will be on leave from deployment during the time the leave is taken.

Lieu, who previously served on active duty in the Air Force, has seen the burden of deployments on military families firsthand.  “Continuing conflicts have caused active-duty members, reservists, and National Guard members to be deployed for longer and longer stretches.  The least we can do is let them spend time with their loved ones when they come home.”

AB 392 will be referred to a legislative committee in the coming weeks.