Legislation to Help Military Families Passes Assembly Committee Unanimously

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

(Sacramento, CA) –AB 392, a bill by Assembly Member Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), which allows the spouse of an active duty soldier who is deployed overseas to take ten days of unpaid leave from their job to spend time with a spouse who is returning from deployment, was unanimously passed out of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.

“Given the current military situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is imperative that we ensure spouses have the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones upon return from deployment.” said Assemblyman Lieu, who formerly served active duty in the U.S. Air Force.  “No one should suffer a hardship from their employer when trying to take leave to spend time with a spouse on leave from deployment.”

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.

“This decompression time is essential to allowing soldiers to recover from their service, and to give families a chance to heal,” Lieu added.

AB 392 applies to employers which 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.  Similar legislation has been introduced in New York, Hawaii and Indiana.

AB 392 will be heard in the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs next.