Legislation/Policy

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California State Legislation

2013 Policy Agenda

Healthcare

SB 402 (DeLeon) Baby-Friendly Hospitals - Requires California hospitals to acheive Baby-Frinedly Designation or equivelent by 2020.  Fact Sheet 

Rationale:  Supports research and evidenced based practices which increase breastfeeding rates.

Employment

SB 761 (DeSaulnier) Paid Family Leave Anti-Retaliation - This law will protect workers who use their PFL benefits from employer retaliation.  Fact Sheet

Rationale:  PFL has been shown to double the median duration of breastfeeding for all new mothers who used it.  County of Los Angeles has the lowest utilzation of PFL.

SB 770 (Jackson): Paid Family Leave - Additional Family Members -Expands PFL covereage to include caring for grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and parents-in-law. Fact Sheet

Rationale: See above.  By supporting this expansion, grandparents could support new families returning to work by taking PFL.  This is consistent with the Surgeon Generals Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.

SB 252 (Liu): CalWORKS and Paid Family Leave Coordination:  Mandates improved communication between state agencies (DPH, DSS & EDD) to communicate access to Paid Family Leave information. Fact Sheet

Rationale:  See above.  LA County has the lowest utilization of PFL.

SB 404 (Jackson): FEHA and Familial Status Discrimination - Amends the Fair Employment and Housing Act definition to prevent discrimination and harrassment based on a persons familial status and responsibilities. Fact Sheet

Rationale:   New parents are at risk of discrimination based on their new responsibilities as parents.

2012 Policy Agenda

AB 2386 has been signed by Gov. Jerry Brown!  (See Breastfeeding Laws!)

SB 502 has been signed by Gov. Jerry Brown!

SB 502: Hospital Infant Feeding Protection Act - (De León and Pavley)

Starting January 1, 2014, requires all hospitals with perinatal units to have an infant feeding policy that promotes breastfeeding. This policy is to be based on the Baby-Friendly USA policy or the Department of Public Health's Model Policies. Both policies encourage breastfeeding in hospital settings. The policy must be routinely communicated to staff working on a perinatal unit.