Public Sector News
PERB Protects Public Employees’ Right to Display Union Magnets on Work Vehicles
Public employees in California have a right to display union insignia and slogans. In Teamsters Local 2010 v. Regents of the University of California, the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) held this right encompasses the display of Union magnets and stickers on employees’ assigned vehicles. PERB also held that a public employer trying to defend its policy restricting employee rights, must present concrete evidence of the special circumstances it claims warrant the restriction. Mere speculation that the special circumstance the employer claims necessitates the restriction could exist is insufficient.
AB 1457: Eligibility Workers Must Be Merit System or Civil Service System Employees
Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1457 will ensure that the important job of determining eligibility for numerous state and federal benefits will be performed by Eligibility Workers who are public sector merit system or civil service system employees.
AB 1: California Lets Legislative Staffers Unionize
On October 7, 2023, Governor Newsom announced that he signed the Legislature Employer-Employee Relations Act into law (Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1). The Act permits employees of the Legislature to unionize and collectively bargain with their employers. These employers are the Assembly Committee on Rules and the Senate Committee on Rules.
AB 1273 Seeks to Ensure Adequate Student-Staff Ratios Among Classified School Employees
On October 7, 2023 Governor Newsom signed legislation designed to be the first step toward guaranteeing a proper staff-to-student ratio among California’s classified school employees. Classified employees are those who are not in positions requiring certification, such as teacher aides, secretaries, bus drivers, and school security officers. AB 1273 sets up a Classified Employee Staffing Ratio Workgroup that will report back to lawmakers its recommendations for guidelines as to what amount of staffing is considered adequate among various groups of school support staff.
AB 96 Requires Public Transit Employers to Bargain Over Disruptive Autonomous Vehicle Technology
A new California law requires public transit employers to notify and bargain with unions before taking steps to acquire or deploy autonomous transit vehicle technology for public transit services that would eliminate job functions or jobs. By requiring written notice and bargaining before even preliminary steps are taken by the employer, this law provides unions with greater opportunity to protect their members from the potentially disruptive effects of autonomous vehicle technology.
AB 1484: Protecting the Rights of Temporary Workers in the Public Sector
California public sector agencies have increasingly relied on temporary workers to fill a wide range of duties that often entail identical or very similar work duties to those of permanent employees. In reality, these workers are not actually temporary, but may occupy these positions for many years—or indefinitely—without any promise of permanent employment. Labor advocates are concerned about public employers’ over-reliance on temporary workers, who are disproportionately women and people of color, because these workers are often paid lower wages, receive fewer benefits, and enjoy less job security. Reliance on temporary workers rather than permanent employees intensifies race and gender inequalities that already exist in the workplace.
SB 432: Retired Teachers are now Protected from Penalties due to Errors made by CalSTRS and SB 765: Temporary Increase to Allowable Pay for Retired Teachers who Return to Work
The California Governor signed two bills affecting retired public school teachers: Senate Bill (“SB”) 432 and SB 765.
AB 520: Public Agencies can now be held Jointly Liable for Contractors’ Unpaid Wages
Currently, in California in the property services and long-term healthcare industries, an individual or business that contracts for services can be held jointly and severally liable for any unpaid wages (including interest) if a few requirements are met. First, that entity was provided notice of a proceeding or investigation by the Labor Commissioner. Second, the Labor Commissioner found the employer liable for unpaid wages. Third, some or all of those wages were for services performed under the service contract.
AB 722: Job Protection for Unionized Doctors at Alameda Health System Extended to 2035
Alameda Health System (“AHS”) is responsible for providing indigent care within Alameda County. Currently, AHS is prohibited from entering into a contract with a person/entity that would replace services being provided by unionized physicians and surgeons who are employed by AHS, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the needed medical care can only be delivered cost effectively by the other person/entity. However, this requirement was set to expire on January 1, 2024.
Public Entities Cannot Hide Behind a Private Entity to Escape PERB’s Jurisdiction
In a rare procedural posture, the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”), rather than an administrative law judge, issued a post-hearing decision in El Camino Healthcare District (Aug. 15, 2023) PERB Dec. No. 2868-M. WRR represented the charging party union in this case. The case involved the application of the single/joint employer test from County of Ventura (2018) PERB Dec. No. 2600-M.
Court of Appeal finds that the California Labor Code Applies to Alameda Health System
In Stone v. Alameda Health System (2023) 88 Cal.App.5th 84 (review granted), Plaintiffs, a Medical Assistant and a Licensed Vocational Nurse employed by Alameda Health System (“AHS”), sued AHS alleging seven claims:
After Decades, City and County of San Francisco Workers Regain the Right to Strike
San Francisco public employees and their unions have won a major victory in their fight for power and dignity. The state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has ruled in City and County of San Francisco (2023) PERB Decision No. 2867-M that the city’s charter provisions that prohibit city workers from striking are void and unenforceable. Two unions challenged the charter provisions, Service Employees International Union Local 1021 ("SEIU Local 1021”) and International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21, with WRR representing SEIU Local 1021 in this case from its inception.
PERB Reinforces Unions’ Broad Right to Obtain Information from Public Employers
In Butte-Glenn Community College District, PERB found that “an employer responding to a request for information from an exclusive representative may be required to compile information from multiple records, management agents, and other sources, unless it can prove that doing so would be unduly burdensome.” PERB explained that an employer may even be required to rely on employer representatives’ memories to respond to the information request. As such, an employer’s duty to respond to information requests requires consulting various sources of information and not merely documents an employer may have in its possession. In so deciding, PERB has made it even more difficult for an employer to assert and demonstrate that responding to a request for information (RFI) is unduly burdensome.
PERB confirms that electronic proof of support documents cannot be used in decertification petitions
For most of the history of public sector labor law in California, only proof of support documents with “original signatures”—meaning ink or “wet” signatures—were permitted to initiate the representation and decertification proceedings. This changed with the revisions to Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) Regulation 32700 in 2021, which allowed the use of “electronically signed proofs of support” in representation petitions. Now, in a recent decision called Pasadena Area Community College District (Jan. 11, 2023) PERB Order No. Ad-500, PERB confirmed what appeared clear from the text of this revised regulation—electronically signed proof of support documents are not allowed in decertification cases.
Court of Appeal confirms limits to the disclosure of union represented State workers’ contact information related to the collective bargaining process with the State
The largest strike in higher education ended just days before the new year, bringing as many as 48,000 academic student employees back to work from the picket line. For six weeks, UAW Local 2865—which represents teaching assistants, tutors, graders, and readers across the University of California system—had coordinated the strike with a bargaining unit composed of student researchers. Consequently, academic student employees represented by UAW Local 2865 may see wage increases of up to 66% over the course of the union’s tentative agreement with the UC system. Additionally, for the first time in their history, student researchers will have a collective bargaining agreement in the UC system.
Largest Higher-Education Strike in U.S. History Ends in Tentative Agreement
The largest strike in higher education ended just days before the new year, bringing as many as 48,000 academic student employees back to work from the picket line. For six weeks, UAW Local 2865—which represents teaching assistants, tutors, graders, and readers across the University of California system—had coordinated the strike with a bargaining unit composed of student researchers. Consequently, academic student employees represented by UAW Local 2865 may see wage increases of up to 66% over the course of the union’s tentative agreement with the UC system. Additionally, for the first time in their history, student researchers will have a collective bargaining agreement in the UC system.
SB 931 Makes Employers Pay for Deterring or Discouraging Union Activity
Under existing California law, it is unlawful for government employers to “deter or discourage” employees from becoming or remaining members of a union. The law ensures that public sector employees can make their own decisions about whether to belong to the union, free from pressure or coercion from their employer.
Ensuring Union Access to Public Sector Workers at New Employee Orientations (SB 191)
A union is its members. An employee organization must be able to access and empower workers, who in turn come together to improve the conditions in their workplace. Senate Bill 191 holds potential as a powerful organizing tool by ensuring a union’s right to access newly employed public sector workers in person at the worksite during working hours.
SB 1334 Guarantees Meal and Rest Break Rights for Public Sector Health Care Workers
With the passage of Senate Bill 1334, California’s public sector health care workers are now guaranteed meal and rest breaks, just like private sector employees. This is a tremendous victory for these front-line healthcare heroes, who have spent the past three years not only battling the COVID-19 pandemic, but also mental and physical exhaustion tied to severe understaffing.
AB 1667 Shields Retired Teachers from Benefit Clawbacks, Increases Transparency
Retired teachers across the State of California receive pension payments from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (“CalSTRS”). But when they receive mistaken overpayments from CalSTRS—sometimes over a period of years—do they have to pay those overpayments back to CalSTRS?