CSAC Seeks Amendments to AB 1606

AB 1606, by Assembly Member Henry Perea, would clarify that that the factfinding procedure, established in last year’s AB 646 (Chapter 680, Statutes of 2011), may be sought by a union even if mediation is not required by local dispute procedures. 

While this clarification is consistent with the existing Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) regulation of factfinding, CSAC is seeking an amendment to conform the proposed language in AB 1606 to the exact language of the regulation. In addition, CSAC seeks to clarify the scope of the factfinding procedure by limiting it to disputes regarding the negotiation of a successor Memoranda of Understanding. Without this narrowing of the scope of factfinding, counties could be subject to requests for factfinding over any dispute with employees that may arise after contract negotiations have concluded. Below is the text of the amendments CSAC has requested. We encourage counties to contact Assembly Member Perea’s office in support of these amendments.

Amendment # 1
Gov’t Code section 3505.4. Request for submission to factfinding panel; members; chairperson; powers; criteria for findings and recommendations

(a) If the employee organization may request that the parties’ differences be submitted to a factfinding panel not sooner than 30 days, but not more than 45 days, following the appointment or selection of a mediator pursuant to the parties’ agreement to mediate or a mediation process required by a public agency’s local rules. If the dispute was not submitted to mediation, an employee organization may request that the parties’ differences be submitted to a factfinding panel not later than 30 days following the date that either party provided the other with a written notice of a declaration of impasse. Within five days after receipt of the written request, each party shall select a person to serve as its member of the factfinding panel. The Public Employment Relations Board shall, within five days after the selection of panel members by the parties, select a chairperson of the factfinding panel.

Amendment #2
The factfinding procedure contained in Government Code section 3505.4 is limited to contract negotiations for successor Memoranda of Understanding.

Pension Reform Initiative Cleared for Signature Gathering

The Secretary of State on Tuesday cleared an initiative for signature gathering that, if passed, would implement the hybrid pension plan proposal Governor Brown included in his 12-Point Pension Reform Plan last October. 

Counties will recall that this plan, which public agencies would be required to offer to employees hired after January 1, 2013, is a single retirement structure designed to achieve 75 percent wage replacement upon retirement. For those local agencies participating in Social Security, the make-up of the plan would be: a one-third defined benefit component, a one-third defined contribution (to be managed professionally) component and one-third Social Security. For those local agencies not participating in Social Security, the components of the hybrid plan would be: two-thirds defined benefit and one-third defined contribution. Additionally, the minimum retirement age for safety members would be 52 and 57 for miscellaneous members and all current and future plan members would be required to pay annually at least half of the projected costs of their pension plan’s defined benefit.

Proponents for the proposed initiative must now collect 807,615 signatures by October 7, 2012 to qualify for the June 2014 ballot.

Federal Legislation Introduced to Provide Further Protection for Pregnant Employees

A bill introduced in Congress last week by Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Susan Davis (D-CA) and Marcia Fudge (D-OH) would require employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), or H.R. 5647, would also prevent employers from using an employee’s pregnancy as a basis for which to deny job opportunities or to force a pregnant employee to take leave if a reasonable accommodation would allow her to perform her duties of employment. Employers would additionally be unable to require a pregnant employee to accept modified work if she does not want it. H.R. 5647 will now be referred to a House policy committee and CSAC will keep you apprised of further action on the bill.