Collective Bargaining

AB 646 (Atkins) – Oppose
Chapter No. 680

AB 646, by Assembly Member Toni Atkins, authorizes an employee organization, if a mediator is unable to effect settlement of a contract impasse within 30 days of his or her appointment, to request that the matter be submitted to a factfinding panel. 

The bill requires that the factfinding panel consist of one member selected by each party as well as a chairperson selected by the Public Employment Relations Board or by agreement of the parties. If the matter is not settled within 30 days, AB 646 would require the factfinding panel to make findings of fact and recommend terms of settlement, for advisory purposes only. 

AB 646 also requires that these findings and recommendations be first issued to the parties, but would require the public agency to make them publicly available within 10 days after their receipt. The bill requires all costs associated with the factfinding panel to be shared equally by the public agency and employee organization.

AB 646 additionally prohibits a public agency from implementing its last, best, and final offer until at least 10 days after the fact finders’ written findings of fact and recommended terms of settlement have been submitted to the parties and the agency has held a public hearing regarding the impasse.

AB 646 was signed by Governor Brown on October 9.

SB 857 (Lieu) – Oppose
Chapter No. 539

SB 857, by Senator Ted Lieu, will remove the authority of the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to award damages such as costs, expenses, and/or revenue losses resulting from an unlawful strike. Existing law provides PERB with the authority to investigate unfair labor practice charges and determine if those charges are justified; PERB is then able to assess any resulting damages.

This legislation is in response to a case decided by PERB in early 2010 (California Nurses Association v. Regents of the University of California [PERB Decision 2094-H]), which clarified that employee organizations may strike, but if a strike is called prior to completing impasse procedure, it is an unfair labor practice. PERB ruled in the case that such action can lead to the union being subject to damages incurred by the employer as a result of the premature strike and specified that only direct strike-related damages may be awarded (i.e., the cost of replacement workers or lost income). Additionally, PERB stated that any money the employer saves as a result of the strike must offset incurred damages.

Failure by the Legislature and appellate courts to overturn the decision prompted the introduction of SB 857, which was signed by the Governor on October 7.

Employee Rights

AB 22 (Mendoza) – Oppose Unless Amended
Chapter No. 724, Statutes of 2011

AB 22, by Assembly Member Tony Mendoza, restricts prospective employers from using consumer credit reports for employment purposes. The bill defines exempts the following from this restriction:

• A position within the Department of Justice
• Managerial position (consistent with Wage Order 4, Section 1 of the Industrial Welfare Commission)
• Position as a sworn peace officer or other law enforcement position
• Position for which credit report information is required by law
• Position requiring regular access to all of the following information for any one person: bank/credit card information, Social Security number, birthdate
• Position that involves access to confidential or proprietary information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, process or trade secret that (a) drives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons, who may obtain economic value from the disclosure or use of the information, and (b) is the subject of an effort that is reasonable under the circumstances to maintain secrecy of the information.
• Position that involves regular access to cash totaling $10,000 or more of the employer, a customer, or client, during the workday.

AB 22 was signed by the Governor on October 9.

AB 325 (Lowenthal) – Oppose Unless Amended
Vetoed by Governor

Assembly Bill 325, by Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal, would have provided employees (including temporary, seasonal and part-time) a right of up to three days of unpaid bereavement leave for the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or domestic partner with a three-month time allotment to complete the leave allowance.

AB 325 would have posed a problem for In-Home Supportive Services employees who do not work a traditional scheduled work week and because of the guarantee that bereavement leave can be used for up to three months, which is not typical of current leave policies and has the potential to conflict with policies for employees already receiving bereavement leave.

Governor Brown vetoed AB 325 on October 9 with the following message:

I am returning Assembly Bill 325 without my signature. Granting bereavement leave when a close family member dies is the moral and decent thing to do and I believe that the vast majority of employers voluntarily make such an accommodation for the loss of a loved one. I am also concerned that this measure adds a more far reaching private right to sue than is contained in related statutes.

AB 400 (Ma) – Oppose
Two-Year Bill

AB 400, by Assembly Member Fiona Ma, would establish the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2011. It would entitle an employee in California to paid sick days if he or she works seven or more days in a calendar year. 

Sick days would accrue at the rate of no less than one hour for every 30 hours worked. The employee would be able to use such sick days beginning on the 90th calendar day of employment. AB 400 also defines an employer to include public authorities, specifically In-Home Supportive Service Providers, and adds accrued sick leave to the list of required items an employer must provide as part of an employee’s wage statement.

AB 400 is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

AB 455 (Campos) – Oppose
Vetoed

AB 455, by Assembly Member Nora Campos, would have provided that when a local public agency has established a personnel commission or merit commission to administer personnel rules or a merit system, the public agency employer and the employee organization recognized as the exclusive or majority bargaining agent would each be required to designate half of the members of the commission. 

Governor Brown vetoed AB 455 on July 25 with the following message:

I am returning Assembly Bill 455 without my signature. This bill prescribes how all local merit or personnel commission members should be appointed. It requires that half of the members be selected by the employer and half by largest employee bargaining unit. While intended to create more balanced commissions and address concerns relating to individual commissions, this measure imposes a top down, one-size-fits-all solution on all merit and personnel commissions statewide. This measure seeks to impose a level of state control that is inconsistent with my administration’s efforts to realign state services and to increase local control. Concerns relating to specific commissions should be addressed on a case-by-case basis at the local level.

AB 1203 (Mendoza) – Oppose
Two Year Bill

AB 1203, by Assembly Member Tony Mendoza, would require local public agencies to provide paid leaves of absence to public agency employee representatives of recognized employee organizations when they are participating in the following activities:

• Formally meeting and conferring with public agency representatives within the scope of representation.
• Testifying, participating or representing the employee organization in conferences, hearings or other proceedings before the Public Employment Relations Board in matters relating to charges filed against the public agency by the employee organization.
• Testifying, participating or representing the employee organization at personnel and merit commission hearings, city council meetings and labor management committee hearings.

Amendments to AB 1203 removed language that would allow local collective bargaining agreements to provide for compensated leave time for participation in union activities. 

AB 1203 was held at the Senate Desk.

SB 922 (Steinberg) – Oppose
Chapter No. 431

SB 922, by President Pro tem Darrell Steinberg, specifies what must be included in a project labor agreement (PLA) and that a charter ordinance cannot be passed that would prohibit the use of PLAs. The following now must be included in a PLA: 

• Prohibition of discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or membership in a labor organization.
• Permission qualified contractors and subcontractors to bid regardless of whether they are part of a collective bargaining agreement.
• A drug-testing protocol and guarantee against work stoppages, strikes, lockouts, and similar project disruptions.
• Requirement that disputes over the PLA to be resolved by a neutral arbitrator.

CSAC maintained an oppose position on SB 922, as it interferes with local control and a county’s ability to make a decision to ban the use of PLAs on public works projects.

The Governor signed SB 922 on October 2.

Workers’ Compensation

AB 335 (Solorio) – Support
Chapter No. 544, Statutes of 2011

AB 335, by Assembly Member Jose Solorio, implements recommendations from the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC) related to mandatory workers’ compensation benefits notices.

In July 2010, CHSWC released its Report on Benefit Notices and Recommendations (Report), a culmination of work performed by a broad stakeholder group convened to examine ways of improving workers’ compensation benefit notices. The Report put forth recommendations and the necessary legislative steps to implement them. 

AB 335 requires the Administrative Director for the Division of Workers’ Compensation to work with CHSWC to develop new benefit notices that are sent by employers to injured workers; the notices must be written in easily understandable language.

Governor Brown signed AB 335 on October 7.

AB 375 (Skinner) – Oppose
Two-Year Bill

AB 375, by Assembly Member Nancy Skinner, would establish a presumption for workers’ compensation purposes when a hospital employee contracts a blood-borne infectious disease or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection.

AB 375 would also extend this presumption six months after the employee’s service has been terminated in the case a blood-borne illness is contracted and three months after termination of service in the case of neck or back impairment or the contraction of MRSA.

AB 375 is currently on the Senate Floor.

AB 378 (Solorio) – Oppose
Chapter No. 545

AB 378, by Assembly Member Jose Solorio, regulates the use of compounded medications, medical foods and co-packs in the workers’ compensation system. The bill requires the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation to adopt a fee schedule for compounded drug products and specifies that the fee for any of these products prescribed by a physician cannot exceed 120 percent of the physician’s costs.

In a report issued by the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, it was found that payments for such products has grown substantially and uncertainties about whether the products are medically appropriate and the costs are reasonable exist. The report suggested clarifying rules on when and how compounded medications can be used and adopted a fee schedule to regulate the costs associated with them.

Governor Brown signed AB 378 on October 7.

AB 584 (Fong) – Oppose
Vetoed

AB 584, by Assembly Member Paul Fong, would have required any physician or psychologist who conducts utilization review in workers’ compensation cases to be licensed in the State of California. CSAC and a broad coalition of public employer advocates opposed this measure because it would substantially limit the number of doctors available to perform utilization review services, thereby creating a logjam of cases that need to be reviewed. This limitation would drive up the cost of utilization review services.

Governor Brown vetoed AB 584 on October 7 with the following message:

I am returning Assembly Bill 584 without my signature. This bill would require that the physician conducting utilization review of requests for medical treatment in Workers Compensation claims be licensed in California. This requirement of using only California-licensed physicians to conduct utilization review in Workers Compensation cases would be an abrupt change and inconsistent with the manner in which utilization review is conducted by health care service plans under the Knox-Keene Act and by those regulated by the California Department of Insurance. I am not convinced that establishing a separate standard for Workers Compensation utilization review makes sense.

AB 947 (Solorio) – Oppose
Vetoed

AB 947, by Assembly Member Jose Solorio, would provide that, beginning January 1, 2012, if an injured worker requires medical treatment beyond 104 weeks to reach maximum medical improvement (MMI), temporary disability benefits may be extended up to 240 weeks by the physician to complete treatment. AB 947 prohibits the extension of additional temporary disability benefits if the need for the additional treatment was caused by the willful failure of the worker to undergo recommended medical treatment necessary to reach MMI.

The Governor vetoed AB 947 on October 7 with the following message:

I am returning Assembly Bill 947 without my signature. This bill would extend the requirement to pay workers’ compensation temporary disability payments for up to 240 weeks in cases where surgery or recovery from surgery occurs after the current 104 week temporary disability limit. It is vital that injured workers receive adequate compensation to provide for their needs when they are unable to work due to work related injuries. Workers’ compensation reforms, however, need to be addressed on a broad and balanced scale — ensuring workers receive adequate and timely benefits and treatment, while also ensuring that the costs of the system are sustainable.

AB 1168 (Pan) – Support
Chapter No. 555

AB 1168, by Assembly Member Richard Pan, would require, on or before January 1, 2013, the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation to adopt, after public hearings, a fee schedule that establishes reasonable maximum fees paid for services provided by vocational experts. This bill would prohibit a vocational expert from being paid, and prohibit the appeals board from allowing, vocational expert fees in excess of those established in the fee schedule.

The Governor signed AB 1168 on October 7.

SB 863 (Lieu) – Support
Inactive 

SB 863, by Senator Ted Lieu, would begin the process of reforming how liens are handled in the system’s adjudicatory process.

In January 2011, the Commission on Health Safety and Workers’ Compensation released its “Liens Report” (Report), a culmination of the work performed by a broad stakeholder group which was convened to characterize the lien problem so that policymakers can target proposed solutions and to quantify the problem so that the effects of such proposals can be estimated. According to the Report, approximately 350,000 workers’ compensation liens were filed in 2010 and over 450,000 more are expected to be filed in 2011. Medical treatment liens, the Report states, account for more than 60 percent of the liens filed and 80 percent of the dollars in dispute. Litigation over these liens is one of the fastest growing cost drivers in the workers’ compensation system.

SB 863 attempts to address these problems by taking five recommendations identified in the Report that will accomplish the following:

• Create a statute of limitations, effective prospectively based on date of services to bar any lien unless the service is billed in accordance with regulations and the lien is filed within a defined time following that service.
• Establish a statute of limitations to bar any lien for service, regardless of date of service, which is not filed within three years of the date of medical service.
• Eliminate implied liens for medical treatment or medical-legal expenses.
• Impose automatic dismissal by operation of law for any lien which is not activated for hearing within a finite time.
• Allow additional time for medical insurers to file liens for the reimbursement of sums paid for covered treatment.

SB 863 is currently on the Inactive File in the Senate.

Retirement Benefits

AB 344 (Furutani) – Oppose Unless Amended
Inactive

AB 344, by Assembly Member Warren Furutani, would, among other things, eliminate the ability of a retired annuitant to continue providing services to a public agency that is affiliated with CalPERS beyond 960 hours in a fiscal year. CSAC has maintained the argument that locally-elected officials who manage CalPERS-contracting agencies should determine the employment policies regarding their respective employees and the need for hiring retired annuitants.

This bill is currently on the Inactive File in the Senate.

AB 738 (Hagman) – Oppose
Two-Year Bill

AB 738, by Assembly Member Curt Hagman, would prohibit a person publicly elected to an office of any kind on and after January 1, 2012 from becoming a member of a retirement system or acquiring any retirement right or benefit for serving in that office. The provisions of AB 738 would also apply to a person appointed to fill the term of a person so elected.

AB 738 is currently in the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security Committee.

AB 1248 (Hueso) – Oppose
Inactive

AB 1248, by Assembly Member Ben Hueso, would require a local public employer to provide coverage under the federal social security system to all employees who are not covered under a defined benefit plan. The bill grandfathers in an employer’s alternate benefit plan for part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees in place on July 1, 2011, and grandfathers an employers’ defined contribution plan in place on July 1, 2011.

AB 1248 was placed on the Senate Inactive File.

AB 1320 (Allen) – Oppose
Inactive

AB 1320, by Assembly Member Michael Allen, would establish a Rate Stabilization Account (RSA) for each employer within the California Public Employees Retirement System and under the 1937 Act. The bill requires employers to make payments to the account when the actuarial value of assets exceeds the accrued liability, which will be calculated based on the employer normal cost of benefits and which will be credited to each employer’s RSA. AB 1320 also provides that the assets in the account be drawn upon to pay a portion of the employer contribution when the employer contribution rate is greater than the employer normal cost of benefits.

AB 1320 was placed on the Inactive File in the Assembly.

SB 27 (Simitian) – Oppose Unless Amended
Two-Year Bill

SB 27, by Senator Joseph Simitian, amends the Public Employees Retirement Law and the State Teacher’s Retirement System law to limit those items that can be included in the calculation of final compensation for the purpose of prohibiting pension spiking; the bill also prohibits members who retire from public pension systems on or after January 1, 2013 from providing services to an employer covered by a state or local retirement system until the retiree has had a bona fide separation from service for at least six months. 

CSAC has an “Oppose Unless Amended” position on SB 27, and has requested that the author delete the section of the bill requiring a six-month separation from service prior to a retiree returning to work. The future of SB 27 is unclear, as pension reform will be addressed on a broader basis in the upcoming conference committee meetings.

SB 523 (Walters) – Oppose
Two-Year Bill

SB 523, by Senator Mimi Walters, would prohibit a person publicly elected to an office of any kind on and after January 1, 2012 from becoming a member of a retirement system or acquiring any retirement right or benefit for serving in that office. The provisions of SB 523 would also apply to a person appointed to fill the term of a person so elected.

SB 523 is currently in the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee.

Workforce Development

SB 734 (DeSaulnier) – Oppose
Chapter No. 498

SB 734, by Senator Mark DeSaulnier, would require (beginning program year 2012) that at least 25 percent of federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funds provided to local workforce investment boards (WIBs) be spent on workforce training programs. SB 734 would increase this percentage to 30 percent beginning in program year 2016.

The bill also specifies that the expenditures that shall count towards the above requirement shall include only training services as defined under specified federal law.

The Governor signed SB 734 on October 6.

Compensation Disclosure

SB 46 (Correa) – Oppose
Two-Year Bill

SB 46, by Senator Lou Correa, would require public officials to file annual compensation disclosure forms. SB 46 applies to those who file Statements of Economic Interest (also known as the Form 700), specifically state, county, and city elected officials and key state, county, and city appointed officials. The bill also applies to state and local officials who are designated employees under their agencies’ conflict of interest codes.

By October 1, 2011, the State Controller must adopt emergency regulations to implement the bill’s requirements. SB 46 requires the State Controller’s regulations to include the format of the compensation disclosure form, including: 

• The public agency’s cost of the public official’s annual salary or stipend.
• The public agency’s cost to provide benefits to the public official.
• The public agency’s reimbursements for the public official’s expenses.
• The public agency’s cost of the public official’s perquisites.
• When the public official completed ethics training, if applicable.

A public official must disclose any amounts received from another entity if the other governing board shares membership with the public agency.

SB 46 is currently at the Assembly Desk.