Proposition 32, the Political Contributions by Payroll Deduction
Initiative, failed on Tuesday after receiving only 43.9% of the
vote. If passed, Prop 32 would have, among other things,
prohibited unions from using payroll-deducted funds for political
purposes and applied that same use prohibition to payroll
deductions by corporations or government contractors. Other
political expenditures, including corporate spending from those
resources not limited by the payroll deduction prohibition, would
have remained unrestricted.
AB 537 Would Undermine Local Rulemaking in Collective Bargaining
Procedures
A bill authored by Assembly Member Rob Bonta would make changes
that are contrary to the central premise of the
Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), the collective bargaining law
that has governed local public agencies since 1968 and permits
each local agency to enact its own reasonable rules and
regulations for governing employee relations.
Public Employment Relations Board Hears Oral Argument; Approves
Rulemaking Package
In a rare acceptance of oral argument, the Public Employment
Relations Board (PERB) met June 13 to hear oral argument
in City of Lompoc v. Lompoc Police Officers Association;
Lompoc Police Officers Association v. City of Lompoc.
For the purpose of ensuring that timely updates and
employee-related health information are received, the California
Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) is conducting a
review of its contact information for all Health Benefit Officers
and Assistant Health Benefit Officers.
CalPERS Issues Update to Implementation of Pension Reform
On May 28, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System
(CalPERS) issued a circular
letter to inform all employers about an upcoming system
change related to the implementation of the Public Employees’
Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) of 2013.
AB 252 (Yamada) – Oppose
As Amended on April 2, 2013
AB 252, by Assembly Member Mariko Yamada, would, for employees
hired on or after January 1, 2014, place restrictions on when
they may be represented by their employer as a social worker. The
employee must possess a degree from an accredited school of
social work to be classified as such.
US Department of Labor Issues Guidance on the Requirement to
Notify Employees of Healthcare Coverage Options
The Affordable Care Act creates a new Fair Labor Standards Act
(FLSA) section 18B that requires employers give notice to
employees of coverage options available through the Health
Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace), previously called the Health
Benefit Exchange. In California the Health Benefit Exchange is
called Covered California.
CalPERS Board to Review Proposed PEPRA Regulations Next Week
Next week the Pension & Health Benefits Committee of the
California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the
full CalPERS Board will review proposed regulations for the
continued implementation of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform
Act of 2013 (PEPRA). The proposed regulations address the
following areas:
SB 570 (DeSaulnier) – Oppose Unless Amended
As Amended on April 16, 2013
Senate Bill 570, by Senator Mark DeSaulnier would, within statute
governing the Public Records Act, require public agencies to
accept credit cards as payment for a copy of a public record when
the record is 20 or fewer pages in length. The bill would
additionally prohibits a public agency from charging for copies
of records when:
Bills Aimed at Taking Local Rules out of Labor Negotiations to be
heard April 24
CSAC remains strongly opposed to legislation that will
fundamentally alter the local relationship between counties and
employee representatives. The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), the
collective bargaining law that has governed local public agencies
since 1968, permits each agency to enact local rules to address
many of the elements of labor relations.
Counties will recall that Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 863
(Chapter 363, Statutes of 2012) last September, the
CSAC-supported workers’ compensation reform measure that, among
other things, increased permanent disability benefits to injured
workers while making necessary administrative and procedural
changes within the system.
Legislation Would Alter Relationship Between County Employers and
Employee Representatives
Two bills that were introduced as spot bills have been amended
recently and will fundamentally alter the local relationship
between counties and employee representatives.
CalPERS Proposes to Modify Amortization and Smoothing Policies
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has
accepted a staff recommendation to modify the actuarial polices
used to set employer contribution rates. The policy changes were
adopted as a “first read” and will be considered in further
detail in April.
Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBOR)
AB 398 (Fox) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 15, 2013
Assembly Bill 398, by Assembly Member Steve Fox, would add
coroners and deputy coroners under the protection of the Public
Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBOR). POBOR
contains procedures to be followed whenever any public safety
officer is subject to investigation for alleged misconduct which
may result in punitive action.
Several bills have been introduced that would expand California’s
Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which currently prohibits
employers from denying an individual’s right to seek, obtain and
hold employment based on race, religious creed, color, national
origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical
condition, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, age or
sexual orientation.
AB 556 (Salas) – Pending
As Introduced on February 20, 2013
AB 263 (Hernandez, R.) – Request for Comment
As Introduced on February 7, 2013
Assembly Bill 263, by Assembly Member Roger Hernandez, would
prohibit an employer from engaging in, or directing another
person to engage in, an unfair immigration-related document
practice against a person for the purpose of, or with the intent
of, retaliating against a person for exercising a right protected
under state labor and employment laws or under a local ordinance
applicable to employees.
Governor Brown last week announced two appointments to the Public
Employment Relations Board (PERB). PERB is the state agency that
administers the collective bargaining statutes which cover public
school employees, state employees, employees of local public
agencies (cities, counties and special districts), and trial
court employees. The Governor appointed:
Federal Immigration Reform Framework Released; Contains
Employment Proposals
In a bipartisan effort to reform the federal immigration process,
Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), John McCain (R-AZ), Dick Durbin
(D-IL), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Marco
Rubio (R-FL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Jeffrey Flake (R-AZ)
released a framework for comprehensive reform they say will
streamline and modernize the system. The group stated its
intention to introduce actual legislation in the next couple of
weeks.
Legislation to Allow Implementation of Orange County’s Hybrid
Pension Plan Re-Introduced in Congress
United States Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA-46) last week
re-introduced legislation to revise an Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) Ruling and thereby allow Orange County to fully implement
its hybrid pension plan. That plan, first adopted in 2010, allows
new hires to choose between its current pension formula and a
lower benefit formula that is combined with a 401K-style defined
contribution plan, with the county matching those contributions
up to six percent.
CalPERS Provides Pension Reform Information Source
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
offers a frequently-updated page on its website to educate
members on the impacts of the 2012 Public Employees Pension
Reform Act (PEPRA). The information can be found here,
and includes a Frequently Asked Questions section, access to a
training course on changes to the my|CalPERS system as a
result of PEPRA and a summary of the actual law.
Governor States Plans to Bring Labor and Business Together to
Address UI Fund Deficit
In his budget proposal released yesterday, Governor Brown stated
his intent for the Secretary for Labor and Workforce Development
to bring together business and labor in a series of meetings for
the purpose of addressing the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Fund
deficit.
California Supreme Court Rules that Prevailing Defendants in
Disability Access Lawsuits Can Recover Attorney Fees
The California Supreme Court on Tuesday, in Jankey
v. Lee, ruled that a prevailing defendant in a lawsuit
filed for injunctive relief regarding disability access is
entitled to recover attorney fees.
CalPERS’ Board Votes to Sponsor 2013 Legislation to ‘Clean Up’
Governing Law
In an effort to maintain good governance and clarity of the
existing Government Code statute administered by the California
Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the CalPERS’ Board
of Administration this week voted to sponsor legislation to make
policy and technical changes to various sections of the Public
Employees Retirement Law (PERL). The changes reflect areas that
CalPERS staff believes have not been kept current with CalPERS’
duties.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
issued a Circular Letter on December 3 to all CalPERS employers
that provides updated information on the implementation of the
Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013. Among other things,
the letter states that CalPERS will provide employers this month
with the benefit formula and contribution rates that are
effective January 1, 2013 for new members. The full text of the
letter can be viewed here.
Reminder: 2013 W-2s Must Include Group Health Plan Coverage Cost
Starting with taxable year 2012 (W-2s are due in January 2013),
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that
employers sponsoring group health plans, including federal, state
and local employers that filed at least 250 W-2s in the previous
year, include the value of the group health plan benefits on
employees’ W-2s. The value must be reported in Box 12 of the W-2
and include both the portion paid by the employer and, if
applicable, that paid by the employee.
CalPERS to Raise Premiums for Long-Term Care Insurance
Due to lower-than-expected investment returns and
higher-than-normal claims volume, the California Public
Employees’ Retirement Board of Administration (Board) this week
approved an 85 percent increase in premium rates for its
long-term care (LTC) insurance program that will affect roughly
three-fourths of all CalPERS LTC policy holders.
CSAC and the law firm Hanson Bridgett are providing a pension
reform webinar to discuss your questions regarding the new
California pension reform bill.
The Governor signed AB 340 and AB 197, collectively the
California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013, into law
on September 12, 2012. The new law is complex, leaves open many
issues, and raises many questions.
Governor Brown on Tuesday, September 28, signed Senate Bill 863,
a bill to overhaul the workers’ compensation system. Counties
will recall that the measure will increase permanent disability
benefits for injured workers while decreasing frictional systemic
costs for employers through, among other things, increased
oversight over medical provider networks (MPNs) and the
establishment of an independent medical review system (IMR) to
decrease unnecessary litigation.
Governor Brown on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 863, the workers’
compensation system reform measure intended to increase permanent
disability benefits for injured workers while decreasing
frictional systemic costs for employers through, among other
things, increased oversight over medical provider networks (MPNs)
and the establishment of an independent medical review system
(IMR) to decrease unnecessary litigation.
ADA Bill Would Place Fee on Business License Applications
SB 1186, by Senators Darrell Steinberg and Bob Dutton, addresses
disability access issues and will significantly change state
rules on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits. Among
other things, SB 1186 will reduce minimum damages for ADA
violations if the defendant hired a Certified Access Specialist
(CASp) and prevent the stacking of multiple claims of ADA
violation to increase statutory damages.
AB 2451 (Perez, J.) - Oppose
As amended on August 21, 2012
AB 2451, by Assembly Speaker John A. Perez,
would previously have allowed dependents of a
firefighter or peace officer who dies of certain occupational
ailments to file for workers’ compensation death benefits from
one year of the date of death, irrespective of the date of
injury. Those ailments are: heart disease, hernias, pneumonia,
cancer, tuberculosis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA) and blood borne infectious diseases
Media is reporting that a small group of private employers and
members of the labor community expect to introduce end-of-session
legislation to increase permanent disability benefits provided to
injured workers. Parties to the negotiations insist that any
increased payments can be funded with savings created through
other reforms in the system and will not result in increased
insurance premiums on employers. Governor Jerry Brown and his
administration have not commented.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS)
Board of Administration (Board) on Tuesday announced the
appointment of Bill Slaton to the Board by Governor Jerry Brown.
Slaton will serve on the Board as the local government elected
official, previously served by past CSAC President, Tony
Oliveira.
Slaton is the current vice president of the Sacramento Municipal
Utilities District Board and former chairman of the board for
Sacramento’s public television station.
Legislative leaders last week pledged their dedication to
presenting a public pension reform package upon their return from
summer recess (August 6). They then have until August 31 to
send the package to Governor Brown for signing.
Assembly Bill 1831, by Assembly Member Roger Dickinson, would
prohibit local agencies from inquiring into the criminal history
of an applicant on any initial employment application (unless the
position is one for which a criminal history background check is
already required by law). Local agencies would, however, retain
the ability to consider the applicant’s criminal history once the
agency has determined he or she meets the minimum employment
requirements.
California Public Employment Relations Board Approves Factfinding
Regulations
At its June 14, 2012 meeting, the California Public Employment
Relations Board (PERB) moved forward to replace the existing
emergency regulations governing the facfinding process with
identical permanent regulations.
The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, chaired by Senator
Mark Leno, yesterday approved the Corrections and Rehabilitation
budget trailer bill that includes the cleanup language for AB
1028, concerning retired annuitants.
Employee Rights Expansion Bills Placed on Suspense File Heard
Today in Assembly Appropriations Committee
The Assembly Appropriations Committee met today to hear bills
that were placed on the Suspense File as they were estimated to
impose State costs of more than $150,000. Among the legislation
were bills aiming to expand employee rights, including under the
California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and the
California Family Rights Act (CFRA), both intended to prevent
unlawful employee discrimination.
Budget Trailer Language Proposed to Remedy Retired Annuitant
Confusion
Counties will recall that Assembly Bill 1028 (Chapter No. 440,
Statutes of 2011), sponsored by the California Public Employees’
Retirement System (CalPERS), amended the Public Employees’
Retirement Law regarding the requirement that a public agency
retiree cannot work for a state or public employer for more than
960 hours per fiscal year without being reinstated from
retirement.
