Category: Court Decisions

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Taking the Battle to the Courts of Appeal

It's no secret that employers are finding themselves on the losing end of more and more cases at PERB. So it shouldn't be a surprise that there are a record number of PERB cases being challenged in the Courts of Appeal. As of today, there are 17 cases in the Courts of Appeal. I have to believe that this is far and away the most cases PERB has ever had challenged at one time. Historically, a party trying to overturn a PERB decision faces long odds as the Courts of Appeal give PERB a lot of deference as an expert…

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Supreme Court: Not Yet Time to Examine “California Rule” On Pensions

Cal Fire Local 2881 et al. v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System et al. (State of California) (2019) Case No. S239958 (Issued on 3/4/19) Today the California Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in the Cal Fire case. The issue was whether PEPRA unlawfully eliminated the opportunity for employees to purchase "air time" service credit. The Court held that because the Legislature did not intend to create a contractual right to the purchase of air time, there was no contractual impairment when that option was eliminated. Further, the Court held that air time was not a core pension right because it was not granted as deferred compensation…

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Cal Fire Oral Argument Highlights

Shutterstock 254582680 Cal Fire Local 2881 et al. v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System et al. (State of California), S239958

The California Supreme Court held oral arguments in the Cal Fire case this morning.  Cal Fire is an “anti-spiking” pension case. The specific issue is whether the State properly eliminated the option to purchase “air-time” as part of PEPRA. Here is an initial quick summary:

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Supreme Court: San Diego Must Bargain Pension Reform Measure

Boling v PERB (Cal. Supreme Court Case No. S242034) In 2012, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders helped launch the “Citizens Pension Reform Initiative” (CPRI) in an effort to address the unsustainability of the City’s pension obligations. CPRI supporters gathered enough signatures to qualify the CPRI for the ballot. In November 2012, over 65% of the citizens of San Diego voiced their support for pension reform by voting for the CPRI. The unions then filed unfair practice charges against the City arguing that Mayor Sanders was acting in his official capacity in supporting the CPRI and therefore the City had an…

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The Next Battle After Janus: Seeking Retroactive Fees

Rebecca Friedrichs is back. But for the death of Justice Scalia, everyone would be talking about "Friedrichs" instead of Mark Janus. But earlier this month, Friedrichs, along with several other teachers, filed a class-action lawsuit against the California Teachers Association and the National Education Association seeking to recoup the agency fees taken from them prior to the Janus decision. The case is titled Scott Wilford et al v. National Education Association (C.D. Cal. 8:18-cv-01169-JVS-ADS).  The primary cause of action is for violation of plaintiffs' constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. 1983. I think the plaintiffs have a tough road ahead of them.  After the Supreme…

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