Court and Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) decisions, commentary on California public sector labor relations

IUOE, Unit 12 v. State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (2009) PERB Unfair Practice Case No. LA-CE-664-S (The dismissal letter can be found on the Sacramento Bee’s website here.)PERB’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) has issued its first decision on the legality of the Governor’s decision to unilaterally implement furloughs of state employees.  Back in January 2009, IUOE filed an unfair practice charge alleging that the State unlawfully implemented two day per month furloughs, which the Governor later increased to three days per month.  IUOE argued that furloughs were a mandatory subject of bargaining and therefore the State could…

Santa Ana Educators Association (2009) PERB Decision No. 2087-E (Issued on 12/30/09)This case was brought by a couple of union members dissatisfied with a contract negotiated by their union, the Santa Ana Educators Association (SAEA).  In the contract, SAEA agreed to concessions to which the dissenting union members strongly objected.  They felt the contract was a bad deal and alleged that the SAEA violated its duty of fair representation by agreeing to it.The fact that some union members objected to a contract is nothing new.  There are always some people who feel the union bargaining team didn’t get enough.  Here,…

The Governor released his proposed budget for 2010-11 today.  Of interest to a lot of people are the Governor’s proposals for employee compensation.  Under the proposed budget, the 3-day per month furloughs of state employees will end.  However, the Governor still plans to save $1.6 billion in employee compensation costs.  Here's how he plans to do it (from page 68-69 of the Governor’s budget):Governor’s Proposed Reductions:Workforce Cap — A reduction of $449.6 million achieved through a five-percent increase in salary savings. An Executive Order will require that Agency Secretaries and Department Directors immediately act to achieve the five-percent reduction by July…

Half of fiscal year 2009-10 is over.  As I mentioned in prior posts, this year I’ve been keeping statistics of all the Board’s decisions.  So let’s take a look at some of the key statistics through December 31, 2009. Total Number of Board Decisions (from 7/1/09-12/31/09):43Decisions by Statute:MMBA: 21EERA: 11Dills Act: 8HEERA: 3Decisions by Type:Appeals from Dismissals:  31 (11 of which were DFR’s)Exceptions to ALJ Decisions:  7Approval of Settlement:  1Administrative Appeal:  2Reconsideration:  2Decisions by Outcome:Decisions affirmed:  39Decisions overturned:  2-  1 ALJ decision overturned (2077-M)-  1 dismissal overturned (2079-M)Decisions partially overturned:  2-  Decisions 2069-H and 2070-HDecisions by Board Member: Dowdin:  20 Neuwald:  9…

Attorney General’s Opinion (AG Opn. 08-806 12/31/09) The Attorney General has issued an opinion finding that a Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee (JLMBC) created as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between an employer and exclusive representative is not subject to the Brown Act (open meeting law).