BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 195 Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair Hearing date: June 27, 2011 AB 195 (Roger Hernández) as amended 6/06/11 FISCAL: NO LOCAL PUBLIC AGENCY EMPLOYERS: PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES HISTORY : Sponsor: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO Prior legislation: SB 931 (Vargas), 2011 Currently on the Assembly Floor ASSEMBLY VOTES : PER & SS 4-1 4/13/11 Assembly Floor 51-23 5/05/11 SUMMARY : This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature to provide technical and clarifying changes to existing law by providing a list of actions that a public agency employer is prohibited from engaging in regarding the exercise of guaranteed public employee rights. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS : 1)Existing law : a) establishes the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) which prohibits local public agencies and employee organizations from interfering with, intimidating, restraining, coercing or discriminating against public employees because they have chosen to join, or not join, an employee organization; b) grants public employees the right to form, join, and Michael Bolden Date: 6/15/11 Page 1 participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations; c) grants public employees the right to refuse to join or participate in the activities of employee organizations and to represent themselves individually in their employment relations with the public agency; d) establishes the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA) which specifically prohibits a public school employer from doing any of the following: i) imposing, or threatening to impose, reprisals on employees who exercise their rights under the EERA; ii) denying employee organizations' rights guaranteed to them under the EERA; iii) refusing or failing to meet and negotiate in good faith with an exclusive representative; iv) knowingly providing an exclusive representative with inaccurate information, whether or not in response to a request for information, regarding the financial resources of the public school employer; v) dominating or interfering with the formation or administration of an employee organization, and vi) refusing to participate in good faith in impasse procedures, as specified. 2)This bill : a) would amend the MMBA to contain certain prohibitions that are similar to provisions under the EERA; b) prohibits a public agency employer subject to the MMBA from doing any of the following: i) imposing or threatening to impose reprisals on employees; discriminating or threatening to Michael Bolden Date: 6/15/11 Page 2 discriminate against employees, or interfering with, restraining, or coercing public employees because of their exercise of rights under the MMBA; ii) denying employee organizations' rights guaranteed to them under the MMBA; iii) refusing or failing to meet and negotiate in good faith with an exclusive representative; iv) knowingly providing an employee organization with inaccurate information, as specified; v) dominating or interfering with the formation or administration of an employee organization; contributing financial or other support to any employee organization, or encouraging employees to join any organization in preference to another, and vi) refusing to participate in good faith in impasse procedures, as specified. c) declares the intent of the Legislature that the addition of this section to the Government Code is technical and clarifying of existing law. FISCAL: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the costs of this bill are unknown. COMMENTS : 1)Arguments in Support According to the author: The MMBA prohibits certain activities by a public agency employer against employees because of their exercise of protected rights. "However, the MMBA does not provide a comprehensive list of unfair practices that a public Michael Bolden Date: 6/15/11 Page 3 agency employer is enjoined from committing, Ýwhich] may cause confusion on the part of the public agency Ýas to] whether its actions create a risk of liability, Ýand] may leave employees uncertain of their rights under the MMBA." "This bill sets forth a list of unfair practices that are prohibited under the MMBA Ýand] mirror those prohibited under the EERA." According to the sponsor: "Current law has been interpreted by the courts and the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in a manner that is substantially similar to the protections in the EERA. However, the MMBA does not contain a similar list of prohibitions by public employer agencies regarding unfair practices against public employees and employee organizations. This bill would clarify which acts by a public agency employer that constitute unlawful and unfair practices prohibited under the MMBA, and would make existing policy more transparent by identifying a clear list of unfair practices in the MMBA." 2)Arguments in Opposition According to the California State Association of Counties (CSAC): "ÝPursuant to SB 739 of 2000], the PERB adopted regulations for public agencies defining unfair labor practices for both employers and employee organizations. These regulations are substantially similar to the unfair labor practice definitions under the EERA. ÝThis bill] expands those protections to applicants for employment or reemployment. Counties do not seek the right to discriminate and believes that applicants for employment have protections against discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, but objects to conferring rights on applicants for employment. This goes beyond current law and is not part of the MMBA or PERB's regulation of the relationship between public employers and represented employees." Michael Bolden Date: 6/15/11 Page 4 Similar to CSAC's concerns, other opponents contend that this bill expands existing regulations by prohibiting public agencies from knowingly providing employee organizations with 'inaccurate information' which specifically pertains to financial resources under the EERA, and that this bill would increase PERB's duties and costs related to MMBA administration. 3) SUPPORT : American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO Sponsor Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) California Conference Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) California Conference of Machinists California Labor Federation (CLF) California State Employees Association (CSEA) California Teamsters Public Affairs Council Glendale City Employees Association (GCEA) Los Angeles Probation Officers Union, AFSCME, Local 685 Orange County Professional Firefighters' Association, IAFF, Local 3631 Organization of SMUD Employees (OSE) Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21 Riverside Sheriffs' Association San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA) San Luis Obispo County Employees Association (SLOCEA) Santa Rosa City Employees Association (SRCEA) 4) OPPOSITION : Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) California Special Districts Association (CSDA) California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Desert Water Agency (DWA), Oppose unless amended East Valley Water District (EVWD), Oppose unless amended El Dorado Irrigation District (EID), Oppose unless amended League of California Cities (LCC) Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) Michael Bolden Date: 6/15/11 Page 5 ##### Michael Bolden Date: 6/15/11 Page 6