BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1181
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 8, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Rob Bonta, Chair
AB 1181 (Gray) - As Amended: April 3, 2013
SUBJECT : Public employee organizations: members: paid leaves
of absence.
SUMMARY : Expands provisions governing a local public agencies'
requirement to provide compensated time off for representatives
of employee organization to participate in specified employee
organization activities. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a local public agency to give reasonable compensated
time off to representatives of employee organizations to
participate in any of the following activities:
a) Formally meeting and conferring with representatives of
the public agency on matters within the scope of
representation
b) Testifying or representing the employee organization in
conferences, hearings, or other proceedings before the
Public Employment Relations Board or its agent in matters
relating to a charge filed by the employee organization
against the public agency.
c) Testifying or representing the employee organization in
other matters in furtherance of the employee organization's
right to represent members in employment relations,
including personnel and merit commission hearings.
2)Requires the employee organization to provide reasonable
notification to the employer when a leave of absence is
requested.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), which provides
a statutory framework for local government employer-employee
relations
2)Requires that local public agencies allow a reasonable number
AB 1181
Page 2
of employee organization representatives compensated
reasonable time off to attend formal negotiations on matters
within the scope of representation.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1181 seeks to ensure
that representatives of employee organization, who are employed
by a public agency employer, will have sufficient time off to
enable they to participate in matters critical to the
organization's mission of representing members in employee
relations matters."
Supporters state, "Local government employees who testify at or
represent their union in grievance adjustment meetings,
arbitrations, legislative hearing and proceedings before the
Public Employment Relations Board to not have a clear statutory
right to release time to perform these duties. Instead, they
must often take unpaid time off from work in order to take part
in these matters. Organizational representatives who seek to
carry out the union's mission of enforcing collective bargaining
agreements and advocating for their membership must therefore do
so at personal sacrifice and cost. The unintended but
inevitable result of this omission is that employee
organizations are dissuaded from enforcing the rights of the
union and of workers."
The author concludes, "AB 1181 would correct this omission by
providing representatives of public agency employee
organizations the right to reasonable time off to participate in
grievance adjustment meetings, grievance arbitrations, hearing
before the Public Employment Relations Board, and personnel and
merit commission hearings."
Opponents state, "It is crucial that special districts be able
to maintain local control when granting release time to
employees. As you may know, many special districts function
with minimal staff, and depleting a portion of its workforce for
a period of time could prevent it from effectively delivering
services."
Opponents conclude that this issue is better decided at the
local level since paid leave of absence for these types of
activities is, and should remain, a part of the collective
AB 1181
Page 3
bargaining process.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
(Sponsor)
California Associations of Psychiatric Technicians
California Correctional Supervisors Organization
Glendale City Employees Association
Orange County Employees Association
Organization of SMUD Employees
San Bernardino Public Employees Association
San Luis Obispo County Employees Association
Santa Rosa City Employees Association
Opposition
California Special Districts Association
Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957