BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1181
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1181 (Gray)
As Amended May 16, 2013
Majority vote
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES 5-2
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|Ayes:|Bonta, Jones-Sawyer, | | |
| |Mullin, Rendon, | | |
| |Wieckowski | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Allen, Harkey | | |
| | | | |
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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 appearing as the designated representative
of 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
either the employee organization against the public agency
or by the public agency against the employee organization.
c) Testifying or appearing as the designated representative
of the employee organization in matters before a personnel
or merit commission.
2)Requires the employee organization to provide reasonable
notification to the employer when a leave of absence is
requested.
3)Defines "designated representative" for purposes of these
AB 1181
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provisions as an officer of the employee organization or a
member serving in proxy of the employee organization.
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
of employee organization representatives compensated
reasonable time off to attend formal negotiations on matters
within the scope of representation.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
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 them 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 do 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."
AB 1181
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Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957
FN: 0000609