California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1834

Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

(Principal coauthors: Senators Block, Hancock, and Jackson)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Fong, Gonzalez, Roger Hernández, Pan, Rendon, and Skinner)

(Coauthor: Senator Beall)

February 18, 2014

An act to amend Section 3562 of the Government Code, relating to higher education employees.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1834, as introduced, Williams. Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act: employees.

Existing law, known as the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, contains provisions relating to employer-employee relations between the state and the employees of state institutions of higher education, including the University of California and the California State University, as well as the Hastings College of the Law. These provisions assign major responsibilities for implementation to the Public Employment Relations Board.

Under the act, an “employee” or “higher education employee” is defined as any employee of the Regents of the University of California, the Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, or the Trustees of the California State University. The act further provides that the board may find that student employees whose employment is contingent on their status as students are employees only if the services they provide are unrelated to their educational objectives, or that those educational objectives are subordinate to the services they perform and that coverage under this act would further the purposes of the act.

This bill would provide that student employees, whether or not their employment is contingent upon their status as students, are employees or higher education employees for purposes of the act.

The act excludes from the “scope of representation,” for purposes of the University of California only, among other things, conditions for the award of certificates and degrees to students.

This bill would specify that the requirements for students to achieve satisfactory progress toward their degrees is also outside of the scope of representation.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) A majority of student employees employed by the University
of California, the Hastings College of the Law, and the California
State University have been granted the opportunity for collective
bargaining under the Higher Education Employer-Employee
Relations Act (HEERA).

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to expand the definition of
employee under HEERA to include certain student employees who
previously had been denied collective bargaining rights.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to maintain collective
bargaining rights for those student employees who currently have
those rights.

SEC. 2.  

Section 3562 of the Government Code is amended to
read:

3562.  

As used in this chapter:

(a) “Arbitration” means a method of resolving a rights dispute
under which the parties to a controversy must accept the award of
a third party.

(b) “Board” means the Public Employment Relations Board
established pursuant to Section 3513.

(c) “Certified organization” means an employee organization
that has been certified by the board as the exclusive representative
of the employees in an appropriate unit after a proceeding under
Article 5 (commencing with Section 3573).

(d) “Confidential employee” means any employee who is
required to develop or present management positions with respect
to meeting and conferring or whose duties normally require access
to confidential information which contributes significantly to the
development of those management positions.

(e) “Employee” or “higher education employee” means any
employee begin insert , including student employees, whether or not their
employment is contingent on their status as students, end insert of the Regents
of the University of California, the Directors of the Hastings
College of the Law, or the Trustees of the California State
University. However, managerial and confidential employees and
employees whose principal place of employment is outside the
State of California at a worksite with 100 or fewer employees shall
be excluded from coverage under this chapter. begin delete The board may find
student employees whose employment is contingent on their status
as students are employees only if the services they provide are
unrelated to their educational objectives, or that those educational
objectives are subordinate to the services they perform and that
coverage under this chapter would further the purposes of this
chapter. end delete

(f) (1) “Employee organization” means any organization of any
kind in which higher education employees participate and that
exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with higher
education employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,
hours, and other terms and conditions of employment of employees.
An organization that represents one or more employees whose
principal worksite is located outside the State of California is an
employee organization only if it has filed with the board and with
the employer a statement agreeing, in consideration of obtaining
the benefits of status as an employee organization pursuant to this
chapter, to submit to the jurisdiction of the board. The board shall
promulgate the form of the statement.

(2) “Employee organization” shall also include any person that
an employee organization authorizes to act on its behalf. An
academic senate, or other similar academic bodies, or divisions
thereof, shall not be considered employee organizations for the
purposes of this chapter.

(g) “Employer” or “higher education employer” means the
regents in the case of the University of California, the directors in
the case of the Hastings College of the Law, and the trustees in
the case of the California State University, including any person
acting as an agent of an employer.

(h) “Employer representative” means any person or persons
authorized to act on behalf of the employer.

(i) “Exclusive representative” means any recognized or certified
employee organization or person it authorizes to act on its behalf.

(j) “Impasse” means that the parties have reached a point in
meeting and conferring at which their differences in positions are
such that further meetings would be futile.

(k) “Managerial employee” means any employee having
significant responsibilities for formulating or administering policies
and programs. No employee or group of employees shall be
deemed to be managerial employees solely because the employee
or group of employees participates in decisions with respect to
courses, curriculum, personnel, and other matters of educational
policy. A department chair or head of a similar academic unit or
program who performs the foregoing duties primarily on behalf
of the members of the academic unit or program shall not be
deemed a managerial employee solely because of those duties.

(l) “Mediation” means the efforts of a third person, or persons,
functioning as intermediaries, to assist the parties in reaching a
voluntary resolution to an impasse.

(m) “Meet and confer” means the performance of the mutual
obligation of the higher education employer and the exclusive
representative of its employees to meet at reasonable times and to
confer in good faith with respect to matters within the scope of
representation and to endeavor to reach agreement on matters
within the scope of representation. The process shall include
adequate time for the resolution of impasses. If agreement is
reached between representatives of the higher education employer
and the exclusive representative, they shall jointly prepare a written
memorandum of the understanding, which shall be presented to
the higher education employer for concurrence. However, these
obligations shall not compel either party to agree to any proposal
or require the making of a concession.

(n) “Person” means one or more individuals, organizations,
associations, corporations, boards, committees, commissions,
agencies, or their representatives.

(o) “Professional employee” means:

(1) Any employee engaged in work: (A) predominantly
intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental,
manual, mechanical, or physical work; (B) involving the consistent
exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance; (C) of a
character so that the output produced or the result accomplished
cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time; and
(D) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science
or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of
specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of
higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general
academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in
the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes.

(2) Any employee who: (A) has completed the courses of
specialized intellectual instruction and study described in
subparagraph (D) of paragraph (1), and (B) is performing related
work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify
himself or herself to become a professional employee as defined
in paragraph (1).

(p) “Recognized organization” means an employee organization
that has been recognized by an employer as the exclusive
representative of the employees in an appropriate unit pursuant to
Article 5 (commencing with Section 3573).

(q) (1) For purposes of the University of California only, “scope
of representation” means, and is limited to, wages, hours of
employment, and other terms and conditions of employment. The
scope of representation shall not include any of the following:

(A) Consideration of the merits, necessity, or organization of
any service, activity, or program established by law or resolution
of the regents or the directors, except for the terms and conditions
of employment of employees who may be affected thereby.

(B) The amount of any fees that are not a term or condition of
employment.

(C) Admission requirements for students, conditions for the
award of certificates and degrees to students, begin insert which include what
is required for students to achieve satisfactory progress toward
their degrees, end insert and the content and supervision of courses, curricula,
and research programs, as those terms are intended by the standing
orders of the regents or the directors.

(D) Procedures and policies to be used for the appointment,
promotion, and tenure of members of the academic senate, the
procedures to be used for the evaluation of the members of the
academic senate, and the procedures for processing grievances of
members of the academic senate. The exclusive representative of
members of the academic senate shall have the right to consult
and be consulted on matters excluded from the scope of
representation pursuant to this subparagraph. If the academic senate
determines that any matter in this subparagraph should be within
the scope of representation, or if any matter in this subparagraph
is withdrawn from the responsibility of the academic senate, the
matter shall be within the scope of representation.

(2) All matters not within the scope of representation are
reserved to the employer and may not be subject to meeting and
conferring, provided that nothing herein may be construed to limit
the right of the employer to consult with any employees or
employee organization on any matter outside the scope of
representation.

(r) (1) For purposes of the California State University only,
“scope of representation” means, and is limited to, wages, hours
of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment.
The scope of representation shall not include:

(A) Consideration of the merits, necessity, or organization of
any service, activity, or program established by statute or
regulations adopted by the trustees, except for the terms and
conditions of employment of employees who may be affected
thereby.

(B) The amount of any student fees that are not a term or
condition of employment.

(C) Admission requirements for students, conditions for the
award of certificates and degrees to students, and the content and
conduct of courses, curricula, and research programs.

(D) Criteria and standards to be used for the appointment,
promotion, evaluation, and tenure of academic employees, which
shall be the joint responsibility of the academic senate and the
trustees. The exclusive representative shall have the right to consult
and be consulted on matters excluded from the scope of
representation pursuant to this subparagraph. If the trustees
withdraw any matter in this subparagraph from the responsibility
of the academic senate, the matter shall be within the scope of
representation.

(E) The amount of rental rates for housing charged to California
State University employees.

(2) All matters not within the scope of representation are
reserved to the employer, and may not be subject to meeting and
conferring, provided that nothing herein may be construed to limit
the right of the employer to consult with any employees or
employee organization on any matter outside the scope of
representation.