BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 769
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
769 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Introduced February 25, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public |6-1 |Bonta, Waldron, |Wagner |
|Employees | |Cooley, Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |O'Donnell, Rendon | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |12-5 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Gallagher, Jones, |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo |Wagner |
| | |Garcia, Gordon, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires that any adverse action taken against a state
employee for any cause for discipline, other than for fraud,
embezzlement, or the falsification of records, be served, and the
investigation completed, within one year after the cause of
discipline arose.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes an appointing power to take adverse action against a
state employee for specified causes, and establishes
administrative procedures for review of an adverse action by the
State Personnel Board.
2)Requires notice of any adverse action against a state employee
for any cause for discipline based on any civil service law be
served within three years of the cause for discipline.
3)Specifies that in cases of fraud, embezzlement, or falsification
of records, notice must be served within three years after the
discovery of the activity.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, significant costs, General Fund and special funds, in
the range of $500,000 annually statewide, for employers to manage
shortened timeframes for adverse actions. These costs would
likely diminish after the existing backlog is reduced.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Currently, investigations
against employees can be extended up to three years after
discovery of an incident. This lengthy timeframe causes a delay
in action against improper or illegal behavior by employees,
disruption of the workplace, and unnecessary costs from
administrative leave or back pay. Moreover, as time passes, the
integrity of the investigation decreases as witnesses' memories
fade, evidence is lost and many of the individuals involved move
on to new careers and/or locations. Such circumstances ultimately
costs the state thousands of dollars in litigation and lost
productivity each year. By the time any investigation has been
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borne out, the damage has already been done. Therefore, it is
vital that California streamline this process to ensure
investigations happen as promptly and thoroughly as possible."
The author concludes, "This bill streamlines the process for
investigating employees accused of wrongdoing to ensure it is
conducted as efficiently and timely as possible. This measure
does not change the current statute of limitations for cases of
fraud, embezzlement or falsification of records."
This bill is similar to AB 811 (Salas) of the current legislative
session. AB 811 requires that any adverse action taken against a
state employee for any cause for discipline be served within one
year after the discovery of the cause for discipline first arose.
This bill is also similar to the introduced version of AB 1783
(Jones-Sawyer), Chapter 724, Statutes of 2014, which passed out of
the Assembly Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security
Committee on a five to one vote. The bill was later amended to
delete these provisions and to instead continue to exempt certain
public transit workers from the requirements of the Public
Employees' Pension Reform Act.
Similar provisions were also contained in numerous bills that
attempted to implement a bill of rights for public employees.
Those bills include: AB 872 (Dickinson) of the 2013-14 Regular
Session, AB 1655 (Dickinson) of 2012, AB 920 (Portantino) of the
2011-12 Regular Session, and AB 1744 (Portantino) of 2010. All of
these bills were held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Analysis Prepared by:
AB 769
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Karon Green / P.E.,R., & S.S. / (916) 319-3957
FN: 0000590