BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT
Dr. Richard Pan, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 874 Hearing Date: 4/25/16
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|Author: |Santiago |
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|Version: |2/17/16 As amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Glenn Miles |
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Subject: Collective bargaining: Judicial Council
SOURCE: Service Employees International Union, Local 1000
ASSEMBLY VOTES:
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|Assembly Floor: |52 - 25 |
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|Assembly Appropriations |12 - 5 |
|Committee: | |
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|Assembly Public Employees, |6 - 1 |
|Retirement/Soc Sec Committee: | |
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DIGEST: This bill provides collective bargaining rights to
Judicial Council employees who are exempt from state civil
service by making the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act) applicable
to specified, judicial branch employees.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes, in the California Constitution, the Judicial
Council which has responsibility to survey judicial business;
study the operation of the courts; adopt rules not
AB 874 (Santiago) Page 2 of ?
inconsistent with statute in the areas of court
administration, practice, and procedure; and make
recommendations to the courts, the Governor, and the
Legislature.
2)Exempts, in the California Constitution, officers and
employees appointed or employed by councils, commissions or
public corporations in the judicial branch or by a court of
record or officer of the courts from civil service.
3) Provides, under the Dills Act, collective bargaining for
state employees of the executive branch which establishes a
process for determining wages, hours and terms and conditions
of employment for represented employees. Managers and
confidential employees are excluded from bargaining rights.
4)Regulates labor relations between trial courts and trial court
employees under the Trial Court Employment Protection and
Governance Act (TCEPGA).
5)Establishes the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB), a
quasi-judicial administrative agency, to administer the
collective bargaining statutes covering public employees
including school, college, state, local agency, and trial
court employees.
6)Requires the Governor and the recognized state employee
organizations to meet and confer in good faith regarding
wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment
and, if an agreement is reached, jointly prepare a written
memorandum of understanding which shall be presented, when
appropriate, to the Legislature for determination.
This bill:
1)Provides that the Dills Act shall apply to employees of the
Judicial Council, as specified.
2)Defines "state employee" to include any employee of the
Judicial Council except for managerial, confidential, and
supervisory employees. Also provides that the definition of
"state employee" does not include any judicial officer or
employee of the Supreme Court, the courts of appeal, or the
Habeas Corpus Resource Center.
AB 874 (Santiago) Page 3 of ?
3)Defines "employer", for purposes of bargaining or meeting and
conferring in good faith, as the Administrative Director of
the Courts, or his or her designated representatives, acting
with the authorization of chairperson of the Judicial Council.
4)Requires that references to actions or decisions by the
Governor, or his or her designee, in the Dills Act, shall mean
actions or decisions by the Administrative Director of the
Courts, or his or her designated representative, acting with
the authorization of chairperson of the Judicial Council.
5)Provides that provisions of the Dills Act governing
legislative review and approval of state Memoranda of
Understanding shall not apply to the Judicial Council and its
employees.
6)Prohibits PERB, when determining appropriate bargaining units
for Judicial Council employees, from including them in a
bargaining unit that includes employees other than Judicial
Council employees.
Background
Although TCEPGA provides collective bargaining rights to
California trial court employees, their Judicial Council
colleagues doing similar work do not have collective bargaining
rights because they are constitutionally exempt from state civil
service and thus, not covered by the Dills Act which provides
collective bargaining rights to state employees. Since Judicial
Council employees are state employees, the Dills Act may be an
appropriate framework for providing collective bargaining
rights.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 (source)
OPPOSITION:
None received
AB 874 (Santiago) Page 4 of ?
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the sponsor, "since
Judicial Council employees are expressly exempt from state civil
service rules by Article 7 Section 4(b) of the California
Constitution, the Dills Act does not confer bargaining rights
for Judicial Council employees."
"As a result, Judicial Council employees are not represented by
a union, but would like to be. The Government Code cannot be
amended to make Judicial Council employees civil service
employees due to the state's constitutional prohibition.
However, the Dills Act can be amended to confer bargaining
rights to Judicial Council employees to allow them union
representation."