BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1066
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Date of Hearing: April 8, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT, AND SOCIAL
SECURITY
Rob Bonta, Chair
AB 1066
Gonzalez - As Amended April 6, 2015
SUBJECT: Classified employees: nonemployee contractors:
limited-term, short-term, and substitute employees
SUMMARY: Clarifies provisions governing the use of nonemployee
contractors and limited-term, short-term, and substitute
employees in the classified service to ensure that school
districts and community college districts are appropriately
placing non-academic employees, unless specifically exempted, in
the classified service. Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies that school districts and community college
districts have a mandatory duty to classify all of their
non-academic employees and positions.
2)Clarifies that substitute employees exempted from classified
service because they are employed and paid for less than 75%
of a school or college year means a single school or college
year.
3)Defines "75% of a single school or college year" to mean 195
working days of a single school or college year, including
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holidays, sick leave, vacation, and other leaves of absence,
irrespective of the number of hours worked per day.
4)Prohibits a short-term employee exempted from classified
service from being employed in subsequent school years to
perform the same services.
5)Clarifies that the use of a nonemployee contractor for
personal services contracting is limited to 60 working days of
a single school or college year.
6)Specifies that an employee of a school district or community
college district, or their exclusive representative, may bring
and action to challenge the classification of an employee or
positions or to compel a position to be classified pursuant to
these provisions.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes school districts and community college districts to
employ non-academic employees, and requires those employees to
be placed in the classified service, as specified.
2)Prohibits, generally, the following from being part of the
classified service:
a) Substitute and short-term employees employed and paid
for less than 75% of a school year.
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b) Apprentices and professional experts, as specified.
c) Full-time and part-time students employed part-time in a
college work-study or work experience program, as
specified.
d) Part-time playground positions where the employee is not
otherwise employed in a classified position.
3)Restricts personal services contracting for all services
currently or customarily performed by classified school
employees for the purpose of achieving cost savings,
permitting so only if specified conditions are met.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: Under existing law, most non-academic employees of a
community college or school district are required to be placed
in the classified service. Inclusion in a district's classified
service confers important statutory rights and benefits to
employees, such as a process for obtaining permanent status, due
process rights, fixed and delineated work duties, vacation days,
holidays and other benefits.
According to the author, "These rights, however, are being
eroded by community college and school districts that are
wrongfully excluding longstanding, regular employees from the
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Code's classified service. These districts have excluded these
employees by wrongly relying on narrow exceptions the
Legislature intended only for legitimate short-term, limited and
temporary employees. Even though the Education Code currently
has strict requirements on when a district may exclude
short-term or temporary employees from its classified service,
stronger language is necessary to prevent the districts' current
abuse of these narrow, limited exceptions, and ensure that
regular, permanent employees of a district are conferred
classified status, as intended and required by the Legislature."
The author concludes, "Community college and school districts
across California have manipulated these narrow limitations -
intended for truly exceptional cases - to exclude countless
long-term workers who provide important and ongoing services for
the districts, often every single semester, year after year.
These employees are mischaracterized as 'temporary,' 'hourly'
and 'short-term' workers, resulting in the denial of benefits
provided to classified service employees. This practice
disregards all evidence of the longstanding nature of their
employment and positions."
Supporters state, "This bill will prevent such wrongful
exclusions of employees from the classified service by
clarifying existing Education Code language that allows only a
few limited exceptions from classified service for legitimate
student, short-term, limited and emergency employees, but which
districts routinely misapply. Current law and practice has
resulted in a permanent class of 'temporary' employees and AB
1066 will uphold and protect the Legislature's original intent
of creating a permanent classified service."
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Federation of Teachers (Sponsor)
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California Labor Federation
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
The President and Vice-President of the San Diego County Board
of Education
The President of San Ysidro School District
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Karon Green / P.E.,R., & S.S. / (916)
319-3957
AB 1066
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