BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT
Dr. Richard Pan, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2835 Hearing Date: 6/27/16
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|Author: |Cooper |
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|Version: |6/21/16 As amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Glenn Miles |
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Subject: Public employees: new employee orientation
SOURCE: California Labor Federation
California School Employees Association
Services Employees International Union
ASSEMBLY VOTES:
Not Applicable with June 21, 2016, amendments.
DIGEST: This bill requires all public employers to provide a
specified employee orientation to all newly hired public
employees, authorizes the recognized employee organization to
participate in the employee orientation for represented
employees, and provides that orientations for current employees
are subject to bargaining.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes several statutory frameworks which provide for
employer-employee relations by providing a reasonable method
of resolving disputes regarding wages, hours, and other terms
and conditions of employment between public employers and
recognized public employee organizations or their exclusive
representatives. These include the following:
a) The State Employee-Employer Relations Act (the Ralph C.
AB 2835 (Cooper) Page 2 of ?
Dills Act), which governs state government
employer-employee relations
b) The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, which governs labor
relations between local public agencies and local public
employees.
c) The Education Employment Relations Act for
employer-employee relations within the public school
systems (K-12 and community colleges).
d) The Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act
providing for employer-employee relations at the University
of California, the California State University System, and
Hastings College of the Law.
e) Other parallel statutory frameworks that govern labor
relations among trial court employees, train court
interpreters, and public transit employees and their
respective public employers.
1)Uses various terms to identify the official unions
representing particular groups of employees including
"recognized employee organization" and "exclusive
representative."
2)Delegates jurisdiction over the public employer-employee
relationship to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
and charges PERB with resolving disputes and enforcing the
statutory duties and rights of local public agency employers
and employee organizations but provides the City and County of
Los Angeles a local alternative to PERB oversight.
This bill:
1)Requires public employers to provide all newly hired public
employees, as defined, a public employee orientation within
two months of the time of hiring that shall include, but is
not limited to, all of the following:
a) The personnel and civil service policies of the public
employer, including sexual harassment, whistleblower,
violence prevention, and safety plans.
b) Any applicable civil service rules.
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c) Any ethics or conflict-of-interest rules to which the
public employee is subject, as applicable.
d) Any employer-sponsored benefits programs for which the
public employee is eligible.
1)Provides that a public employee orientation shall meet the
following minimum requirements:
a) Take place during the regular workday and at the
worksite, unless the public employer and recognized
employee organization or exclusive representative have
agreed otherwise. The scheduling of orientations shall be
agreed upon with the recognized employee organization or
exclusive representative. All newly hired public employees
shall attend in person.
b) If employees are represented by an employee organization
or exclusive representative, permit those representatives
to make a presentation of 30 minutes that shall begin
within one hour of the start of the employer's orientation
that shall include, but is not limited to, all of the
following:
i) Information about the memorandum of
understanding, including the term of the agreement,
eligibility to vote on its ratification, and how to
access the contract.
ii) Any union benefit for which members may be
eligible.
iii) Contact information for the exclusive
representative.
If no representative from the employee organization or exclusive
representative is present during the designated start time of
the union portion of the orientation, there is no requirement
that they be afforded additional time.
If employees in different bargaining units are provided a
combined orientation, employees in each bargaining unit shall be
provided a separate space in which the union representing each
bargaining unit shall be permitted to address its bargaining
unit members during the time allotted for the union's
presentation.
AB 2835 (Cooper) Page 4 of ?
In addition to other representatives, each employee organization
or exclusive representative may designate one employee
representative who may attend the orientation on paid time.
The content of the union's presentation shall be determined
solely by the employee organization or exclusive representative
and shall not be subject to negotiation.
The presentation shall not include advocacy for or against a
candidate for political office or ballot measure.
Prior to implementing the employee orientation requirements, the
public employer shall provide at least the level of access to,
and the opportunity to make presentations at, orientations that
the public employer allowed the employee organization or
exclusive representative as of June 1, 2016, and nothing in the
bill shall be construed as infringing upon or limiting that
access.
1)Requires the public employer to provide to the employee
organization or exclusive representative, the job title,
department, work location, phone number, and home address of
any newly hired employee within seven days of the date of hire
and also notice of a scheduled orientation not less than 10
days prior to the orientation, unless earlier notice is
required by an agreement with the employee organization or
exclusive representative.
The employee information to be provided by the employer must
be provided to the employee organization or exclusive
representative regardless of whether the newly hired employee
was previously employed by the public employer. The
information shall be provided in a manner consistent with
existing law restricting disclosure of information regarding
public employees and participants in the address
confidentiality program which protects personal information of
specified individuals such as law enforcement and victims of
domestic abuse.
2)Does not prohibit a public employer and employee organization
or exclusive representative from negotiating an agreement
providing for orientation sessions that vary from the bill's
default requirements. However, if the public employer and the
employee organization or exclusive representative do not reach
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mutual agreement regarding the orientation sessions, all of
the requirements of this bill shall apply.
3)Clarifies that a public employer does not unlawfully support
or favor an employee organization or encourage employees to
join any organization in preference to another as prohibited
by existing law, as specified, by permitting an employee
organization or exclusive representative the opportunity to
present at employee orientations and informational programs as
required by this bill or consistent with a negotiated
agreement.
4)Clarifies that existing law governing public employer-employee
relations, as specified, includes an obligation to meet and
confer regarding informational programs for current state
employees that are similar to the state employee orientations
required by the bill.
The establishment, scheduling, and administration of these
programs shall be negotiated by the employer and the employee
organization or exclusive representative pursuant to the
applicable law governing the public employment relationship at
issue in the same manner as other matters within the scope of
representation.
The content of any union presentation included as part of the
informational program shall be determined solely by the
employee organization or exclusive representative and shall
not be subject to negotiation.
The failure to reach agreement on these employee informational
programs shall be subject to the mediation provisions of the
chapter governing the public employment relationship at issue,
in the same manner as other matters within the scope of
representation.
5)Notwithstanding provisions of the California Public Records
Act exempting specified records from disclosure, requires the
public employer to provide the employee organization or
exclusive representative with a list containing the name, job
title, department, work location, phone number, and home
address of all employees in the bargaining unit at least every
90 days, unless more frequent or more detailed lists are
required by an agreement with the union. The information
shall be provided in a manner consistent with existing law
AB 2835 (Cooper) Page 6 of ?
restricting disclosure of information regarding public
employees and participants in the address confidentiality
program which protects personal information of specified
individuals such as law enforcement and victims of domestic
abuse.
6)Defines public employers that are subject to this bill's
provisions and defines "newly hired public employee" to mean
any employee, whether permanent, temporary, full time, or part
time, hired by a public employer, who is still employed as of
the date of the new hire orientation.
7)Requires PERB to have jurisdiction over violations of the
requirements of this bill and provides that PERB's powers and
duties apply, as specified.
8)States that this bill will not result in a local mandate, as
specified, but that if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains mandated costs,
reimbursements to local agencies and school districts for
those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with
Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government
Code.
Background
According to the author,
Traditionally, public sector jobs have had little turnover,
but that is about to change. Governor Brown's January 2016
budget summary states: "With more than 40 percent of the
state workforce entering retirement by 2018, more work is
needed to develop and support the next generation of
employees."
As California faces this coming influx of new public
servants, there is no uniform standard for public employers
to provide an orientation to new employees. Many local
agencies and districts provide orientations, but others
have no orientation at all.
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This bill would address that shortcoming in public sector
personnel practices. It would set basic, minimum standards
for local agencies and unions to help educate new workers.
It would also allow for local flexibility.
This bill is good policy for employees, local government,
schools, and the public. Orientations help new employees
to fully understand their responsibilities and the laws
that govern their work. Orientations also educate
employees about their employment rights and benefits and
other services available to them.
Together these provisions will help build a more educated
and effective workforce, will limit liability to public
agencies, and will provide better service to the taxpayers,
state, students and communities served.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
No fiscal analysis has been provided.
SUPPORT:
California Labor Federation (co-source)
California School Employees Association (co-source)
Services Employees International Union (co-source)
California Professional Firefighters
California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, this bill
"Creates a uniform statewide standard regarding public employee
orientation; ensures an effective use of taxpayer funding by
confirming employees have balanced and accurate information
regarding their rights and benefits; creates a more educated and
effective workforce to respond to serve the public; and ensures
all new teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public
employees understand their rights, benefits, obligations and
AB 2835 (Cooper) Page 8 of ?
duties."
According to the sponsors, California faces an influx of new
public servants with more than 40 percent of the state workforce
entering retirement by 2018. "There is no uniform standard for
public employers to provide an orientation to new employees.
Many local agencies and districts provide orientations, but
others have no orientation at all." AB 2835 ensures "that all
future public employees participate in a new hire orientation
about key policies such as workplace safety, sexual harassment,
and violence prevention. It would also give workers the
opportunity to hear from their union about their contractual
rights and benefits."