BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 944
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 6, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                 AB 944 (Silva) - As Introduced:  February 26, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              P.E.R. &  
          S.S.Vote:    6-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires that state employee termination hearings or  
          investigations take priority over all other cases that were  
          initiated within the previous four months by the State Personnel  
          Board (SPB).  
           
          FISCAL EFFECT

           SPB indicates that reprioritization of its hearing cases would  
          result in significant workload increases, resulting in annual  
          costs of $800,000.  

          COMMENTS

          1)Background  . Adverse actions are formal disciplinary measures  
            taken against state civil service employees.  They include  
            dismissals, suspensions, demotions, reductions in salary,  
            disciplinary transfers, and formal/official reprimands. SBP  
            reports that it received 1,273 appeals of adverse actions in  
            2008. Of that total, 316 were sustained, six were revoked,  
            eight were modified, and the remaining 603 were disposed of  
            through pre-hearing settlement agreements. As part of its  
            responsibility, the SPB is charged with handling appeals of  
            these adverse actions. Should the employee prevail in his or  
            her appeal, the SPB has the authority to grant remedies,  
            including reinstatement of back wages and benefits.  The SPB  
            may also grant compensatory damages in discrimination appeals.

           2)Purpose  . The sponsors assert that this bill addresses a  
            problem created by the large backlog of cases and  
            investigations faced by SPB. They claim that since SPB  








                                                                  AB 944
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            prioritizes cases based on blocks of time rather than their  
            importance, dismissed employees may wait for up to 18 months  
            to have their appeals heard. The sponsors assert this is  
            particularly unfair to employees who are ultimately  
            reinstated, since the remedies do not adequately compensate  
            them for losses of homes, credit, and health care, which they  
            may have suffered following their termination.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081