BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: SB 656
Lou Correa, Chair Hearing date: April 27, 2009
SB 656 (DeSaulnier) as introduced 2/27/09
FISCAL: YES
PERB: UNITS OF EMPLOYEES: EXCLUSIONS
HISTORY :
Sponsor: Peace Officers Research Association of
California (PORAC)
Prior legislation: SB 739 (Solis)
Chapter 910 of 2000
SUMMARY :
Would provide that a local public agency "mixed" bargaining
unit (which is comprised both safety and non-safety members)
shall be removed from the dispute settlement jurisdiction of
the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) if the majority
of the employees in the unit are safety members.
BACKGROUND :
1) What is the PERB ?
The committee is advised existing law establishes the Public
Employment Relations Board (PERB) in state government as a
means of resolving disputes and enforcing the statutory
duties and rights of employers and employees under the
Educational Employment Relations Act, the Higher Education
Employer-Employee Relations Act, the Ralph C. Dills Act, and
the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act.
2) How did SB 739 (Solis), Chapter 910 of 2000 expand PERB's
jurisdiction ?
Chapter 910 of 2000 provided that PERB was given jurisdiction
over unfair labor disputes for all miscellaneous employees.
The sponsor of this bill , Peace Officers Research Association
David Felderstein
Date: 4/21/09 Page 1
of California (PORAC), representing over 62,000 peace
officers asked that law enforcement be exempted, thus leaving
them under the jurisdiction of the Courts.
David Felderstein
Date: 4/21/09 Page 2
ANALYSIS :
1) This bill provides that:
a) "mixed units", a bargaining unit comprised of both
peace officer and miscellaneous employees, shall be
exempted from PERB's jurisdiction if the majority of the
unit is comprised of peace officers, and
b) the disputes of "mixed units" would again be under the
jurisdiction of the Courts, as they were before the
enactment of Chapter 901 of 2000 .
COMMENTS :
1) Arguments in support
In their sponsor letter, PORAC states:
"Currently, Government Code Section 3511 exempts "persons
who are peace officers as defined in Section 830.1 of the
Penal Code" from the jurisdiction of the Public Employee
Relation Board (PERB). The wording of this statute is
quite ambiguous and has caused much confusion regarding
authority over dispute resolution. Public employees, whom
are not peace officers, are required to go to PERB with
their labor disputes. Peace officers are exempted from
this; thereby requiring they go to the California Supreme
Court for resolution.
A problem arises when a peace officer is a part of a "mixed
unit", comprised of both peace officers and miscellaneous
employees (such as Dispatchers, Community Services Officers
and Crime Scene Investigators). It is unclear in the
writing of this law who would have jurisdiction over these
disputes. This creates substantial risk of jurisdiction
being challenged, either in PERB or the Superior Court.
SB 656 seeks to remedy the uncertainty of the statute by
clarifying that these mixed units, should the unit be
comprised of a majority of peace officers, will be excluded
from PERB jurisdiction. This will enable the disputes of
David Felderstein
Date: 4/21/09 Page 3
these peace officers to remain in the Superior Court,
thereby ending the confusion. In addition, by providing
certainly as to jurisdiction, SB 656 will reduce costs
associated with challenging jurisdiction of mixed units."
David Felderstein
Date: 4/21/09 Page 4
2) Arguments in opposition
In their letter of opposition, the California State
Association of Counties and the Regional Council of Rural
Counties state:
"SB 656 seeks to exempt all employees in a mixed bargaining
unit from the jurisdiction of the Public Employment
Relations Board (PERB) if the bargaining unit includes a
majority of peace officers. Counties believe that it is
inappropriate to extend what is now a narrow exemption from
PERB for peace officers to a larger group of miscellaneous
employees.
Counties do not see a significant problem with the current
structure where peace officer members of a mixed bargaining
unit resolve their disputes in court while miscellaneous
employees go before PERB. If a problem exists in a
particular bargaining unit, existing law provides peace
officers with the right to establish a separate bargaining
unit.
SB 656 would treat all employees in mixed bargaining units
the same and we see no reason to do so. In face, this
change could have the unintended result of having similar
bargaining units with a majority of peace officers."
3) OPPOSITION :
California State Association of Counties (CSAC)
Regional Council of Rural Counties
David Felderstein
Date: 4/21/09 Page 5
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David Felderstein
Date: 4/21/09 Page 6