BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1881
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1881 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended March 28, 2014
Majority vote
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES 5-1 APPROPRIATIONS 10-5
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|Ayes:|Bonta, Jones-Sawyer, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, Ian |
| |Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Wieckowski | |Gomez, Holden, Pan, |
| | | |Quirk, Ridley-Thomas |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Allen |Nays:|Bigelow, Donnelly, Jones, |
| | | |Linder, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes requirements for appointments to the
County of Los Angeles (County) and the City of Los Angeles
(City) employee relations commissions and prohibits specified
actions when contracting for services with a commission member
or hearing officer. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires that appointments to an employee relations commission
in the City or County comply with the following:
a) Be made from a list of nominees jointly submitted by the
chief executive officer of the County or by the chief
administrative officer of the City, as applicable, and a
committee composed of recognized employee organizations;
b) The list of nominees must be submitted to the appointing
authority within 30 days before the expiration of a
member's term or before 30 days have elapsed after the
creation of a vacancy;
c) The appointing authority must make the appointment
within 30 days of the list of nominees being submitted.
d) The appointee is prohibited, while serving on an
employee relations commission, from consulting or providing
representation or advice on employee relations to any
public or private employer or employee organization. The
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appointee may act as a professional neutral party in other
capacities.
2)Prohibits the City or County, when contracting for services
with a commission member or hearing officer, as specified,
from doing either of the following:
a) Requiring that the commission member or hearing officer
agree to indemnify or hold harmless the County or City or
maintain specified liability or malpractice insurance; and,
b) Withholding or reducing payment for the services of a
commission member or hearing officer after services are
rendered.
3)Specifies that these provisions may be enforced by an action
for a writ of mandate.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), which provides
a statutory framework for local government employer-employee
relations by providing a reasonable method of resolving
disputes regarding wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment between local public employers and
public employee organizations.
2)Establishes the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) as a
quasi-judicial administrative agency charged with
administering the collective bargaining statutes covering
employees of California's public schools, colleges, and
universities, employees of the State of California, employees
of California local public agencies (cities, counties and
special districts), trial court employees and supervisory
employees of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
3)Establishes PERB as the state agency that has the power and
duty to investigate an unfair practice charge and to determine
whether the charge is justified and, if so, the appropriate
remedy.
4)Specifies that for the County and the City the employee
relations commission, not PERB, has the power and
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responsibility to take action on recognition, unit
determinations, elections, and all unfair practices, and to
issue determinations and orders as it deems necessary,
consistent with the MMBA.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor costs to the City and County for compliance
with appointment procedures, likely reimbursable as state
mandates.
COMMENTS : The Los Angeles City Employee Relations Board (ERB)
was created in January 1971, when the Los Angeles City Council
adopted the Employee Relations Ordinance (Chapter 8, Division 4,
Sections 4.801 through 4.890 of the Los Angeles Administrative
Code.) That ordinance establishes policies and procedures for
the administration of employer-employee relations in City
government. It provides for the formal recognition of employee
organizations that represent City employees and establishes
procedures for the resolution of disputes regarding wages,
hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. The
Employee Relations Ordinance was adopted pursuant the MMBA.
That law mandates meeting and conferring between local
government agencies and organizations of the employees of such
agencies.
The ERB has five part-time members, "who shall have broad
experience in the field of employee relations and shall possess
the impartiality necessary to protect the public interest
including the interests of the City and its employees." They
are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council and
serve terms of five years.
The stated mission of the ERB is to administer the City's
Employee Relations Ordinance (ERO). "Its functions in so doing
include determining employee representation units, arranging for
elections in such units, determining the validity of claims of
unfair practices filed against management and employee
organizations, acting on requests for mediation, fact finding
and arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses and grievances
and assisting employees to obtain access to their personnel file
pursuant to California Labor Code Section 1198.5."
The Los Angeles County Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM) is
the administrative body that governs labor relations for the
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County. ERCOM determines appropriate bargaining units, who will
represent them, and what classifications will be represented in
each unit. ERCOM also decides whether or not anyone has
violated the ERO, and if so, how it should be remedied.
Prior to September 2013, the three members of ERCOM were
appointed by the Board of Supervisors from a list of nominees
jointly developed by County management and employee unions. In
September 2013, the Board of Supervisors unilaterally revised
the ERO establishing new procedures for appointing the three
members of ERCOM and compensating commissioners for work
performed on behalf of ERCOM.
According to supporters, "Historically, the Commissioners of the
City of Los Angeles' Employee Relations' Board (ERB) and the Los
Angeles County Employer Relation's Board (ERCOM) were selected
by a joint mutual selection process designed to ensure fairness
and impartiality. The mutual selection process ensured
confidence and trust from both labor and management.
"Recent unilateral actions taken by the Mayor of Los Angeles
with respect to ERB, and the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors with respect to ERCOM, changed the practice of
selecting mutually agreed neutral and impartial Commissioners.
Moreover, the County also imposed a new condition requiring that
hearing officers hold harmless and indemnify the County for any
decision rendered which may adversely affect the County. On
September 9, 2013, the entire ERCOM Commission resigned in the
wake of the County's unilateral and draconian actions."
Supporters conclude, "Fair hearings are essential to successful
labor relations. AB 1881 restores the historical joint mutual
selection process for Commissioners for both the City and County
of Los Angeles, and prohibits the unfair labor practice of
requiring hearing officers to hold harmless and indemnify the
governing body."
Opponents state that the bill is overly restrictive and could
eliminate qualified candidates from consideration.
Additionally, opponents state that this legislation
unnecessarily overrides locally adopted ordinances without
cause.
AB 1881
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Analysis Prepared by : Karon Green / P.E., R. & S.S. / (916)
319-3957
FN: 0003354