BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 1881
Norma Torres, Chair HEARING DATE: June 23, 2014
AB 1881 (Jones-Sawyer) as amended 3/28/14
FISCAL: YES
LOS ANGELES CITY AND COUNTY: EMPLOYEE RELATIONS COMMISSIONS
HISTORY :
Sponsor: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Other legislation: AB 1659 (Butler) 2012,
Died in Senate 11/30/12 after substantial
amendments.
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
PER & SS 5-1 4/23/14
Appropriations 10-5 5/07/14
Assembly Floor 52-22 5/15/14
SUMMARY :
AB 1881 sets standards for appointing members to the Los
Angeles City Employee Relations Board (ERB) and the Los
Angeles County Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM).
Specifically, the bill:
1) requires that appointments to ERB and ERCOM be made
from respective lists of nominees jointly submitted by
the applicable public employer and a committee of the
exclusive representatives of the employer's respective
employees, within 30 days of submission of the list.
2) provides that ERB and ERCOM appointees meet minimum
qualifications, as specified.
3) prohibits the city or county from requiring, as part
of a contract for services, that the ERB or ERCOM
commission members or hearing officers indemnify the
city or county, as applicable, from liability arising
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out of commission rulings.
4) prohibits the city or county from withholding or
reducing payments to ERB or ERCOM commission members or
hearing officers after services have been rendered.
5) authorizes the provisions of the bill to be enforced
through an action for writ of mandate in superior court.
The bill also provides that any local reimbursable costs will
be paid, as specified, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill results in a state mandate.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1)Existing law :
a) permits local governments under the
Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) to establish
administrative procedures for employee representation
and collective bargaining agreements.
b) authorizes the state's Public Employment Relations
Board (PERB) to resolve public employee labor disputes
under MMBA.
c) establishes, through their respective local
directives and ordinances, the City of Los Angeles
Employee Relations Board (ERB) and the County of Los
Angeles Employee Relations Commission (ERCOM) to ensure
that city and county employees and their representatives
are fairly treated, that their rights are maintained,
and that their requests are fairly heard, considered and
resolved. ERB and ERCOM are independent, quasi-judicial
agencies subject to constitutional due process
requirements.
d) specifies that ERB and ERCOM have the power and
responsibility to take actions on issues, as specified,
including union recognition, unit determinations,
elections, and unfair labor practices in their
respective jurisdictions and consistent with state
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statute governing public employer-employee labor
relations.
1)This bill :
a) requires that appointments to ERB and ERCOM be made
from a list of nominees jointly submitted by a
committee, composed of the respective recognized
exclusive representatives of the city's and county's
employees, and Los Angeles City's chief administrative
officer or Los Angeles County's Chief Executive Officer
as applicable.
b) provides that the appointment lists be submitted to
the appointing authority within 30 calendar days before
the expiration of a member's term or before 30 calendar
days have elapsed after the creation of a vacancy that
occurs during a member's term.
c) requires that an appointee shall possess a minimum of
five years of full-time experience exclusively as a
professional neutral party resolving disputes between
employee organizations and public agencies or resolving
disputes between private employers and labor
organizations.
d) prohibits an appointee, while serving on the
commission, from consulting or providing representation
or advice regarding employee relations to any public or
private employer or public or private employee
organization, but permits the appointee to act as a
professional neutral party in other capacities.
e) prohibits the city or county from requiring
commission members or hearing officers to agree to
indemnify or hold harmless the city or county or
maintain liability or malpractice insurance for that
purpose.
f) authorized the provisions of the bill to be enforced
through an action for writ of mandate in superior court.
g) provides that if the Commission on State Mandates
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determines that this act contains costs mandated by the
state, reimbursement to local agencies and school
districts for those costs shall be made, as specified.
FISCAL :
According to the Assembly Appropriations committee, this bill
would result in "minor costs to the City of Los Angeles and
County of Los Angeles for compliance with appointment
procedures, likely reimbursable as state mandates."
COMMENTS :
1)Background
According to AFSCME District Council 36,
In September 2013, the Los Angeles County Board of
Supervisors unilaterally revised the County Relations
Ordinance which undermined ERCOM's jurisdiction by
unilaterally implementing the new ERCOM Hearing
Officers' contracts. These Hearing Officers' contracts
required them to hold LA county harmless of any decision
that would be adverse to the county: these terms were
calculated to intimidate and coerce those officers to
makes decisions that would heavily favor the CEO and
County. As a result of this revision, all three ERCOM
Commissioners resigned and left ERCOM vacant.
In November 2013, the Mayor of Los Angeles unilaterally
rescinded Executive Directive 2000-15 and specified that
there be no replacement of that directive. ED 2000-15
was codified by Mayor Richard Riordan which mandated
qualifications for the members of ERB including
impartiality to protect interests of the city and its
employees, and broad experience in the field of employee
relations. The Mayor of LA appointed a candidate, which
the Council then confirmed, to the ERB vacancy who
lacked such broad experience as well as professional
impartiality.
2)Arguments in Support :
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According to the sponsor,
AFSCME Sponsors AB 1881 because it would restore the
joint mutual selection process for the Commissioners of
the City of Los Angeles Employee Relations Board (ERB)
and the Los Angeles County Employer Relations Commission
(ERCOM) to further ensure each board's impartiality and
bolster confidence from labor and management. Providing
a safeguard against a subjective ERB and ERCOM fosters
labor peace by assuring employees, labor organizations,
and employment managers that these administrative bodies
are comprised of established neutrals in the field of
labor relations. The continued success of ERB and ERCOM
relies on the trust of all who appear before it; by
restoring the joint mutual selection process, we are
thereby restoring the diminished trust in these
administrative bodies.
3)Arguments in Opposition :
According to the City of Los Angeles, AB 1881 alters "local
standards for appointments to ERB as established by local
ordinance." Also, the bill "unnecessarily overrides Los
Angeles' well established ordinance without cause.'
4)SUPPORT :
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), Co-Sponsor
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association,
Co-Sponsor
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), District Council 36
California Association of Professional Employees (CAPE)
California Professional Firefighters (CPF)
California School Employees Association (CSEA)
Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association
Los Angeles County Probation Officers Union
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
State Coalition of Probation Organizations
Union of American Physicians and Dentists/AFSCME - Local
206 (UAPD/AFSCME)
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5)OPPOSITION :
City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
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