BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1881 (Jones-Sawyer) - Public Employee Relations: Los Angeles
Amended: March 28, 2014 Policy Vote: PE&R 3-2
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1881 establishes a process for the appointment
of members to the Los Angeles City Employee Relations Board and
the Los Angeles County Employee Relations Commission.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially minor reimbursable costs (General Fund)
Background: Current law grants the Public Employment Relations
Board (PERB) specified powers and duties in connection with
labor relations between employees and management of most public
agencies. The County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles
are exempted from the PERB authority, and instead labor
relations are conducted through the Los Angeles County Employee
Relations Commission (ERCOM) and the City of Los Angeles
Employee Relations Board (ERB).
These commissions have the power and responsibility to take
actions on recognition, unit determinations, elections, and all
unfair practices, and to issue determinations and orders as
deemed necessary.
Proposed Law: AB 1881 establishes standards for appointment
members to the Los Angeles City Employee Relations Board and the
Los Angeles County Employee Relations Commission. Specifically,
AB 1881 provides that an appointment to an employee relations
commission of the County of Los Angeles and to the employee
relations commission of the City of Los Angeles must be made in
accordance with the following:
1) The appointment must be made from a list of nominees,
AB 1881 (Jones-Sawyer)
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jointly submitted by the chief executive officer of the County
of Los Angeles or by the chief administrative officer of the
City of Los Angeles (as applicable), and a committee composed of
employee organizations recognized by the County or City of Los
Angeles, as applicable. The list shall 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.
2) The appointment authority shall make the appointment within
30 days of receiving the list of nominees.
3) Any appointee must 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.
4) While serving on the commission, the appointee will be
prohibited from consulting or providing representation or advice
regarding employee relations to any public or private employer.
AB 1881 prohibits the County and City of Los Angeles from
requiring, as part of a contract for services, that the ERB or
ERCOM commission members or hearing officers indemnify the city
or county from liability arising out of commission rulings; or
to withhold or reduce payment after services are rendered.
Lastly, AB 1881 authorizes the provisions of the bill to be
enforced through an action for writ of mandate in superior
court.
Staff Comments: The Charter of the City of Los Angeles provides
that members of the ERB are to be appointed by the mayor and
approved by the Los Angeles City Council. The Employee
Relations Ordinance specifies that the qualities of members
include broad experience in the field of employee relations and
possess the impartiality necessary to protect the public
interest. This is the same process that governs how the city
selects members for other commissions such as the Fire
Department, the Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles World Airports,
and the Department of Water and Power.
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While all parties seem to agree that the employee/employer labor
processes within the City and County of Los Angeles have
operated smoothly for many years, during the past year there has
been tremendous turmoil with the ERB and the ERCOM, to the point
which all three hearing officers under ERCOM have resigned.
AB 1881 is intended to restore the joint mutual selection
process for the commissioners of the City of Los Angeles
Employee Relations Board and the Los Angeles County Employer
Relations Commission.