BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2559
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2559 (Eggman) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : Community college employees: suspension.
SUMMARY : Specifies that for purposes of Article 4 of the
Sections 87660, et seq., of the Education Code (EC),
"suspension" includes, but is not limited to, involuntary leave
with partial or full compensation during the period of leave.
EXISTING LAW : Article 4 Section 87660, et seq., of the EC,
itemizes the various rules and governance that community college
districts must adhere to when evaluating and disciplining
faculty; this includes, but is not limited to:
1)Specifies that during the school year, all contract and
regular employees are subject to dismissal and the imposition
of penalties on the grounds and pursuant to the procedures
established (EC � 87666).
2)Stipulates that a contract or regular employee may be
dismissed or penalized for one or more of the grounds
established in Section 87732 of the EC (EC � 87667).
3)Specifies that a governing board may impose one of the
following penalties: a) Suspension for up to one year; and,
b) Suspension for up to one year and a reduction or loss of
compensation during the period of suspension (EC � 87668).
4)Requires that the governing board shall determine whether a
contract or regular employee is to be dismissed or penalized.
If the employee is to be penalized, the governing board shall
determine the nature of those penalties. If the employee is
to be dismissed or penalized, the governing board shall
determine whether the decision shall be imposed immediately or
postponed in accordance with Section 87672 of the EC (EC �
87669).
5)Specifies that a contract or regular employee may be dismissed
or penalized if one or more of the grounds set forth in
Section 87732 are present and the following are satisfied: a)
The employee has been evaluated in accordance with standards
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and procedures established in accordance with the provisions
of this article; b) The district governing board has received
all statements of evaluation which considered the events for
which dismissal or penalties may be imposed; c) The district
governing board has received recommendations of the
superintendent of the district and, if the employee is working
for a community college, the recommendations of the president
of that community college; and, d) The district governing
board has considered the statements of evaluation and the
recommendations in a lawful meeting of the board (EC � 87671).
6)Requires that if a governing board decides it intends to
dismiss or penalize a contract or regular employee, it shall
deliver a written statement, duly signed and verified, to the
employee setting forth the complete and precise decision of
the governing board and the reasons therefor. The written
statement shall be delivered by serving it personally on the
employee or by mailing it by United States registered mail to
the employee at his or her address last known to the district.
A governing board may postpone the operative date of a
decision to dismiss or impose penalties for a period not to
exceed one year, subject to the employee's satisfying his or
her legal responsibilities as determined by statute and rules
and regulations of the district. At the end of this period of
probation, the decision shall be made operative or permanently
set aside by the governing board (EC � 87672).
7)Stipulates that no regular employee or academic employee shall
be dismissed except for one or more of the following causes:
a) Immoral or unprofessional conduct; b) Dishonesty; c)
Unsatisfactory performance; d) Evident unfitness for service;
e) Physical or mental condition that makes him or her unfit to
instruct or associate with students; f) Persistent violation
of, or refusal to obey, the school laws of the state or
reasonable regulations prescribed for the government of the
community colleges by the board of governors or by the
governing board of the community college district employing
him or her; g) Conviction of a felony or of any crime
involving moral turpitude; and, h) Conduct as specified in
Section 1028 of the Government Code (EC � 87732).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Existing practice . Due process rights, as
established in law, apply to suspensions of employees resulting
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from a finding that a penalty is an appropriate course of
action. According to the Community College League of
California, currently, colleges place employees on
administrative leave when credible allegations that their
presence on campuses becomes dangerous to the campus community
are made. This protects students, staff, and faculty while also
giving the campus time to conduct an investigation. According
to the League, while the employee is on administrative leave the
college is attempting to determine if the allegations are true
and what disciplinary steps should be conducted.
This measure would treat paid administrative leave equal to a
penalty resulting from an investigation.
Purpose of the bill . According to the author, "The need for the
bill arises from anecdotal evidence that suggest some governing
boards are placing faculty on 'paid administrative leave.'
While paid leave of absence should fall under suspension,
regardless of pay in EDC Section 87668, by calling the action
something besides a suspension the governing board is able to
deny faculty their rights triggered upon suspension, including
being told why they are being disciplined and their right to a
hearing."
Arguments in support . California Community College Independents
(CCCI), sponsors of the measure, state that, "Under existing
law, a minimum level of community college faculty due process
rights are mandated that do not interfere with the ability of
management to provide adequate oversight and accountability."
CCCI contends that this measure would not establish a new
precedent; statutory due process rights already exist for
community college faculty.
Arguments in opposition . Community College League of California
argues that by defining involuntary paid leave as a suspension,
this bill is essentially reclassifying the tool that colleges
use to investigate allegations as the penalty itself. The
League contends this measure would "hamper the ability of the
colleges to conduct a thorough investigation that protects the
rights of the employee along with the safety of the campus
environment."
Committee considerations . There does not appear to be a
preponderance of evidence showing why the approach taken in this
bill is necessary. Is it sound policy to change our state laws
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based on limited anecdotal evidence?
Additionally, although the bill may have the best intentions of
faculty in mind, it would appear that this bill could place the
employer in a precarious situation of having to go through the
full due process before it could gather the evidence that would
support or refute the need for discipline. There are situations
in which permitting employees to continue working on a college
campus while being investigated for professional misconduct is
dangerous to the students, staff and/or both. Colleges need a
tool to be able to remove an employee from the campus with full
pay immediately in order to protect campus safety and the
integrity of the human resources process. Colleges rely on
administrative/involuntary leave for this very reason.
As drafted, there is a concern that the measure takes away a
community college's option of placing an employee of alleged
misconduct on paid administrative/involuntary leave as a useful
tool in order to avoid automatically having to penalize the
employee prior to a formal investigation; and, while the
investigation is taking place allow for protection of the
employee to have been removed from the situation and yet not
miss out on any pay.
Additionally, there are some situations whereby colleges or
districts may have to immediately remove employees and are not
in a position to share the reason for the leave because it may
jeopardize the integrity of the pending investigation. If the
intent of the author is to ensure that employees placed on
administrative/involuntary leave are made aware as to why they
are being placed on this leave, staff recommends that the
contents of this measure be deleted to instead: mandate that
the employer, to the extent that the pending investigation is
not hindered and that the safety of the students, faculty and
staff is not jeopardized, shall inform the employee of the
alleged misconduct as to why he or she is being placed on
administrative/involuntary leave in a brief written statement to
be given to the employee at the time of being placed on leave or
not more than five days later.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Community College Independents (sponsor)
AB 2559
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Opposition
Community College League of California
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960