MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL:
Joe Males
Mayor (District 4)
Malcolm Lilienthal
Mayor Pro Tem (District 3)
Carole Kendrick
Council Member (District 1)
Jaculin "Jackie" Peterson
Council Member (District 2)
Linda Krupa
Council Member (District 5)
Mark Prestwich
City Manager
Steven Graham
City Attorney
John P. Maier
City Clerk
AMENDED CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
CITY OF HEMET, CALIFORNIA
Monday, August 21, 2023
City Hall, Second Floor, Board Room
445 E. Florida Ave., Hemet, California 92543
SPECIAL MEETING AT 4:30 P.M.
(Amended to include Open Session, Public Comment, and Discussion - Action Item
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In accordance with the Governor’s Declarations of Emergency for the State of California (Executive Orders N-25-20 and N-29-20) and the Governor’s Stay at Home Order (Executive Order N-33-20), the City of Hemet is providing alternative measures for the public to attend/view City Council Meetings.
Council Chamber: In-person participation is limited in the Council Chamber in order to maintain social distancing room capacity.
Live Stream: This meeting will be live-streamed on the City's website at hemetca.gov/agenda.
Public Comments: Members of the Public who wish to comment on matters before the Council, in lieu of attending in person, may submit comments on or before 2:00 p.m. the day of the meeting by using the following link: Online Comment Form. Comments will be recorded in the official meeting record.
Teleconference: Residents may also submit public comments by teleconference during Communications from the Public by using the following Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85811137905
Passcode: 745765
Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782
We appreciate your understanding during this unprecedented time of social distancing under the Safer at Home orders. These procedures may be modified in the future as social and public gathering protocols change. Thank you.
Notice Regarding Americans with Disability Act
In compliance with the Americans with Disability Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting or if you need agenda documents provide in an alternate format, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (951) 765 -2307 at least 48 hours p rior to the meeting to ensure that reasonable arrangements can be made (28CFR 35.102 -35.104 ADA Title II)
Page
SPECIAL MEETING – 4:30 P.M.
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. ROLL CALL
3. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD - RULES OF DECORUM, RESOLUTION NO. 4545
• At this time, members of the public may only comment on the Discussion - Action Item. Please adhere to the following when addressing the Council:
o Comments will be limited to 3 minutes or less.
o Comments should be directed to the Council as a whole and not d irected to individual Council Members.
o Please follow the adopted rules of decorum: Resolution No. 4545.
4. DISCUSSION - ACTION ITEM
4.A Letter of Opposition to Assembly Bill 1484 (Zbur)
Staff Report #23-285 - Pdf
Recommendation:
It is respectfully recommended that the City Council:
Pass a Motion authorizing the Mayor to submit a Letter of Opposition to Assembly Bill 1484 (Zbur) Temporary public employees.
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5. CLOSED SESSION – 4:30 P.M. OR SOON THEREAFTER
6. CALL TO ORDER
7. ROLL CALL
8. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD - RULES OF DECORUM, RESOLUTION NO. 4545
• At this time, members of the public may only comment on an item appearing on the Closed Session agenda. Please adhere to the following when addressing the Council:
o Comments will be limited to 3 minutes or less.
o Comments should be directed to the Council as a whole and not directed to individual Council Members.
o Please follow the adopted rules of decorum: Resolution No. 4545.
9. DISCUSSION ITEM
9.A CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - ANTICIPATED
LITIGATION
Significant Exposure to Pursuant to Paragraph (2) of Subdivision (d) of Section 54956.9
Number of Cases (1)
10. ADJOURNMENT OF CLOSED SESSION
11. CITY ATTORNEY CLOSED SESSION REPORT
12. ADJOURNMENT
AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING
I, John Paul Maier, MMC, City Clerk for the City of Hemet, declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing agenda was posted at City Hall located at 445 E. Florida Ave., the Council Chamber located at 450 E. Latham Ave., Hemet, CA, and the City Website.
Date & Time: August 8, 2023 at 5:45 P.M.
Meeting Schedule: The City Council of the City of Hemet regularly meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted. Closed and Special Sessions will be duly noticed as needed.
Council Agendas: Agendas for Regular Meetings are available for public review on the City’s website at hemetca.gov and in the City Clerk’s Office, 445 E. Florida Ave. typically by 4:00 p.m. on th e Thursday prior to the meeting, but no later than 72 hours prior to the meeting. Agendas for Closed and Special Sessions are made available at least 72 hours prior to the meeting when possible, but no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting.
Livestream: Regular City Council Meetings are available for viewing during the meeting at hemetca.gov.
Use of Equipment: Please contact the City Clerk’s Office if reques ting to use the chamber equipment as part of a scheduled presentation 24 hours prior to the meeting at (951) 765-2307
City of Hemet
City Council Meeting
STAFF REPORT
Meeting: City Council Special Meeting - Aug 21 2023
Department: Administration
Submitted by: Mark Prestwich, City Manager;
☐ Receive and File ☐ Consent Calendar ☒ Business Item ☐ Public Hearing
TITLE:
Letter of Opposition to Assembly Bill 1484 (Zbur)
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
It is respectfully recommended that the City Council:
Pass a Motion authorizing the Mayor to submit a Letter of Opposition to Assembly Bill 1484 (Zbur) Temporary public employees.
BACKGROUND:
Existing law, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (act), authorizes local public employees, as defined, to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on matters of labor relations. Existing law generally requires that the scope of representation under the act include all matters relating to em ployment conditions and employer - employee relations, while excepting the consideration of the merits, necessity, or organization of any service or activity provided by law or executive order. Existing law states that the Legislature finds and declares that the duties and responsibilities of local agency employer representatives under the act are substantially similar to the duties and responsibilities required under existing collective bargaining enforcement procedures and therefore the costs incurred by the local agency employer representatives in performing those duties and responsibilities under that act are not reimbursable as state -mandated costs.
This bill would impose specified requirements with respect to the temporary employees, as defined, of a public employer who have been hired to perform the same or similar type of work that is performed by permanent employees represented by a recognized employee organization. In this regard the bill would require those temporary employees to be automatically included in the same bargaining unit as the permanent employees, as specified, upon the request of the recognized employee organization.
The bill would also require a public employer to, upon hire, provide each temporary employee with their job description, wage rates, and eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of employment, and procedures to apply for open, permanent positions. By imposing new duties on local agencies that employ temporary employees, the bill would impose a state -mandated local progr am. The bill would
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require complaints alleging a violation of its provisions to be processed as unfair practice charges under the act. The bill would additionally include the same findings and declarations as set forth above.
AB 1484 was approved in the Assembly on May 31, 2023 by a vote of 62 to 18. The bill, as amended May 18, 2023 is attached to this report. AB 1484 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The Committee's bill analysis and AB 1484 text is attached to this report.
ANALYSIS:
AB 1484 would require local public employers to include temporary employees in the same bargaining unit as permanent employees upon request of the recognized employee organization. The wages, hours, terms, and conditions of employment for temporary and per manent employees would need to be bargained together in a single memorandum of understanding.
DISCUSSION:
AB 1484 would likely increase the cost of hiring temporary employees, undermine cities’ ability to organize their workforces to best provide local government services, and complicate personnel management.
The combined impact of this bill would ultimately reduce the use of temporary employees for seasonal or “surge” needs, thereby reducing levels of service to residents.
AB 1484’s overly broad definition of a temporary employee would have unintended and unpredictable consequences when applied to the myriad of existing local programs and the laws governing employees.
AB 1484 would require public agencies to inform temporary employees and the employee organization about their anticipated length of employment. However, temporary employees are often hired to fulfill an immediate need of uncertain duration. Identifying an end date in these cases is nothing more than speculation, which will serve no useful purpose and may lead to unnecessary disputes.
The Bill Analysis prepared for the Senate Committee on Appropriations (attached) states:
"This bill would result in labor organizations filing unfair practice charges with PERB [Public Employee Relations Board] where the public agency
1. Refuses to move temporary employees into a bargaining unit after a request by the exclusive representative,
2. Fails to provide information about its temporary employees, or
3. Refuses to bargain in good faith over terms and conditions for temporary employees.
Because public agencies must move temporary employees into an established bargaining unit only if they perf orm "same or similar" work as the permanent employees, PERB notes that it is likely that disputes would arise about whether a temporary employee is a public employees or employed by a staffing agency. PERB further notes that questions that concern the iden tify of the employer are fact intensive and often legally complex, potentially resulting in protracted adjudication of these disputes."
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The Bill Analysis further states that "PERB anticipates that other ambiguities in the language would result in unfair practice charges as well. For example, it is unclear whether the public agency must immediately bargain over terms and conditions for temp orary employees where the current MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] does not cover them."
STRATEGIC PLAN INTEGRATION:
GOAL FIVE: ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS
To identify the work needed inside the City organization to effectively provide services to the community and ensure financial stability.
Objective 1: Operate in a financially sustainable manner.
Objective 2: Evaluate existing practices to ensure continuity with industry best practices.
Objective 3: Provide Council with policies that are consistent while lessening liabilities.
Objective 4: Increase employee retention by training and creating a positive workplace.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
ALTERNATIVE(S):
Do not draft a Letter of Opposition.
ATTACHMENT(S):
AB 1484 As Amended 18 May 2023
AB 1484 Bill Analysis - Senate Committee on Appropriations Draft Letter of Oppositioin to AB 1484 Zbur
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AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 2023
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2023
california legislature—2023–24 regular session
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1484
Introduced by Assembly Member Zbur
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Haney and Ortega)
February 17, 2023
An act to add Section 3507.7 to the Go vernment Code, relating to public employment.
legislative counsel’s digest
AB 1484, as amended, Zbur. Temporary public employees.
(1) Existing la w, the Me yers-Milias-Brown Act (act), authorizes local public employees, as defined, to form, join, and participate in the activities of emplo yee or ganizations of their o wn choosing for the purpose of representation on matters of labor relations. Existing la w generally requires that the scope of representation under the act include all matters relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations, while excepting the consideration of the merits, necessity, or organization of an y service or acti vity provided by la w or e xecutive order. Existing la w states that the Le gislature finds and declares that the duties and responsibilities of local agency employer representatives under the act are substantially similar to the duties and responsibilities required under existing collective bargaining enforcement procedures and therefore the costs incurred by the local agenc y emplo yer representatives in performing those duties and responsibilities under that act are not reimbursable as state-mandated costs.
97
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This bill w ould impose specified requirements with respect to the temporary employees, as defined, of a public employer who have been hired to perform the same or similar type of work that is performed by permanent emplo yees represented by a recognized emplo yee organization. In this re gard the bill w ould require those temporary employees to be automatically included in the same bargaining unit as the permanent emplo yees, as specified, upon the request of the recognized employee organization. The bill would also require a public employer to, upon hire, pro vide each temporary emplo yee with their job description, w age rates, and eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of emplo yment, and procedures to apply for open, permanent positions. By imposing ne w duties on local agencies that emplo y temporary employees, the bill w ould impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require complaints alleging a violation of its provisions to be processed as unfair practice charges under the act. The bill would additionally include the same findings and declarations as set forth above.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.
Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions for costs mandated by the state pursuant to this act, b ut would recognize that a local agenc y or school district may pursue an y available remedies to seek reimb ursement for these costs.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. The Le gislature finds and declares all of the line 2 following:
line 3 (a) Local go vernments ha ve increasingly hired temporary line 4 employees to provide public services.
line 5 (b) Temporary emplo yees are disproportionately w omen and line 6 people of color , and the lesser rights of temporary emplo yees line 7 exacerbate race and gender inequity in public employment. line 8 (c) There is a state wide interest in ensuring that temporary line 9 employees are protected by state la ws pro viding for f air labor 97 — 2 — AB 1484
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line 1 relations and that the increasing use of temporary employees does line 2 not undermine public employee labor relations.
line 3 (d) Section 2 of this act is intended to apply to all public line 4 employers covered by the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Chapter 10 line 5 (commencing with Section 3500) of Di vision 4 of Title 1 of the line 6 Government Code).
line 7 SEC. 2. Section 3507.7 is added to the Government Code, to line 8 read:
line 9 3507.7. (a) For purposes of this section, “temporary employee” line 10 means a temporary employee, casual employee, seasonal employee, line 11 periodic emplo yee, e xtra-help emplo yee, relief emplo yee, line 12 limited-term employee, per diem employee, and any other public line 13 employee who has not been hired for a permanent position. line 14 (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the following requirements line 15 apply with respect to temporary employees of a public employer line 16 who have been hired to perform the same or similar type of work line 17 that is performed by permanent emplo yees represented by a line 18 recognized employee organization:
line 19 (1) Upon the request of the recognized employee organization line 20 to the public employer, the following apply:
line 21 (A) Temporary employees shall be automatically included in line 22 the same bargaining unit as the permanent employees if temporary line 23 employees are not presently within the unit definition. This line 24 subparagraph does not require the same terms and conditions of line 25 employment for permanent and temporary employees. line 26 (B) The terms and conditions of employment of permanent and line 27 temporary emplo yees in the same bar gaining unit shall be line 28 addressed in a single memorandum of understanding. This line 29 subparagraph shall apply upon the e xpiration of the e xisting line 30 memoranda of understanding that co vers the permanent and line 31 temporary employees, unless the recognized employee organization line 32 and public employer agree to an earlier date. This subparagraph line 33 does not require the same terms and conditions of employment for line 34 permanent and temporary employees.
line 35 (2) The public emplo yer shall pro vide, upon hire, each line 36 temporary employee with their job description, w age rates, and line 37 eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of emplo yment, and line 38 procedures to apply for open, permanent positions. The same line 39 information shall be pro vided to the recognized emplo yee line 40 organization, along with the employee information required under 97 AB 1484 — 3 —
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line 1 Section 3558 for the temporary emplo yee, within fiv e business line 2 days of hiring the temporary employee.
line 3 (3) The public emplo yer shall include, when pro viding the line 4 employee organization with the emplo yee information required line 5 by Section 3558, the anticipated end date of employment for each line 6 temporary employee or actual end date if the temporary employee line 7 has been released from service since the last list was provided. line 8 (4) (A) Whether a temporary emplo yee who subsequently line 9 obtains permanent employment receives seniority or other credit line 10 or benefit for their time spent in temporary emplo yment shall be line 11 a matter within the scope of representation in bargaining units that line 12 include permanent employees.
line 13 (B) Whether a temporary employee receives a hiring preference line 14 over external candidates for permanent positions shall be a matter line 15 within the scope of representation in bargaining units that include line 16 temporary employees.
line 17 (C) This paragraph shall apply to the e xtent that the line 18 memorandum of understanding may la wfully address these line 19 subjects. This paragraph shall be ef fective with respect to an y line 20 memorandum of understanding co vering permanent emplo yees line 21 entered into after the effective date of this section. line 22 (5) Unless a memorandum of understanding that co vers both line 23 temporary and permanent emplo yees e xpressly refers to this line 24 paragraph and w aives its requirements, temporary emplo yees in line 25 that bargaining unit who ha ve been emplo yed for more than 30 line 26 calendar days shall be entitled to use an y grievance procedure in line 27 the memorandum of understanding to challenge an y discipline line 28 without cause. This paragraph shall be effective only with respect line 29 to a memorandum of understanding entered into after the effective line 30 date of this section. This paragraph does not require public line 31 employers to retain temporary emplo yees whose services are no line 32 longer needed, to require pretermination hearings before the line 33 dismissal of temporary employees, or to prevent a public employer line 34 from replacing temporary emplo yees with emplo yees hired for line 35 permanent positions.
line 36 (c) Complaints alle ging violations of this section shall be line 37 processed as unfair practice charges pursuant to Section 3509. line 38 (d) Nothing in this section supersedes or provides any exemption line 39 to the restrictions or requirements related to individuals working line 40 after retirement from a public retirement system. 97 — 4 — AB 1484
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line 1 (d)
line 2 (e) The Le gislature finds and declares that the duties and line 3 responsibilities of local agenc y emplo yer representatives under line 4 this section are substantially similar to the duties and line 5 responsibilities required under e xisting collecti ve bar gaining line 6 enforcement procedures and therefore, the costs incurred by the line 7 local agency employer representatives in performing those duties line 8 and responsibilities under this section are not reimb ursable as line 9 state-mandated costs.
line 10 SEC. 3. No reimbursement shall be made pursuant to P art 7 line 11 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the line 12 Government Code for costs mandated by the state pursuant to this line 13 act. It is recognized, however, that a local agency or school district line 14 may pursue any remedies to obtain reimbursement available to it line 15 under Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) and any other law.
O
97 AB 1484 — 5 —
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair
2023 - 2024 Regular Session
AB 1484 (Zbur) - Temporary public employees
Version: May 18, 2023 Policy Vote: L., P.E. & R. 4 - 1
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 14, 2023 Consultant: Robert Ingenito
Bill Summary: AB 1484 would require inclusion of temporary employees in the same bargaining unit as permanent employees upon request of the recognized employee organization to a local public employer.
Fiscal Impact:
The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) indicates that it would incur annual General Fund costs of up to $236,000 to implement the provisions of the bill.
By increasing the duties of local public employers, as specified, this bill creates a state-mandated local program. To the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines that the provisions of this bill create a new program or impose a higher level of service on local agencies, local agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs (General Fund). The magnitude is unknown, but potentially in excess of $50,000 annually.
Background: Temporary employees are employees who have not been hired for a permanent position. Although these workers are classified as temporary, these employees are often rehired by employers year after year, suggesting that their need is permanent. Temporary employees may be excluded from union contracts that cover permanent workers doing similar work and often do not receive the same wages, rights, or benefits a permanent employees.
In recent years, the proportionate number of temporary employees to permanent employees has reportedly increased. For example, the author’s office cites estimates that temporary employees account for 20 percent of San Mateo County’s workforce, and 40 percent in Oakland.
PERB is 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, trial court interpreters, supervisory employees of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Judicial Council employees, Orange County Transportation Authority employees, Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) employees, Sacramento Regional Transit District employees, Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District employees, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority employees, and child care providers who participate in a state-funded early care and education program.
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AB 1484 (Zbur) Page 2 of 4
Proposed Law: This bill would, among other things, do the following:
Apply the following requirements to temporary employees (as defined) of a public employer who have been hired to perform the same or similar type of work that is performed by permanent employees represented by a recognized employee organization:
o Upon the request of the recognized employee organization to the public employer, the bill would require:
Temporary employees to be automatically included in the same bargaining unit as the permanent employees if temporary employees are not presently within the unit definition. This subparagraph does not require the same terms and conditions of employment for permanent and temporary employees.
The terms and conditions of employment of permanent and temporary employees in the same bargaining unit to be addressed in a single memorandum of understanding. This subparagraph shall apply upon the expiration of the existing memoranda of
understanding that covers the permanent and temporary
employees, unless the recognized employee organization and public employer agree to an earlier date. This subparagraph does not require the same terms and conditions of employment for permanent and temporary employees.
o Require the public employer to provide, upon hire, each temporary employee with their job description, wage rates, and eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of employment, and procedures to apply for open, permanent positions. The same information shall be provided to the recognized employee organization, as specified.
o Require the public employer to include, when providing the employee organization with the employee information required by PECC, the anticipated end date of employment for each temporary employee or actual end date if the temporary employee has been released from service since the last list was provided.
o Require that the scope of representation in bargaining units:
That include permanent employees includes the matter of whether a temporary employee who subsequently obtains permanent employment receives seniority or other credit or benefit for their time spent in temporary employment shall be a matter within the scope of representation.
That include temporary employees includes the matter of whether a temporary employee receives a hiring preference over external candidates for permanent positions.
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AB 1484 (Zbur) Page 3 of 4
Are not subject to the above two matters unless the memorandum of understanding may lawfully address those subjects.
Apply to any memorandum of understanding covering permanent employees entered into after the effective date of this section. o Grant temporary employees in a bargaining unit who have been employed for more than 30 calendar days use of any grievance procedure in a memorandum of understanding that covers both temporary and permanent employees to challenge any discipline without cause unless the memorandum of understanding expressly refers to this paragraph and waives its requirements.
This provision is effective only with respect to a memorandum of understanding entered into after the effective date of this section. This provision does not require public employers to retain temporary employees whose services are no longer needed, to require pretermination hearings before the dismissal of temporary employees, or to prevent a public employer from replacing temporary employees with employees hired for permanent
positions.
Require that complaints alleging violations of this bill’s provision be processed as unfair practice charges with PERB pursuant to its powers under the Myers-Milias- Brown Act (MMBA).
Related Legislation: AB 1752 (Santiago, 2022) would have required community college districts (CCD) to adopt terms of compensation for part-time faculty of at least the same ratio to the full-time faculty for comparable duties to ensure pay parity for part- time faculty and would have required districts that do not have collective bargaining agreements with their part-time employees to bargain with them, as specified. The bill was held under submission on the Suspense File of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Staff Comments: Staff notes that while the bill has been crafted in an effort to eliminate the potential of creating a new mandate, the Commission on State Mandates cites two decisions where the courts have determined that the evidence contradicts what is in statute. For example, Carmel Valley Fire Protection Dist v. State of California (1987) 190 Cal. App. 3rd 521, 541 notes: As a general defense against the order to reimburse, State insists that the Legislature itself concluded that the claimed costs are not reimbursable. This determination took the combined form of disclaimers, findings, and budget control language. State interprets this self-serving legislation, as well as the legislative and gubernatorial deletions, as forever sweeping away State’s obligation to reimburse the state-mandated costs at issue. Consequently, any order that ignores these restrictions on payments would amount to a court-ordered appropriation. As we shall conclude, these efforts are merely transparent attempts to do indirectly that which cannot lawfully be done directly.
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AB 1484 (Zbur) Page 4 of 4
Also, Long Beach Unified School District v. State of California (1990) 225 Cal App. 3rd 155, 184 notes: Having concluded that certain appropriations are generally available to reimburse Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), we turn to an additional issue raised by the State: that the “finding” by the Legislature that the Executive Order does not impose a “state mandated local program” prevents reimbursement. Unsupported legislative disclaimers are insufficient to defeat reimbursement. (Carmel Valley.) As discussed, LBUSD, pursuant to Section 6, has a constitutional right to reimbursement of its costs in providing an increased service mandated by the state. The Legislature cannot limit a constitutional right. (Hale v. Bohannon (1952) 38 Cal. 2nd 458, 471 [2441 P. 2d 4].
As noted above, this bill would result in labor organizations filing unfair practice charges with PERB where the public agency (1) refuses to move temporary employees into a bargaining unit after a request by the exclusive representative, (2) fails to provide information about its temporary employees, or (3) refuses to bargain in good faith over terms and conditions for temporary employees. Because public agencies must move temporary employees into an established bargaining unit only if they perform the “same or similar” work as the permanent employees, PERB notes that it is likely that disputes would arise involving whether the duties are the same or similar. Similarly, disputes would arise about whether a temporary employee is a public employee or employed by a staffing agency. PERB further notes that questions that concern the identity of the employer are fact intensive and often legally complex, potentially resulting in protracted adjudication of these disputes.
PERB anticipates that other ambiguities in the language would result in unfair practice charges as well. For example, it is unclear whether the public agency must immediately bargain over terms and conditions for temporary employees where the current MOU does not cover them. Overall, these disputes would likely result in an increase of 20-25 charges per year. PERB estimates that, on average, each unfair practice case costs about $9,447 to adjudicate. Therefore, this bill would increase PERB’s annual costs from $189,000 to $236,000.
-- END --
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City of Hemet
445 E. Florida Avenue Hemet, CA 92543 (951) 765-2301 FAX (951) 765-3785 Office of the City Council
August 21, 2023
The Honorable Anthony Portantino
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 412
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 1484 (Zbur): Temporary public employees – OPPOSE Dear Senator Portantino:
The City of Hemet must respectfully oppose AB 1484, which would require local public employers to include temporary employees in the same bargaining unit as permanent employees upon request of the recognized employee organization. AB 1484 would be difficult, if not impossible, for public employers to fulfill and includes provisions that conflict with existing law for permanent employees.
The bill’s provisions, including restrictions on discharging temporary employees and the inevitable increases in cost to employers, would also seriously discourage public agencies from hiring temporary employees. This reduction in employment opportunities would be detrimental to Californians throughout the state who are seeking temporary work.
AB 1484 would also negatively impact public services. "Extra help" employees are often hired for seasonal or “surge” needs, such as temporary clerical staff. This bill would significantly increase the costs of hiring such employees, thereby reducing levels of service to residents.
Similarly, temporary employees are frequently hired to backfill permanent employees who are on leave or temporarily reassigned. This bill would discourage such hiring, leaving positions unfilled and the public unserved.
Furthermore, AB 1484 would have unintended and unpredictable consequences when applied to the myriad existing local programs and the laws governing employees. This includes retired annuitants — whose terms and conditions of employment are strictly
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2 controlled by state law in ways that would severely impair any meaningful bargaining — and workers hired through staffing agencies.
Public agencies also often offer paid student internship programs, which provide valuable work experience for the next generation of public employees. Requiring agencies to include those positions with the bargaining unit (and give them discharge protections) would strongly discourage local governments from offering such programs.
AB 1484 would also require public agencies to inform temporary employees and the employee organization of the anticipated length of employment. However, temporary employees are often hired to fulfill an immediate need of uncertain duration, as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic. In these cases, the agency would not be able to identify an end date that is anything more than speculation, which would serve no useful purpose and may lead to unnecessary disputes.
Most critically, AB 1484 provides temporary employees with more rights than permanent employees. Proposed Section 3507.7(b)(5) provides that "temporary employees...who have been employed for more than 30 calendar days shall be entitled to use any grievance procedure in the memorandum of understanding to challenge any discipline without cause." By contrast, the City of Hemet offers a probationary period of at least six months for permanent employees, during which the employee may be released without cause and without triggering a grievance. This probationary period is a critical part of the hiring process.
If public employers cannot use this process for temporary employees, they would be vastly less likely to hire temporary employees.
Temporary employees are hired for a temporary and urgent need. The provisions of this bill severely limit local agencies’ ability to utilize this workforce, which ultimately impacts our ability to provide services. For these reasons, the City of Hemet respectfully opposes AB 1484.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Joe Males, Mayor
cc: The Honorable Rick Zbur, Member, California State Assembly The Honorable Members, Senate Appropriations Committee
Robert Ingenito, Consultant, Senate Appropriations Committee Scott Seekatz, Consultant, Senate Republican Caucus
Mary Hernandez, Chief Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of the Governor Laura Varela, Cal Cities Regional Public Affairs Manager (via email [email protected]) League of California Cities, (via email: [email protected])
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