Agenda Item No.
CITY OF YUCAIPA
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Joe Pradetto, Director of Government Affairs/PIO
FOR: City Council Meeting of August 28, 2023
SUBJECT: Legislative Action: Oppose AB 1484 (Zbur)
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council:
1. Oppose AB 1484; and
2. Authorize the Mayor to issue a letter in opposition to the bill.
BACKGROUND:
According to the author, AB 1484 seeks to remedy the increasing use of temporary workers by cities and counties to address long-term staffing needs. In some jurisdictions, temporary employees account for up to 40% of the workforce and serve for long durations of time. These employees often perform the same or similar duties to permanent employees but do not receive the same retirement, health insurance, disability, job security, or union benefits as permanent employees.
The City of Yucaipa relies on temporary employees for many of its seasonal programs in the Community Services Division.
DISCUSSION:
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 permanent employees would need to be bargained together in a single memorandum of understanding.
The City of Yucaipa is one of many local government jurisdictions that rely on temporary labor, and AB 1484 has the ability to inflict adverse impacts on the City's operations and service delivery.
Reduced Flexibility
If passed, AB 1484 would likely increase the cost of hiring temporary employees, undermine the City's ability to organize our workforce to best serve our residents, complicate personnel management, and significantly increase the cost of offering recreational services. The combined impact of this bill would create a disincentive from utilizing temporary employees for seasonal or "surge" needs, thereby reducing levels of service to residents.
Unrealistic Expectations
AB 1484 would require the City 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.
Complicates Discipline and Discharge
Nearly every public agency has a probationary period for permanent employees (often 6-12 months), during which the employee may be released without cause and without triggering a grievance. AB 1484 would allow temporary employees to use any grievance procedure in the memorandum of understanding to challenge any discipline without cause after only 30 days.
Probationary periods are critical to evaluating the performance and fit of new employees. If public employers cannot use this process for temporary employees, they will be vastly less likely to hire temporary employees.
Attachment(s):
1. Letter of Opposition for AB 1484
2. Assembly Bill 1484
Approved By:
ATTACHMENT 1
CITY OF r�
1 �
August 28, 2023
The Honorable Anthony Portantino
Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 412
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: AB 1484 (Zbur): Temporary public employees — OPPOSE (As Amended May 18, 2023)
Dear Senator Portantino:
The City of Yucaipa opposes AB 1484, a bill that 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 City of Yucaipa is one of many local government jurisdictions that rely on temporary labor, and AB 1484 has the ability to inflict adverse impacts on the City's operations and service delivery.
If passed, AB 1484 would likely increase the cost of hiring temporary employees, undermine the City's ability to organize our workforce to best serve our residents, complicate personnel management, and significantly increase the cost of offering recreational services. The combined impact of this bill would create a disincentive from utilizing temporary employees for seasonal or "surge" needs, thereby reducing levels of service to residents.
AB 1484 would require the City 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.
Nearly every public agency has a probationary period for permanent employees (often 6-12 months), during which the employee may be released without cause and without triggering a grievance. AB 1484 would allow temporary employees to use any grievance procedure in the memorandum of understanding to challenge any discipline without cause after only 30 days.
Probationary periods are critical to evaluating the performance and fit of new employees. If public employers cannot use this process for temporary employees, they will be vastly less likely to hire temporary employees.
City of Yucaipa
34272 Yucaipa Blvd, Yucaipa, CA 92399
909-797-2489
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 Yucaipa respectfully opposes AB 1484.
Sincerely,
Justin Beaver, Mayor
City of Yucaipa
cc: The Honorable Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, Member, California State Senate The Honorable Rick Zbur, Member, California State Assembly The Honorable Members, Senate Appropriations Committee
Laura Varela, League of California Cities, lvarela(&calcities.org League of California Cities, cityletters(a calcities.org Jason Gonsalves, Joe A. Gonsalves & Son, Jasonggonsalvi.com City of Yucaipa
34272 Yucaipa Blvd, Yucaipa, CA 92399
909-797-2489
ATTACHMENT 2
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 Government Code, relating to public employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1484, as amended, Zbur. Temporary public employees.
(1) 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 employment 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. 97 AB 1484 —2
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 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, but would recognize that a local agency or school district may pursue any available remedies to seek reimbursement 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:
1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the 2 following:
3 (a) Local governments have increasingly hired temporary 4 employees to provide public services.
5 (b) Temporary employees are disproportionately women and 6 people of color, and the lesser rights of temporary employees 7 exacerbate race and gender inequity in public employment. 8 (c) There is a statewide interest in ensuring that temporary 9 employees are protected by state laws providing for fair labor 97 AB 1484
1 relations and that the increasing use of temporary employees does 2 not undermine public employee labor relations.
3 (d) Section 2 of this act is intended to apply to all public 4 employers covered by the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Chapter 10 5 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the 6 Government Code).
7 SEC. 2. Section 3507.7 is added to the Government Code, to 8 read:
9 3507.7. (a) For purposes of this section, "temporary employee" 10 means a temporary employee, casual employee, seasonal employee, 11 periodic employee, extra -help employee, relief employee, 12 limited -term employee, per diem employee, and any other public 13 employee who has not been hired for a permanent position. 14 (b) Notwithstanding any other law, the following requirements 15 apply with respect to temporary employees of a public employer 16 who have been hired to perform the same or similar type of work 17 that is performed by permanent employees represented by a 18 recognized employee organization:
19 (1) Upon the request of the recognized employee organization 20 to the public employer, the following apply:
21 (A) Temporary employees shall be automatically included in 22 the same bargaining unit as the permanent employees if temporary 23 employees are not presently within the unit definition. This 24 subparagraph does not require the same terms and conditions of 25 employment for permanent and temporary employees.
26 (B) The terms and conditions of employment of permanent and 27 temporary employees in the same bargaining unit shall be 28 addressed in a single memorandum of understanding. This 29 subparagraph shall apply upon the expiration of the existing 30 memoranda of understanding that covers the permanent and 31 temporary employees, unless the recognized employee organization 32 and public employer agree to an earlier date. This subparagraph 33 does not require the same terms and conditions of employment for 34 permanent and temporary employees.
35 (2) The public employer shall provide, upon hire, each 36 temporary employee with their job description, wage rates, and 37 eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of employment, and 38 procedures to apply for open, permanent positions. The same 39 information shall be provided to the recognized employee 40 organization, along with the employee information required under 97 AB 1484 —4
1 Section 3558 for the temporary employee, within five business 2 days of hiring the temporary employee.
3 (3) The public employer shall include, when providing the 4 employee organization with the employee information required 5 by Section 3558, the anticipated end date of employment for each 6 temporary employee or actual end date if the temporary employee 7 has been released from service since the last list was provided. 8 (4) (A) Whether a temporary employee who subsequently 9 obtains permanent employment receives seniority or other credit 10 or benefit for their time spent in temporary employment shall be 11 a matter within the scope of representation in bargaining units that 12 include permanent employees.
13 (B) Whether a temporary employee receives a hiring preference 14 over external candidates for permanent positions shall be a matter 15 within the scope of representation in bargaining units that include 16 temporary employees.
17 (C) This paragraph shall apply to the extent that the 18 memorandum of understanding may lawfully address these 19 subjects. This paragraph shall be effective with respect to any 20 memorandum of understanding covering permanent employees 21 entered into after the effective date of this section. 22 (5) Unless a memorandum of understanding that covers both 23 temporary and permanent employees expressly refers to this 24 paragraph and waives its requirements, temporary employees in 25 that bargaining unit who have been employed for more than 30 26 calendar days shall be entitled to use any grievance procedure in 27 the memorandum of understanding to challenge any discipline 28 without cause. This paragraph shall be effective only with respect 29 to a memorandum of understanding entered into after the effective 30 date of this section. This paragraph does not require public 31 employers to retain temporary employees whose services are no 32 longer needed, to require pretermination hearings before the 33 dismissal of temporary employees, or to prevent a public employer 34 from replacing temporary employees with employees hired for 35 permanent positions.
36 (c) Complaints alleging violations of this section shall be 37 processed as unfair practice charges pursuant to Section 3509. 38 (d) Nothing in this section supersedes or provides any exemption 39 to the restrictions or requirements related to individuals working 40 after retirement from a public retirement system.
97 — 5 — AB 1484
1 ('4)
2 (e) The Legislature finds and declares that the duties and 3 responsibilities of local agency employer representatives under 4 this section are substantially similar to the duties and 5 responsibilities required under existing collective bargaining 6 enforcement procedures and therefore, the costs incurred by the 7 local agency employer representatives in performing those duties 8 and responsibilities under this section are not reimbursable as 9 state -mandated costs.
10 SEC. 3. No reimbursement shall be made pursuant to Part 7 11 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the 12 Government Code for costs mandated by the state pursuant to this 13 act. It is recognized, however, that a local agency or school district 14 may pursue any remedies to obtain reimbursement available to it 15 under Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) and any other law.
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