Bill Text: CA SB1173 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 1173 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Public employment: labor relations: employee information.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-09-01 - Ordered to inactive file. [SB1173 Detail]

Download: California-2019-SB1173-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate March 26, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1173

Introduced by Senator Durazo

February 20, 2020

An act to amend Section 3558 of the Government Code, relating to public employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1173, as amended, Durazo. Public employment: labor relations: employee information.

Existing law, including the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the Ralph C. Dills Act, the Trial Court Employment Protection and Governance Act, the Trial Court Interpreter Employment and Labor Relations Act, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Transit Employer-Employee Relations Act, provisions commonly referred to as the Educational Employment Relations Act, and the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, among others, regulates the labor relations of the state, the courts, and specified local public agencies and their employees. Existing law requires these public employers to provide certain labor representatives with the names and home addresses of newly hired employees, as well as their job titles, departments, work locations, telephone numbers, and personal email addresses, within 30 days of hire or by the first pay period of the month following hire. Existing law also requires the public employers to provide this information for all employees in a bargaining unit at least every 120 days, except as specified.

This bill would impose liability on a public employer for violations of the above-described requirements if the violations occur 3 or more times in a 12-month period. In this instance, the employer would be liable for the reasonable expenses of an employee organization incurred in enforcing its rights, including staff time and payments to associated counsel. generally authorize an exclusive representative to file a charge of an unfair labor practice with the Public Employment Relations Board, as specified, alleging a violation of the above-described requirements. The bill would condition this authorization on the exclusive representative giving written notice, as specified, to the public employer of the alleged violation and would provide a public employer a limited opportunity to cure certain violations. The bill would require the Public Employment Relations Board to impose a penalty, not to exceed an unspecified amount, to be determined by the board with reference to specified criteria. The bill would require that an exclusive representative who prevails in these circumstances be awarded of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 3558 of the Government Code is amended to read:

3558.

(a) Subject to the exceptions provided here, the public employer shall provide the exclusive representative with the name, job title, department, work location, work, home, and personal cellular telephone numbers, personal email addresses on file with the employer, and home address of any newly hired employee within 30 days of the date of hire or by the first pay period of the month following hire, and the public employer shall also provide the exclusive representative with a list of that information for all employees in the bargaining unit at least every 120 days unless more frequent or more detailed lists are required by an agreement with the exclusive representative. The information identified in this section shall be provided to the exclusive representative regardless of whether the newly hired public employee was previously employed by the public employer. The information under this section shall be provided in a manner consistent with Section 6254.3 and in a manner consistent with Section 6207 for a participant in the address confidentiality program established pursuant to Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section 6205) of Division 7. The provision of information under this section shall be consistent with the employee privacy requirements described in County of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles County Employee Relations Com. (2013) 56 Cal.4th 905. This section does not preclude a public employer and exclusive representative from agreeing to a different interval within which the public employer provides the exclusive representative with the name, job title, department, work location, work, home, and personal cellular telephone numbers, personal email addresses, and home address of any newly hired employee or member of the bargaining unit.

(b)If the employer violates subdivision (a) on three or more occasions in a 12-month period, then it shall be liable for the reasonable expenses of the employee organization incurred in enforcing its rights under subdivision (a), which shall include staff time and payments to associated counsel.
(b) An exclusive representative may file a charge of an unfair labor practice, pursuant to subdivision (d), alleging a violation of subdivision (a) only after the following requirements have been met:
(1) The aggrieved exclusive representative gives written notice to the public employer of alleged violation of subdivision (a), including the facts and theories to support the alleged violation.
(2) The public employer fails to satisfy the requirements prescribed in subdivision (c), if applicable.
(c) (1) If the alleged violation is that a public employer has provided an inaccurate or incomplete list of employees to the exclusive representative, the public employer has 10 calendar days to cure the alleged violation by satisfying the requirements of this subdivision. For purposes of this subdivision, a cure is the provision of an accurate and complete list to the exclusive representative. The opportunity to cure does not apply to any other violation of subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, the failure to submit a list of newly hired employees or a list of bargaining unit members within the time periods prescribed by subdivision (a). The public employer shall give written notice by either certified mail or electronically within the 10-calendar day period to the applicable exclusive representative and, if appropriate, to the Public Employment Relations Board, of the actions taken. If the aggrieved exclusive representative does not find that the alleged violation has been cured, then is deemed to have failed.
(2) A public employer may avail itself of the opportunity to cure pursuant to this subdivision not more than three times in any 12-month period.
(d) (1) Subject to the limit described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 3555.5, the exclusive representative may file a single-issue unfair practice charge with the Public Employment Relations Board for violations of subdivision (a), as described in subdivisions (b) and (c), which the board shall process as an expedited case pursuant to board regulations.
(2) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a public employer found to have violated subdivision (a) shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed ____dollars ($____), which shall be determined by the Public Employment Relations Board with reference to the following criteria:
(A) The public employer’s annual budget.
(B) The severity of the violation.
(C) Any prior history of violations by the public employer.
(3) An exclusive representative who prevails in an action under this subdivision shall be awarded of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.