Clarification on AB 119 – Mandatory Union Access to New Employee Orientation & Minor Updates Recently Signed Into Law (CCD)

Since issuing Legal Update No. 16-2017 in July, we have received a number of questions regarding what specific information must be disclosed to exclusive representatives under Assembly Bill (“AB”) 119. In addition, Governor Brown recently signed into law small changes to AB 119.

LEGAL UPDATE

October 24, 2017

To:  Superintendents/Presidents/Chancellors, Member Community College Districts (CCD)

From: Ellie R. Austin, Schools Legal Counsel

Subject: Clarification on AB 119 – Mandatory Union Access to New Employee Orientation & Minor Updates Recently Signed Into Law

Memo No. 25-2017 (CC)

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Since issuing Legal Update No. 16-2017 in July, we have received a number of questions regarding what specific information must be disclosed to exclusive representatives under Assembly Bill (“AB”) 119. In addition, Governor Brown recently signed into law small changes to AB 119.

 

As a reminder, AB 119 requires public employers subject to the Educational Employment Relations Act (“EERA”), including community college districts, to provide representatives of recognized employee organizations and exclusive representatives[1] mandatory access to new employee orientations. Please refer to Legal Update No. 16-2017 for an overview of AB 119.

 

       I.            Clarification on AB 119

 

a.      Information Disclosure Requirements

 

There are two separate information disclosure requirements under AB 119, which are subject to the limitations described in subsection (b) below.

 

1.                                                      Within 30 days of hire or by the first pay period of the month following hire, the employer must 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 all newly hired employees.[2]

 

2.      Every 120 days, unless negotiated otherwise, the employer must 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 all employees in the bargaining unit.[3]

 

b.      Employees’ Ability to Limit Disclosure of Information Required under AB 119

 

An employee may submit a written request to the employer to limit disclosure of the employee’s home address, home telephone number, personal cell phone number, personal email address, and date of birth to an employee organization.[4] Moreover, victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking who participate in a victims’ assistance program may utilize an address designated by the Secretary of State to serve as their address for purposes of public records requests.[5] This law applies to information produced to the union pursuant to AB 119.[6]

 

c.       Information Not Required to be Disclosed under AB 119

 

In recent weeks, we have seen a number of AB 119 proposals from exclusive representatives requesting information that is not required under the new law, including: date of birth, last four digits of social security number, and retirement (PERS/STRS) status.

 

Disclosure of these items of information (date of birth, last four digits of social security number, and retirement (PERS/STRS) status) is not required under AB 119, and therefore we recommend districts do not agree to disclose it as part of the automatic disclosures under the new law. For each of these items, we recommend consulting with legal counsel if you receive a request for the information. Depending on the circumstances, it is possible that such information may be withheld from disclosure or subject to disclosure as information “necessary and relevant” to the union’s duty to represent its members in their employment relations with public school employers.[7]

 

d.      Information of Employees Performing Law-Enforcement Related Functions

 

Employers should not disclose the home addresses and any phone numbers on file with the employer of employees performing law enforcement-related functions to an employee organization.[8]

 

e.       Applicability of Compulsory Interest Arbitration

 

The plain language of the statute appears to render compulsory interest arbitration applicable only to “the failure to reach agreement on the structure, time, and manner of the access” to new employee orientation.[9] In other words, after the parties reach an agreement, compulsory interest arbitration is not appropriate for resolving disputes or grievances over the agreement’s interpretation or application.

 

A number of proposals proffered by employee organizations in recent weeks have included a provision making the interpretation and application of any agreement on AB 119 subject to the compulsory interest arbitration process outlined in section 3557. We strongly recommend declining to memorialize this provision in any MOU or side letter. Instead, we recommend that any disagreement regarding the interpretation or application of an agreement on AB 119 be subject to the grievance procedures in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

 

    II.            Recent Updates to AB 119

 

In September, Governor Brown signed into law small changes to AB 119, specifically with respect to Government Code section 3557 as it pertains to compulsory interest arbitration.[10] An updated version of section 3557 is attached to this Legal Update.

 

Subsection (b)(1)(A) has been revised to provide,

 

The arbitrator selection process described in paragraph (2) shall commence within 14 days of a party’s demand for compulsory interest arbitration. The party demanding compulsory interest arbitration shall be responsible for requesting a panel of arbitrators from the State Mediation and Conciliation Service.

 

(Gov’t Code § 3557(b)(1)(A); changes underlined.)

 

The revisions remove the strict 14-day deadline by which either party must request to engage in compulsory interest arbitration after the end of the 45- or 60-day negotiations timeline provided in the same section. Under the new language, there is no deadline by which a party must request to engage in compulsory interest arbitration regarding a dispute in negotiations over the structure, time, and manner of union access to new employee orientation. The revisions also obligate the party requesting compulsory interest arbitration to request the list of arbitrators from the State Mediation and Conciliation Service.

 

Subsection (b)(2) has been slightly modified to fix what appears to be a typographical error, changing “within not less than 30 days” to “within 30 days,” pertaining to the time by which arbitration must be completed once commenced.

 

Please contact our office with questions regarding this Legal Update or any other legal matter.

 

The information in this Legal Update is provided as a summary of law and is not intended as legal advice.  Application of the law may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances at issue.  We, therefore, recommend that you consult legal counsel to advise you on how the law applies to your specific situation.

 

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