CSDA Joins Broad Coalition Seeking Amendments to Senate Bill 931, Which Seeks to Impose Steep Penalties for Deterring or Discouraging Union Activities
CSDA has joined a coalition of public agency employers with an Oppose Unless Amended position on Senate Bill 931 (Leyva).
Under existing law, Government Code section 3550 provides:
A public employer shall not deter or discourage public employees or applicants to be public employees from becoming or remaining members of an employee organization, or from authorizing representation by an employee organization, or from authorizing dues or fee deductions to an employee organization.
SB 931 would give standing to an employee organization that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to bring a claim before the board alleging that a public employer violated Section 3550. Upon a finding that the public employer violated section 3550, the employer shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 per affected employee, not to exceed $100,000 in aggregate, to be collected and administered by PERB. SB 931 would provide non-reciprocal attorneys’ fees and costs to the employee organization if it is the prevailing party. The bill does not permit PERB to award attorneys’ fees and costs for any proceedings before the board that challenge the dismissal of an unfair practice charge by the board’s Office of the General Counsel. SB 931 also grants PERB non-reciprocal attorneys’ fees and costs if it is the prevailing party in related litigation, as specified.
Because section 3550 is a relatively new code section with few interpretive decisions on point, and due to the potentially significant penalties and non-reciprocal attorneys’ fees and costs associated with SB 931, CSDA has joined a broad coalition of public agency employers opposing SB 931 unless it is amended. A copy of CSDA’s coalition letter can be viewed here.
Specifically, CSDA and its coalition partners are seeking substantive parity between the penalty provisions of SB 931 and SB 270 (Durazo), which has been signed into law and will be operative July 1, 2022, and which provides PERB with authority to impose penalties for certain violations of Government Code section 3558. Those penalties are based upon consideration of various factors, capped at $10,000, and paid to California’s General Fund, rather than to PERB. The coalition is also seeking an amendment to SB 931 which will require a notice, including the facts and theory supporting the alleged violation, prior to bringing a claim before PERB under the provisions of SB 931.
CSDA Legislative Representative Aaron Avery provided public comment in opposition to SB 931 at the bill’s most recent policy committee hearing. SB 931 was recently amended to prohibit an employee organization from being awarded prevailing party attorneys’ fees and costs if PERB finds the claim at issue was frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless when brought, or the employee organization continued to litigate after it clearly became so. SB 931 will now be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
CSDA will remain engaged with SB 931. Please stay tuned for additional updates.
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