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, the Judicial Council Employer-Employee Relations Act and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Transit Employer-Employee Relations Act, as well as provisions commonly referred to as the Educational Employment Relations Act and the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, regulates the labor relations of the state, the courts, specified local public agencies, and their employees. Existing law establishes other requirements relating to labor relations that are applicable to certain transit agencies. These acts grant specified public employees the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their choosing and require public agency employers, among other things, to meet and confer with representatives of recognized employee organizations and exclusive representatives on terms and conditions of employment. Existing law requires the California State University, the governing board of a school district, and the governing board of a community college district to grant specified employees a leave of absence without loss of compensation, as specified, for the purpose of enabling the employee to serve as an elected officer of specified employee organizations.

This bill would require public employers, subject to the acts described above, and specified public employers of transit workers, upon request of the exclusive representative of an employee, to grant reasonable leaves of absence without loss of compensation or other benefits for the purpose of enabling employees to serve as stewards or officers of the exclusive representative, or of any statewide or national employee organization with which the exclusive representative is affiliated. The bill would specify that leave may be granted on a full-time, part-time, periodic, or intermittent basis, in accordance with certain procedures.

The bill would grant the steward or representative, at the conclusion or termination of the leave granted, the right of reinstatement to the same position and work location held before the leave, or, if not feasible, a substantially similar position without loss of seniority, rank, or classification. The bill would provide that the exclusive representative is not obligated to use leave under this provision and may terminate that leave at any time, for any reason. The bill would require the exclusive representative or employee organization to reimburse the public employer for all compensation paid to the employee on leave, unless otherwise agreed to, as specified. The bill would specify that compensation during leave granted is required to include retirement fund contributions, the employee is to earn full service credit during the leave, and is required to pay his or her membership contributions, unless the employer has agreed to pay the contributions on the employee’s behalf, as specified. The bill would also provide that a public employer is not liable for acts, omissions, or injuries suffered by employees that occur during the course and scope of the employee’s leave, as prescribed.