On November 12, 2024, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 82, the “Social Security Fairness Act of 2023” by overwhelming bipartisan margins. This bill has been top priority for public safety labor nationwide, including the IAFF and PORAC, because it eliminates the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO), provisions that unfairly punish retired police officers, fire fighters, and other public employees. Although this Bill was was co-sponsored by 303 of 435 members of the House of Representatives, it had stalled in the po ..read more

On September 30, 2023, the district court in the Southern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of City of Vista Fire Department and against three Battalion Chiefs for the filed a collective action pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) alleging the City misclassified them as exempt employees and failed to pay them overtime. The City moved for summary judgment claiming the Plaintiffs qualified as exempt employees under the executive, administrative, and highly compensated employee exemptions of the FLSA. Plaintiffs opposed the motion, arguing the Department of Lab ..read more

       This blogger greets you again, but with the topic on the most common way to settle your workers’ compensation injury, the “Stipulation with Request for Award”. But what is a “Stipulation with Request for Award” and how does it work?     A “Stipulation with Request for Award” generally gives you a lifetime medical award (yes, until you die, even if you switch employers, retire, get fired or move out of state). However, medical care is generally limited to treatment in the insurance company’s medical provider network (MPN) subject to denials of car ..read more

On January 1, 2024, new California Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) regulations went into effect, forcing police officers to disclose their own gender identity any time they submit a RIPA report to their employing agency.  The new regulations required, among other new disclosures, that an officer disclose whether they are cisgender, transgender, or nonbinary on a form that is reviewable by other department employees.  This aspect of the regulation not only violates employees’ right to privacy in their gender identity, but also places law enforcement agencies in the untenable ..read more

 On April 17, 2023, the United State Supreme Court ruled in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis (2024) 601 U.S. 346 that to prevail in a Title VII suit, an employee must show some harm from a forced transfer, but the harm does not need to satisfy any particular level of significance. The Court held that changes to working conditions such as responsibilities, duties, schedules, and work perks were sufficient to establish an employment disadvantage.  A St. Louis Police Department Sergeant, Jatonya Clayborn Muldrow, brought suit alleging that the Police Department violated Title VII by transfe ..read more

Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) just published its podcast of David E. Mastagni and Stockton Police Officers' Association Vice President Chris Sherman discussing Measure N, a ballot imitative in Stockton to establish interest arbitration as the impasse resolution process in contract negations for Stockton Police and Firefighters.  The initiative was drafted by Mastagni and the POA Board to establish a process that will eliminate prolonged periods where the POA and Fire union are out of contract by empowering an arbitration panel with a representative from the cit ..read more

              On September 25, 2024, Governor Newsom vetoed Senate Bill 1058, which would have extended 4850 benefits to about 200 park rangers currently employed by cities, counties, and subdivisions of the state. Introduced by Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, the bill would have allowed county and special district park rangers who experience a work-related injury or illness to receive full-pay salary continuation benefits in lieu of temporary disability. Current law (under Labor Code section 4850) allows law enforcement, firefig ..read more

    On September 6, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals partly upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the enforcement of Senate Bill 2 (SB 2) with regards to its location specific bans on concealed carry in so-called "sensitive places" even for  permit holders. Wolford v. Lopez, No. 23-16164, 2024 WL 4097462 (9th Cir. Sept. 6, 2024).       In defiance of the Supreme Court's Bruen ruling, California enacted SB 2 which eliminated the good cause requirement to obtain a CCW permit, but also defined most of the state as a “sensitive place” where e ..read more

On August 26, 2024, the members of the Sacramento County Attorneys’ Association (SCAA), representing prosecutors and public defenders began a strike.  The strike resulted from the County of Sacramento disregarding a Fact-Finding Panel recommended 5.5% wage adjustment to keep pace with neighboring jurisdictions. SCAA President Matt Chisolm noted "the workloads are too high, and the pay is too low."  Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho echoed those concerns stating, “I think it’s about time that the county’s CEO sit down and really try to resolve this issue because we have the ..read more

We are pleased to announce that on August 15, 2024, the California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP) agreed upon a three (3) year contract extension (MOU) with the State of California worth approximately $489.1 million.  The labor contract provides the membership an immediate 4% salary increase (and additional annual adjustments based on a salary formula set forth in Govt. Code section 19827) and significant increases in specialty and assignment pays. In early spring of 2024, the CAHP and the State of California began the collective bargaining process. Labor relations consultants S ..read more