Winter Season Brings on Respiratory Illnesses. Across California, three different illnesses have begun to run rampant. In response, Departments have released information about these viruses and some precautions suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Due to a rise in positivity rates, COVID-19 … Read more
Safety Footwear Reimbursements are Not Taxable Income. CAPS filed several grievances at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recently, after members noticed their safety footwear reimbursements came back with additional taxes taken out. Members’ footwear reimbursement at the Department requires the submission of a receipt, … Read more
Governor Authorizes Informal Time Off (ITO). Governor Newsom has continued the historic tradition of authorizing up to four (4) hours of Holiday ITO for all employees, based on time base. If you do not use your ITO during the holiday season, you may keep it until … Read more
Recruit a New Member, Earn a Recruitment Incentive. CAPS offers an incentive for recruiting new members, whether they are Rank-and-File, Supervisory, or Managerial State Scientists. The online membership application form can be located on the CAPS website at http://capsscientists.org/application. It only takes a few minutes to sign … Read more
CalPERS Monthly Webinars. CalPERS provides free monthly webinars for members about their benefits and financial planning options. CalPERS invites all state employees to participate, whether new to state service, mid-career, or approaching retirement. There are two remaining upcoming online webinars for 2022. These will focus on … Read more
The quarterly CAPS Board of Directors’ Meeting for the 2021-2023 Board of Directors was held last Saturday, November 5, 2022. Actions by the Board of Directors included: Approving the minutes of the August 20, 2022 Board of Directors Meeting, Approving an update Bargaining Team consisting … Read more
Second Meet and Confer Session Held with CDFW over Telework “Directives.” On October 20, 2022, the CAPS Meet and Confer Team (CAPS Team) met with representatives from CDFW to continue discussing the current issues with telework, and focused specifically on the major issues CAPS sees surrounding … Read more
All S10 Supervisors to Receive Retroactive 2.5% GSI. CalHR informed CAPS this week that all CAPS Supervisors, both Like Pay Like Work (LPLW) and non-LPLW classes, will be receiving a 2.5% General Salary Increase (GSI), backdated to July 1, 2022. The increase is commensurate with what other excluded employees are receiving for … Read more
CDFW Proposed Changes to Telework. Last week, CAPS submitted formal objections to several notices about telework that were sent to CAPS Members in CDFW’s Wildlife and Fisheries Division, Oil Spill and Prevention Response (OSPR), and regional offices. CDFW has responded, noting: “The CDFW has absolutely no … Read more
Supervisor’s Committee Met with CalHR. The CAPS 2021-2023 Supervisor’s Committee met with the Governor’s Representative from CalHR last week to discuss items of importance to CAPS Supervisory Members, including: balancing all State Scientist Supervisors’ salaries. Thirty-three classifications of CAPS’ 52 supervisory classifications were left out of … Read more
The quarterly CAPS Board of Directors’ Meeting for the 2021-2023 Board of Directors was held on Saturday, August 20, 2022. Actions by the Board of Directors included: Approving the minutes of the May 21, 2022 Board of Directors Meeting, as amended live, Committing the Elections … Read more
Know Your Rights: Weingarten Rights. State Scientists (and all state employees) have the right to request a union representative to attend a meeting they reasonably believe will result in disciplinary action. These rights are called “Weingarten Rights” which are derived from a 1975 Supreme Court … Read more
Supervisor’s Committee Annual Meet and Confer Scheduled. The CAPS Supervisor’s Committee’s annual Meet and Confer with CalHR has been scheduled for Friday, August 19, 2022. The Committee will use the meeting to discuss items of importance to CAPS Supervisory members, including wages; direct report to … Read more
Highlights (see paragraphs below for more detail on these topics): CAPS shared new member letters, an additional article about the importance of recruiting and retaining State Scientists and a podcast that highlighted the article. CAPS passed two proposals to the State – 2.xx and 6.1 … Read more
CalPERS Released Preliminary Health Plan Premium Rates. The CalPERS Pension and Health Benefits Committee are working with the health plans to release final rates for Board approval in July. However, at the Committee’s June meeting, preliminary rates were released for 2023. All projected 2023 HMO … Read more
CAPS Continues to Engage on Telework. As mentioned in a previous CAPS Update (the password is ChooseCAPS! – it is case-sensitive), CAPS delivered the CDFW and Waterboards Petitions to the Department’s Labor and Executive Offices on Monday, August 1, 2022. The Waterboards recently relented upon a department-wide … Read more
CAPS Secures Side Letter for Healthcare Facility Employee Retention Payment. CAPS Agreed to a Side Letter Agreement with the State of California this week, attached to the 2018-2020 CAPS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will provide $1,500 to Unit 10 employees who meet the following … Read more
Sign the Petitions Supporting Maximum Flexibility for Telework TODAY. Active CAPS members have created petitions to advocate for departments to support maximum flexibility for telework now and into the future. CAPS intends to send these petitions to the CDFW and the Waterboards on August 1, … Read more
CAPSule on the Website. This month’s CAPSule is available online! You should also expect a hard copy in your mailbox soon. Access it on the CAPS Website here. Disability Insurance Vote Results. In May of this year, the Family Medical Leave Working Group, which was … Read more
STAND UP FOR SCIENTISTS Rally on FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2022! CAPS has organized a rally in support of our Bargaining Team’s efforts for this contract on Friday, July 29, 2022, on the West Lawn of the State Capitol from noon – 2pm. We’d love to … Read more
Update: CalEPA Telework Meet and Confer. On June 10, CAPS held a Meet and Confer with CalEPA and labor representatives from Waterboards, Pesticide Regulations and CalRecycle. DTSC and OEHHA were unable to attend. Several Board Members and Local Reps joined CAPS Staff in the meeting. … Read more
Electronic Ballots Released. Votes must be submitted by 11:59pm on June 29, 2022. Ballot login information has been sent to CAPS members’ email address on file (and only to dues-paying members – nonmembers will not receive a ballot). The ballot login info is being sent … Read more
Based on the CAPS member survey from May, the CAPS Bargaining Team is considering a proposal to shift from our current disability insurance program – Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (NDI) and Enhanced Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (ENDI). CAPS received over 200 responses to the survey that illustrated … Read more
CAPS Updates on Telework: CalEPA Meet and Confer, Departmental Petitions, and Individual Issues. CAPS Schedules Meet and Confer Over CalEPA Telework Policy. CalEPA noticed CAPS on their intent to update their Telework Policy by providing a draft agency-wide telework policy for review. After Board … Read more
The Committee. Today’s Committee Update comes to you courtesy of the CAPS Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is comprised of the Officers of the Board. Petitions Supporting Maximum Flexibility for Telework. CAPS leaders are releasing this message to the membership in support of active CAPS members … Read more
Board Meeting Actions. The quarterly CAPS Board of Directors’ Meeting was held last Saturday, May 21, 2022. Actions by the Board of Directors included: Approving the minutes of the February 5, 2022 Board of Directors Meeting, as amended. Approving CAPS Local Rep Rae Vander Werf … Read more
Highlights (see below for more detail on each topic): Last week at the Bargaining Table with CalHR: CAPS informed the State’s Team about the Petition Delivery Event held May 6, 2022 CAPS was informed that staffers at the Governor’s Office and the Department of Finance … Read more
Thank you for attending the Petition Delivery! The CAPS Member Action Committee hosted a Petition Delivery Event last Friday, May 6, 2022. The event consisted of members present marching to the offices of four agency secretaries (Jared Blumenfeld – CalEPA, Wade Crowfoot – CNRA, Mark … Read more
Bargaining Team Met with CalHR. The CAPS Bargaining Team (CAPS Team) met with CalHR (State’s Team), to continue bargaining over the terms of a potential successor MOU. The Teams discussed some outstanding sections, and the CAPS Team gave another presentation relating back to the “Avoiding … Read more
Bargaining Team Met. The CAPS Bargaining Team (CAPS Team) met again last week with the State’s Team to continue negotiating a successor MOU. In these meetings, the CAPS Team gave another presentation relating to the “Avoiding Collapse” presentation from several weeks ago; passed a member … Read more
Due to the unprecedented workplace impacts from COVID-19, this CAPS Alert is being sent to all State Scientists in Unit 10. CAPS is continuing the effort to ensure the Unit stays informed by providing these updates to all (member and nonmember alike). These communications are … Read more
Bargaining Team Met. The CAPS Bargaining Team (CAPS Team) met with the State’s Team twice last week to continue negotiations for CAPS’ successor MOU. The productive meetings again sought to bring the new CalHR and Department of Finance representatives up to speed on CAPS’ most … Read more
Board Meeting Actions. The quarterly CAPS Board of Directors’ Meeting was held last Saturday, February 5, 2022. Actions by the Board of Directors included: Approving the minutes of the November 6, 2021 Board of Directors’ Meeting. Approving Carolyn Buesch (CDFW-Redding) as a CAPS Local Representative. … Read more
Board Meeting Actions. The quarterly CAPS Board of Directors’ Meeting was held last Saturday, February 5, 2022. Actions by the Board of Directors included: Approving the minutes of the November 6, 2021 Board of Directors Meeting. Approving Carolyn Buesch (CDFW-Redding) as a CAPS Local Representative. … Read more
REMINDER: Board Of Directors Meeting. The next CAPS Board of Directors’ (BOD) Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 5, 2022, at 9 a.m. In consideration of attendee safety, the meeting will be held virtually. Members who wish to attend will need to pre-register for the event … Read more
REMINDER: Board Of Directors Meeting. The next CAPS Board of Directors’ (BOD) Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 5, 2022, at 9 a.m. In consideration of attendee safety, the meeting will be held virtually. Members who wish to attend will need to pre-register for the event … Read more
Board Of Directors Meeting. The next CAPS Board of Directors’ (BOD) Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, February 5, 2022, at 9 a.m. In consideration of attendee safety, the meeting will be held virtually. Members who wish to attend will need to pre-register for the event … Read more
Bargaining Team Met. The newly-seated CAPS Bargaining Team (CAPS Team) met with the State’s Team last week to resume contract negotiations. The CAPS Team brought the new CalHR Labor Relations Officer (LRO) up to speed with two presentations relaying the importance of the work CAPS … Read more
