CAPS Supervisors Request Meet-and-Confer Scheduled. In the last Supervisor’s Update we reported that CAPS Supervisory Director, Scott Bauer, had requested a meet-and-confer with CalHR surrounding Governor Newsom’s May Revise announcement that the State of California will be looking to find 10% cost savings to employee compensation. CalHR has agreed to meet with the Supervisor’s Committee, which represents so-called “excluded” employee CAPS Members on this topic next week.
What Does “Excluded” Mean? There’s a reason CalHR refers to supervisory and managerial classifications as “excluded” (though CAPS prefers to refer to you as Supervisory or Managerial State Scientists). It’s because certain supervisory, managerial, and confidential state employees, among others, are excluded from the Ralph C. Dills Act, which gave collective bargaining rights to California State Employees. Instead, supervisory and managerial classifications (through the organizations that represent them, like CAPS) are given the right to meet-and-confer with CalHR regarding wages, hours and working conditions. The “Excluded Employee Bill of Rights” (Government Code Sections 3525 – 3539.5) codifies this process. CalHR and these supervisory representation organizations do not reach formal written agreements, nor do they negotiate official contracts.
I Keep Hearing About Bargaining Updates. Is CAPS Bargaining For Me? Because “excluded” employees are not covered by the Dills Act, CAPS (nor any other organization) cannot participate in collective bargaining on your behalf. Instead, we meet-and-confer with the State to ensure that the unique needs of Supervisory and Managerial State Scientists are stated directly to the Governor’s representatives, CalHR. That said, don’t expect to see a formal written agreement or anything like an MOU that applies to Supervisors, as Gov. Code 3525, et seq. doesn’t require it.
Despite that, if you want to keep up on what the Rank-and-File CAPS Bargaining Team has been up to regarding the proposed employee compensation reductions, feel free to read their Bargaining Updates here.
If my rights aren’t in an MOU, where are they? Supervisory and Managerial State Scientists’ rights are laid out in the CalHR Online HR Manual, and in various California Labor and Government Code Sections. Typically, the easiest way to find one’s rights is to contact CAPS (caps@capsscientists.org).
News Briefs
Virulent Newcastle Disease quarantine lifted in Southern California. The California Department of Food and Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have announced an end to the virulent Newcastle Disease (vND) quarantine in Southern California. Officials said “extensive testing of the regulated area has been completed, with no additional detections of the disease. This allows poultry to again move freely within California.”
CA Fish And Wildlife Tackles Invasive Species Online In COVID-19 Pandemic. California is currently observing Invasive Species Awareness Week. For the first time ever, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is hosting webinars and other online activities due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.