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 and Staff review, CAPS sent back numerous suggestions and a formal request to meet-and-confer over the terms of the policy before it goes into effect. Of particular note is CAPS’ objection to Boards, Departments, and Offices (BDOs) being given the ability to set a maximum number of telework days per week, noting the logical fallacy used in the policy to justify the need for employees to meet in-person, and the characterization of telework as a privilege, not a right, among many other concerns. Now, a Meet and Confer has been scheduled for the coming weeks. The membership will be updated of any progress.
Petitions Supporting Maximum Flexibility for Telework. CAPS leaders are releasing this message to the membership in support of active CAPS members who have created petitions to advocate for departments to support maximum flexibility for telework now and into the future.
Potential return-to-work plans that are being discussed at the management level of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and State Water Resources Control Board (Waterboards) recently have been rumored to limit telework for employees without consideration of their individual duties or job classification. CAPS objects to establishing a maximum number of days for telework at any State Agency or Department. The practice would directly conflict with the statewide telework policy which requires departments to allow employee participation in telework to the fullest extent possible, and arbitrarily declines telework for employees not based upon their job duties, as defined in the Statewide Telework Policy.
You can view the petitions here: Petition to CDFW, Petition to Waterboards.
Please sign these petitions as soon as possible. These petitions will not only ensure your voices are heard, but demonstrate State Scientists are united in solidarity. There is power in collective action!
These petitions can be signed not only by Unit 10 State Scientists, but by anyone supporting maximum flexibility for telework. Please also pass this along to friends, family members, and others that would be willing to sign.
Difficulty Accessing or Signing the Petition? Please note, some members have reported difficulty accessing the petitions, this is likely due to your Department’s firewall. Members have reported success by emailing the links to themselves at a private email address. Other members have reported that submitting a comment prevents the system from accepting their signature. If that’s the case, please submit just your name, email, and zip code, and provide your comments in a letter to the designated party, as others have done in support of Bargaining, instead.
Other Telework Issues. With the release of the above Waterboard and CDFW petitions from the members, CAPS has been informed of other departments that are incorrectly limiting telework options. Many of those issues are being dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If you have an issue that spans your unit or program, please contact CAPS for assistance (caps@capsscientists.org).
In Review. Check out what you may have missed from past CAPS Updates here:
May 24, 2022. Staff Quarterly Report Posted. The Quarter 1 Report detailing representation items of interest is now posted on the Members-Only Section of the CAPS Website here: https://capsscientists.org/members/.
Read the rest of the entries, or see what else you may have missed on the CAPS Website here: http://capsscientists.org/members/caps-member-updates/ The password is ChooseCAPS! – it is case-sensitive.
Choose Unity. Choose Strength. Choose CAPS!