AB 83: Collective bargaining: Judicial Council.

Existing law, the Ralph C. Dills Act (Dills Act), governs collective bargaining between the state and recognized state public employee organizations. Existing law excludes certain employees from coverage under the Dills Act, including, among others, managerial employees, supervisory employees, and confidential employees, as defined. Existing law creates the Public Employment Relations Board and authorizes it, among other things, to determine appropriate state employee bargaining units, as specified. The California Constitution prescribes the membership of the California Supreme Court and requires the Legislature to create appellate court districts, all of which are vested with the judicial power of the state. The California Constitution prescribes the membership and duties of the Judicial Council and authorizes the council to appoint an Administrative Director of the Courts. Existing law creates the Habeas Corpus Resource Center for the purpose of providing representation to people who are convicted and sentenced to death in this state and who are without counsel.

This bill would enact the Judicial Council Employer-Employee Relations Act, to provide Judicial Council employees, as defined, the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations, except for managerial, confidential, or supervisory employees, judicial officers, employees of the Supreme Court, the courts of appeal, or the Habeas Corpus Resource Center, and employees in positions designated by the Judicial Council in its sole authority and discretion as excluded positions, as specified. The bill would prohibit exempted managerial, supervisory, confidential, and excluded positions from exceeding ¹/₃ of the total authorized Judicial Council positions as stated in the Department of Finance Salaries and Wages Supplement. The bill would define the employer, for purposes of bargaining or meeting and conferring, as the Administrative Director of the Courts, or his or her designated representatives, acting with the authorization of the Chairperson of the Judicial Council. The bill would prescribe rights, duties, and prohibitions in this context that parallel those in the Dills Act. The bill would prohibit the Public Employment Relations Board from including Judicial Council employees in a bargaining unit that includes employees other than those of the Judicial Council. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully resist, prevent, impede, or interfere with any member of the board, or any of its agents, in the performance of duties pursuant to its provisions. By expanding the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that the provisions of the Judicial Council Employer-Employee Relations Act are severable.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.