Find contact information for your local Labor Relations Representative
Helpful documents to learn more about your rights
Step-by-step guide to the Grievance Process
A guide to help you through the Probationary Period
Learn more about salary issues
A list of Senators, Assemblymembers, and Government Officials that ACSS Endorses
Support Candidates that protect the best interest of Excluded Employees
Periodic updates on Legislative Bills that ACSS monitors
ACSS meetings held at YOUR Department
Annual Event held in the State Capitol
Upcoming Board Meeting Information and forms
Everything you need to know about ACSS Elections.
The Triennial event for ACSS Elections and Policy Changes
ACSS will be closed on the following days to observe the 2017 holiday season:
A new policy may affect the careers of excluded state workers in several departments. CalHR notified ACSS that state workers who handle taxpayer information will undergo mandatory criminal background checks. If excluded employees do not pass the background check, they could be “non-punitively separated” from state service. These background check policies are intended to bring California in compliance with federal guidelines from the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Homeland Security. At the moment, it is unknown when this policy will be implemented.
ACSS has been receiving notices from individual departments regarding this issue and is reaching out to specific groups of excluded employees asking for feedback and concerns. Below is a list of the California departments that have notified ACSS of this policy change:
If you work for one of these departments and have questions or concerns about the background check policy, please contact your regional ACSS Labor Relations Representative.
ACSS is on your side and is fighting for your career. We are doing everything we can to prevent job loss over this issue. Please make sure your contact info is up to date so that we can provide you with the latest information as we receive it.
Click here to read additional information in the Sac Bee article.
In 2017, have you made any changes to your contact info? If so, use the easy Update My Info form on our website to update your information! With this form, you can update your:
Make sure we have your most current contact information so that we can provide up-to-date news and information to you.
ACSS continues to have ongoing discussions with CalHR in regards to salary compaction. ACSS inquired on the status of CalHR’s review and corrective action on the classifications that ACSS identified as not receiving a Special Salary Adjustment on July 1, 2017. We also inquired and discussed the status of CalHR's criteria to establish and maintain a 5% salary differential for impacted excluded classifications. ACSS is waiting for new information and will continue to provide updates.
ACSS also discussed the status of the Civil Service Improvement Class Consolidation issue, especially with regards to the IT Classifications. Unfortunately, submission to the State Personnel Board has again been delayed. However, the IT series of classifications is expected to be reviewed at the January SPB meeting. The Custodian series is expected to be reviewed in the February meeting. The Research Scientist series, the Energy Specialist series, and the Research Manager series are all pending and ACSS is waiting to hear new information on these classification consolidations.
It appears that as the year comes to an end, the momentum has slowed at CalHR. We encourage you to be patient with news of forward progress and to enjoy your time during the holiday season. Momentum will pick back up again with the New Year. Stay tuned as ACSS promises to deliver news to you as we receive it.
In September and October of 2017, ACSS held a six-week promotional membership drive to encourage supervisors and managers to join ACSS. Three excluded employees who submitted membership applications during the sweepstakes period were selected at random as winners.
Jessica Gomez won the grand prize $500 Amazon gift certificate and is a member of Chapter 503. Ms. Gomez is a Staff Services Manager at the Employment Development Department (EDD) in Sacramento. She joined ACSS because she recently got promoted and heard about the benefits of ACSS at her Supervisor/Manager training session.
Jessica Gomez (right) with ACSS Chapter 503 President Jim Teahan (left) at EDD in Sacramento.
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Joyce Lorta won a runner-up prize $250 Amazon gift certificate and is also a member of Chapter 503. Ms. Lorta is a Staff Information Systems Analyst Supervisor at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in Sacramento. She has been a supervisor for five years. She decided to join ACSS for the career representation services and for the member benefits. She is interested in making the most of her membership and saving money on home loans, travel, and group insurances.
Joyce Lorta at DMV in Sacramento.
Charlotte Chitadje Brinlee also won a runner-up prize $250 Amazon gift certificate and is a member of Chapter 505. Ms. Brinlee is a Program and Project Supervisor at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in San Francisco.
Charlotte Chitadje Brinlee (left) with ACSS Chapter 505 Board Member Michael Bonner (right) at PUC in San Francisco.
ACSS congratulates these three excluded employees on winning the 2016 ACSS Membership Drive Sweepstakes and welcomes them as new members of ACSS.
Get involved and be a part of the ACSS team by coming to your Chapter’s Open Nominations Chapter meeting! At this meeting, nominations are accepted for the 3 chapter officer positions (Chapter President, Vice President and Secretary/Treasurer) and delegates for Delegate Assembly. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE PRESENT AT THE MEETING TO NOMINATE YOURSELF. If you wish to nominate yourself or a fellow member but cannot attend the meeting, please contact your Chapter President to submit your nomination to the Nominations Committee on or before the Nominations Meeting date. All members nominated at the meeting must be an active member in good standing and willing to serve the 3-year term of office. Voting takes place from April 20, 2018 to May 21, 2018. Delegate Assembly will be held on July 13-15, 2018, at the Sacramento Arden West Hilton. To learn more about Chapter Officer positions and duties, or the processes of Chapter Nominations, visit the Chapter Elections page on the ACSS website
Click here to find out when YOUR local Chapter's Nominations meeting will be held.
On October 14th, 2017, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 46 which allows female public employees to press claims against wage discrimination. Earlier in October 2017, Brown signed the California Fair Pay Act (SB 358), which allowed private-sector female employees to press wage discrimination claims. Assembly Bill 46 extends these rights to excluded state employees.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper (AD 09) authored the bill and comments, “I authored AB 46 because not only am I the father of four women of color, but also because I believe it is important to lead by example and ensure that our pay equity laws apply to all sectors, both private and public.”
According to the Sacramento Bee, women in the state workforce earn about 79.5 cents on the dollar compared to their male counterparts, which constitutes a 16 percent gender wage gap. Cooper’s bill is an important piece of legislation that provides for fair pay adjustments for women throughout the state. Excluded employees can process wage discrimination claims through the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.
ACSS is thrilled at the results for David Miller’s win of the CalPERS Board Member At Large Position A seat, and we thank all ACSS members who voted in support of Miller. With Miller voted into this position, ACSS members can be assured that Miller will fight to help protect pensions for all state employees.
Now we need your participation again to help reelect Michael Bilbrey for CalPERS Board Member At Large, Seat B, on November 10th. Bilbrey has been a CalPERS member for over 27 years and is employed by Citrus Community College as the bookstore operations coordinator helping to oversee the multimillion dollar business. He was also president of the California School Employees Association where he served in a leadership position for 25 years. Click here to learn more about Michael Bilbrey.
ACSS President Frank Ruffino comments, "Michael Bilbrey is the clear choice to be re-elected to the CalPERS Board. We can trust him to protect our pensions and health care. Please remember to vote and look for your ballot in the mail around November 10th."
ACSS urges you to support and vote for Bilbrey at the CalPERS Runoff election.
ACSS met with the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) regarding the state’s proposed Information Technology Series Class Consolidation package on September 20, 2017.
CalHR planned to submit the Class Consolidation Package to the State Personnel Board (SPB) for approval at the October 12th SPB Board meeting. However, CalHR did not submit the Board item to SPB for the October 12 Board meeting. Per CalHR “there may be slight changes” made to the proposal. If package changes are made and/or this item is returned to a future SPB meeting agenda, ACSS will provide updates such as this one.
ACSS used the feedback provided by many excluded IT employees to advocate on behalf of our members. During our meet and confer with CalHR ACSS addressed these key areas of concern (along with others not listed):
As a result of ACSS’ ongoing discussions with CalHR and the meet and confer meeting, CalHR made changes to proposed SPB Classification Specifications.
Click here to view the updated IT Consolidation Structure Map.
Please contact Charlotte Hoar at choar@acss.org or call 916-326-4388 if you have questions.
On September 15th, 2017, ACSS President Frank Ruffino and ACSS Assistant Director of Representation Nellie Lynn met with Director Nicolas Maduros from the newly formed California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA). Ruffino said the meeting was positive and was pleased to start building a relationship with Maduros and this new department.
Director Maduros commented, “It's a rare opportunity to stand up a newly-restructured government department. We're focused on creating a 21st century tax agency that's a model for the nation. Additionally, we're committed to making CDTFA one of the best places to work in state government. Neither of those goals can be realized without the dedication, experience and wisdom of our supervisors. I'm looking forward to working with the entire team, including our many supervisors in ACSS, to build a CDTFA of which we can all be proud."
ACSS is committed to working cooperatively with the Administration and CDFTA through this transition period and beyond. We are also addressing the concerns faced by excluded employees remaining with BOE and those transitioning to CDFTA.
After the meeting, Ruffino mentioned, “The director is committed to working with us. He is new to California, but not new to government operations. It is fantastic that he agreed to meet with ACSS promptly. The meeting was productive and we look forward to working with Director Maduros and the Administration.”
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