NEWS

Paid Leave Buy-Back Program Enhanced – Options for Savings Plan or Cash Payout

The California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) has authorized an enhancement to the Paid Leave Buy-Back Program for fiscal year 2016-17 in PML 2016-032. Employees designated as Exempt, Managerial, Supervisory, Confidential, or otherwise excluded from collective bargaining are able to participate. If an employee has vacation or annual leave balances in excess of 640 hours as of December 1, 2016, the employee has the option to transfer accruals into a Savings Plus 457(b) account, transfer accruals into a 401(k) account, or request a cash payment. This enhancement to the Excluded Employee Leave Buy-Back Program allows employees another option when using the 80 hours of leave buy-back proposed and obtained by ACSS in April 2016.

Eligible employees can elect to participate by completing the Transfer Future Leave Accruals to Savings Plus form and returning it to Human Resources by December 31, 2016. No action is required if you do NOT elect to participate.

For more information, download the FAQ provided by CalHR.

Two Excluded Employees Win Prizes for Joining ACSS in 2016!

In September and October of 2016, ACSS held a six-week promotional membership drive to encourage supervisors and managers to join ACSS. Two new members who submitted membership applications during the sweepstakes period were selected at random as winners.

Curtis Scribner won a GoPro Hero video camera and is now a member of ACSS Chapter 502. Scribner is a Maintenance Superintendent at the Department of Transportation (CalTrans) in Olivehurst. He joined ACSS because he had talked to other CalTrans supervisors who were very satisfied with their membership with ACSS and they encouraged him to join. Scribner said “it was time to join” to support ACSS in the fight for better pay for supervisors and managers.

Marilyn Bradford won a 40-inch Samsung Ultra HD Smart TV and is now a member of ACSS Chapter 504. Bradford is a Manager I at the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) in Vacaville. She joined ACSS because she had witnessed her co-workers experiencing difficult situations in their job and saw how ACSS supported and represented those members. She says, “By joining ACSS, I am protecting my best interests.” 

Chapter 504 Board Member Shirley Castaneda (on left) presented Bradford with the prize.

ACSS congratulates Curtis and Marilyn on winning the 2016 ACSS Membership Drive Sweepstakes and welcomes them as new members of ACSS.

Rank and File reach a Tentative Agreement and Pay Raise – How this Affects Excluded Employees

Over the past month, ACSS has followed the bargaining between California’s largest union of state employees (SEIU Local 1000) and the State of California over a new contract. We have also been following the reports on the possibility of a strike and how the State of California sought to halt the potentially disruptive strike by seeking an injunction against SEIU Local 1000 employees. The Brown administration has been arguing that the potential strike would be illegal because of the no-strike clause. On Friday December 2nd, 2016, SEIU Local 1000 announced that the strike, set for December 5th, had been called off.

Over the weekend, a tentative agreement had been reportedly reached between L1000 and the state. As reported by SEIU Local 1000, the new tentative agreement includes:

• A $2,500 one-time signing bonus
• 11.5% GSI total spread over 3 years: 4% effective 7/1/2017, 4% GSI effective 7/1/2018 and 3.5% GSI effective 7/1/2019.
• Only 2.3% total in prefunding contributions for retirement health benefits over those 3 years
• Special salary adjustments in over 30 classifications

ACSS will review and analyze the tentative agreement. We plan to reach out to CalHR to discuss the impact of this potential agreement on excluded employees related to SEIU Bargaining Units. ACSS is following this issue closely and will continue to bring updates to managers and supervisors who may be affected by it.

Legislative Analyst’s Office Predicts Uncertainty Yet Preparedness in Future Budget Outlook

On November 16, 2016, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a comprehensive report on the assessment of the condition of the California economy and budget over the 2016-17 through 2020-2021 period. While the report predicts unpredictable economic conditions ahead, the report also provides a positive budget outlook and describes how the state is prepared to withstand a mild recession in the future.

Assuming that the state makes no additional budget commitments, the report estimates the state would end up with a decent amount of reserves. Of the $11.5 billion in estimated reserves, $2.8 billion would be set aside for discretionary reserves, which the Legislature can appropriate for any purpose.

In the event of a mild economic downturn scenario, the LAO estimates the state would have enough reserves to cover almost all of its operating deficits through 2020-21 without cutting spending or raising taxes.

These estimates are under the assumptions that the state does not make any changes in current policies or programs during the outlook period, and assumes no new changes in federal policy. The future is uncertain and any unforeseen future changes could have significant impact on the budget outlook.

>>Click here to read the full report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office on the Budget Outlook.

ACSS Endorsed Candidates – Election Results November 2016

ACSS Legislative Analyst Ted Toppin describes the results of the election in regards to ACSS-Endorsed Candidates. Overall, our ACSS-Endorsed Candidates had a tremendous amount of success.

For ACSS, the state election results were pretty spectacular. The ACSS-endorsed legislative candidate won in 80 of the 82 races in which ACSS took a position. The one ACSS-supported ballot measure – Proposition 55 (Tax Extension for Education) – passed easily.

In the Assembly, the ACSS candidate won in 63 races and lost in two. In contested open seat contests, ACSS was 7-0, including wins in hard fought victories by Jordan Cunningham (R-Central Coast) in AD 35, Raul Bocanegra (D-San Fernando Valley) in AD 39, and Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) in AD 66.

The two losses were those of incumbent legislators facing serious challenges. In AD 47, incumbent Democrat Cheryl Brown (San Bernardino) lost a tight race to a challenger from her own party who accused her of not acting like a Democrat. In AD 60, ACSS- endorsed Asm. Eric Linder (R-Corona) lost to a Democrat in a suburban Riverside County seat that increasingly votes Democratic.

The 17 state Senate candidates endorsed by ACSS all prevailed. In open seat races, ACSS was 7-0. This includes races in which the ACSS Democratic candidate had to beat another Democrat: Bill Dodd in SD 3 (Napa), Nancy Skinner in SD 9 (East Bay), and Steven Bradford in SD 35 (Gardena). In what were considered three of the bigger partisan Senate face-offs, the ACSS candidate won in each: Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) in SD 21, Anthony Portantino (D-Pasadena) in SD 25, and Henry Stern (D-Thousand Oaks) in SD 27.

>> Click here to view complete election results for ACSS-endorsed candidates. Open seat candidates are in bold.

ACSS Continues Communication with CalHR

On Monday November 7th, ACSS met with CalHR Director Richard Gillihan. Gillihan informed ACSS of staffing changes within CalHR for the position responsible for labor relations of excluded state employees. The current labor relations representative, Steven Booth, will be leaving the position and CalHR will be filling the vacancy with a new employee soon.

In addition, Pam Manwiller, Deputy Director of Labor Relations, notified us that an additional pay letter will be released soon in regards to excluded employees related to Bargaining Unit 2. Manwiller says the new pay letter "corrects things that were missed in previous pay letters".

ACSS President Frank Ruffino noted, “Although much works remains to be done, We're grateful to the Governor and CalHR for their effort and time in addressing our issues.”

ACSS and CalHR continue to work together to improve and resolve the issues affecting excluded employees. As always, ACSS will keep you informed on any updates.

*** UPDATE: January 5, 2017 - Pay Letter 16-19A-2 ***

On January 5, 2017, CalHR Released Pay letter 16-19A, which is an update on Special Salary Adjustments for excluded employees related to Bargaining Unit 2. 

>> Click here to download Pay Letter 16-19A-2

Pensions in the News

ACSS fights to protect your pension and to provide members with relevant news for excluded state employees in regards to pension protection. Below are some informative and insightful recent publications that report on the current pension protection issue in California:

Jerry Brown touted his pension reforms as a game-changer. But they’ve done little to rein in costs
(October 28, 2016 - LA Times)

Generous pensions: Will the courts give government a way out?
(October 30, 2016 - San Jose Mercury News)

Marin ‘pension spiking’ appeal draws national attention
(October 30, 2016 - Marin Independent Journal)

Incentives for DDS Excluded Employees Facing Department Closures

CalHR will implement substantial retention incentives for managers and supervisors of the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) who are facing closures of some DDS facilities. A Meet and Confer meeting between ACSS, DSS and CalHR was held on October 24th, 2016. After serious consideration of ACSS’ input on behalf of excluded employees, DDS will provide impacted employees with a stipend of up to $6,000 for the period worked from July 1, 2016 – December 31, 2018 or closure (whichever comes first).

Click on the links below to read more details about each facility closure:

• Sonoma Developmental Center Retention Incentive
• Porterville Developmental Center GTA Retention Incentive*
• Fairview Developmental Center Retention Incentive

*Please be aware that not all Porterville GTA employees will receive the stipend. Only those positions that are slated for termination with closure will accrue the stipend. ACSS will provide an update when notice is received regarding which GTA positions will not be affected by the closure.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your local ACSS Labor Relations Representative. Click here for contact information for the ACSS Representative near you.

General Salary Increase and Special Salary Adjustment for Attorneys and Hearing Officers (BU2)

On October 11, 2016, Cal HR released Pay Letter 16-19, and later released Pay Letter 16-19A on October 13, regarding General Salary Raises (GSI) and Special Salary Adjustments (SSA) to excluded employees related to Bargaining Unit 2 (Attorneys and Hearing Officers).

M02 and S02 –

• Effective October 1, 2016, CalHR approved a 5% General Salary Increase (GSI) for all classes designated M02, S02 and supervisory ranges in U02. (See page 7 of Pay Letter 16-19 for details.)

In addition to the GSI mentioned above, there were many classes within M02 and S02 that received Special Salary Adjustments (SSA). Effective October 1, 2016, CalHR approved a 1% Special Salary Adjustment to the maximum of the class, for all classes designated M02 and S02 in Pay Letter 16-19 and Pay Letter 16-19A. In addition, all employees designated M02 and S02 shall receive a 1% increase, including employees who separated from state service prior to October 1, 2016, and have lump sum payments that extend beyond October 1, 2016. The lump sum payments shall be adjusted to reflect the above salary increase.

Below are some of the notable classes that received SSAs in this Pay Letter:

• Class 5703 – Supervising Deputy Attorney General – 4.96% SSA
• Class 5871 – Assistant Chief Counsel – 14.99% SSA
• Class 5872 – Chief Counsel I, C.E.A. – 17.41% SSA
• Class 5873 – Chief Counsel II, C.E.A. – 17.57% SSA
• Class 6088 – Presiding Administrative Law Judge – 5% SSA

>> Click here to read details of Special Salary Adjustments for additional classes in Pay Letter 16-19.

>> Click here to read details of Special Salary Adjustments for additional classes in Pay Letter 16-19A.

ACSS will continue to advocate for additional special salary adjustments for excluded employees associated with BU02. As more information is available, we will make sure to pass that on.

Update: October 18, 2016

CalHR Releases Pay Letter 16-19B - Correction on Section 14 Differentials for Attorneys

Changes in Leadership Training and Development for Excluded Employees

On October 7, 2016, CalHR released PML 2016-028 in regards to changes in leadership training for excluded employees. As part of the Civil Service Improvement initiative, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 848 into law on June 27, 2016 which intends to simplify, streamline and improve civil service employment. SB 848 includes amendments to leadership training for managers and supervisors.

SB 848:

• Amends the strategy for continually advancing employee skills and authorizes CalHR to prescribe policy guidance for administering statewide training.
• Amends training requirements for Government Leaders by requiring 80 hours of training to be successfully completed within 6 months of initial appointment, but no later than the end of the probationary period. On-The-Job-Training (OJT) will no longer be allowed as a portion of the required supervisory training.
• Adds new training requirements for management and Career Executive Assignment (CEA) employees:
    o Managers will be provided 40 hours leadership training and development.
    o CEAs will be provided 20 hours leadership training and development.
    o Training must be completed within 12 months of initial appointment.
    o Supervisors, managers and CEAs are required to complete 20 hours of leadership training and development every two years.
• Requires leadership training and development to be documented.

PML 2016-28 also includes changes to rules on exempt return rights, leave overpayments and Limited Expansion and Appointment Program (LEAP).

>> Click here to read more about the details of PML 2016-28.