Continuing her string of speaking engagements, MAJ Of Counsel Alison Berry Wilkinson presented again this year before an audience of management representatives at the 2023 CalPELRA Conference in Monterey, which is sponsored by the California Public Employers’ Labor Relations Association.

This year’s panel discussion “The Skelly Hearing Process: A Management/Union Dialogue” focused on the best practices for Skelly pre-disciplinary hearings and included a live mock session featuring a beleaguered thrice-disciplined assistant finance director on the verge of termination. The mock hearing raised issues of off-duty conduct, employee privacy, and searches of personal cell phones. The effective advocacy displayed resulted in the management audience voting overwhelmingly not to sustain the recommended discipline.

The panel attracted a standing room only crowd of management representatives interested in learning the fundamentals of pre-disciplinary due process. Alison was honored to have been invited again and pleased by the insightful questions asked by the audience. Their interest in understanding a union advocate’s perspective on why fair process is important was appreciated.

If you have any questions about this alert — or on how Skelly pre-disciplinary hearings should be conducted — please contact Alison Berry Wilkinson at our San Rafael office.