The Superior Court in Santa Clara County found that when public duties are executed by officers and agents through communications on their private accounts and devices, those communications by city officers reasonably fall within the definition of a record "prepared, owned, used, or retained" under the California Public Records Act. The Court concluded the City's... continue reading

This morning, Gregg Adam, Carroll Burdick San Francisco office Labor Partner, argued before the California Supreme Court on behalf of the Engineers and Architects Association of Los Angeles in a case that threatened to abolish the arbitration rights of local public employees in California. CBM persuaded the Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeal decision... continue reading

On Wednesday, November 28, 2012, the California Supreme Court rejected the City of Costa Mesa’s challenge to a ruling by the Fourth District Court of Appeal which upheld an injunction enjoining the general law city from privatizing many of its municipal functions and laying off a large portion of its workforce. In a further victory,... continue reading

Governor Brown's office announced yesterday that he has signed into law Assembly Bill 1606, which changes the timeline for making fact-finding requests under Government Code section 3505.4. Previously, the deadline to request fact-finding was within 30 days following the appointment or selection of a mediator pursuant to the parties' agreement or mediation process pursuant to... continue reading

Great news for Labor. Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas ruled today that the Wisconsin law championed by Governor Scott Walker—that essentially stripped collective bargaining rights from public employees in Wisconsin—is null and void because it violates both the State and U.S. Constitutions. The decision only applies to local government employees and will not impact... continue reading

This inaugural post is to alert you to Assembly Bill 340, the California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013, which will likely be passed into law sometime today. The statute is 60 pages and we are still analyzing its impact on bargaining and potential legal challenges. We will send out a further analysis early... continue reading