On Friday, January 19, 2018, Messing Adam & Jasmine LLP, working with the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, filed a Brief for Amici Curiae Fifteen Unions and Umbrella Organizations That Provide Services to Affiliated Unions and Associations Representing Nearly Half a Million Public Safety Employees in Support of Respondents. As our public safety... continue reading

This Monday, January 8, 2018, the California First District Court of Appeal issued an important decision in Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs' Association v. Alameda County Employees' Retirement Association ("ACDSA"). The decision is largely a win for the public employees and a reaffirmation of most of the key principles of the vested rights doctrine that protects... continue reading

Back in July, we told you about the controversial ruling in Ass'n for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs v. Superior Court of County of Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department). See 13 JUL, 2017 post. Unsurprisingly, the Supreme Court granted the Sheriff's Department's petition for review. The extent of the court of appeal ruling surprised... continue reading

Last Thursday, as has been widely reported in the media, the United States Supreme Court agreed to review the decision of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Mark Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al., Case No. 16-3638. It is expected that, with Neil Gorsuch filling the... continue reading

The Fourth District Court of Appeal made a significant interpretation of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act ("POBR") (Gov. Code § 3300 et seq.) in the case of Santa Ana Police Officers Association v. City of Santa Ana, 2017 WL 2879796 (2017) that has the potential to impact many administrative investigations of... continue reading

Law enforcement agencies cannot disclose the names or other identifying information of officers who are on Brady lists to any outside body, including prosecutorial agencies, absent compliance with the Pitchess process. This notable victory for peace officer privacy rights came this week in Ass'n for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs v. Superior Court of County of... continue reading

The State Personnel Board ("SPB") denied CAL FIRE's request at its monthly meeting on Thursday to abolish the entire 2017 Battalion Chief eligible list and force the nearly 300 candidates on the list to re-take the promotional exam during the peak fire season. The SPB also upheld the six appointments that had already been made... continue reading

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday granted Messing Adam & Jasmine's Petition for Review on behalf of CAL FIRE Local 2881. The Court of Appeal decision sets up a full analysis of the entire history of public pension laws in California and the vested rights doctrine in particular. MAJ filed the Petition on February 8,... continue reading

The California Supreme Court, in yesterday's ruling in City of San Jose et al. v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County, held that communication about public business on a personal account may be subject to the disclosure requirements under the California Public Records Act ("CPRA").  Any public employee's personal records can become the target of... continue reading

This afternoon, the California Supreme Court agreed to review the controversial Court of Appeal decision in  Marin Association of Public Employees et al. v. Marin County Employees' Retirement Association et al.  The Supreme Court granted review, but deferred any action on the case until three similar coordinated appeals involving challenges to the California Public Employees’... continue reading