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June 1, 2022 CASE Files

Welcome to this week’s CASE Files, part of our commitment to keep you up-to-date on our work to increase your salary, improve and protect your benefits, and to aggressively represent your interests in every forum where your employment and professional interests are at stake.

CASE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ UPDATE 

June is here! The State Budget deadline looms, school is out for summer, Father’s Day arrives on the 19th, and your CASE leaders are busy. Here are some significant events on this month’s calendar:

Weekly – CASE Bargaining Team meets with CalHR to negotiate a successor Memorandum of Understanding. (Our weekly Bargaining Report, with news from the table, goes only to members. Click here to join today.)  

June 15 – The constitutional deadline (Art. IV, Sec. 12(c)) for the Legislature to pass a budget bill for Fiscal Year 2022-23. If lawmakers fail to send a deal to Governor Gavin Newsom, their pay is suspended until they do. The new budget year starts July 1.

June 30 – The last day to use 2021-22 Professional Development Days. (See the item below.)

Also June 30 – The last day for a legislative measure to qualify for the November 8 General Election ballot (Elections Code Sec. 9040). 

CASE IN THE NEWS

Telework. The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday quoted CASE President Tim O’Connor in a report that reviewed changing and inconsistent telework policies at the Franchise Tax Board, CalPERS, and the Highway Patrol as COVID-19 resurges in state workplaces.

COVID-19 spikes in California state offices, forcing departments to revisit reopening plans notes, “… the variants that have quintupled the statewide infection rate over the last two months are also infecting state employees. And while some departments are beginning to soften in-office requirements, others are holding to reopening plans that had already been repeatedly delayed.”

President O’Connor’s remarks distill the state’s incongruous response to the COVID rebound. “We didn’t get anything that said, ‘Wait, now that we have this surge, go back to the pandemic status quo.’ That did not happen,” said Tim O’Connor, president of the state employee union representing attorneys and administrative law judges.

CASE is keenly aware inconsistent telework and remote work policies with no basis in operational need are an issue throughout state government, from the largest agencies and departments to the smallest boards and commissions. We are continuing to advocate for maximum telework flexibility for Unit 2 legal professionals as a win-win for the State of California and our members. (Sacramento Bee subscribers can read the full story here. Non-subscribers do not have access.)

BETTER KNOW YOUR MOU

Happy Holidays. With Memorial Day Weekend behind us and Independence Day ahead, it seems like a good time to mention that unit 2 employees are guaranteed 11 state holidays as well as 1 personal holiday each year under Article 8.1 of the CASE MOU. Those holidays include: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President’s Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day (a favorite here at CASE), Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after; and Christmas Day. Aside from Veterans’ Day (November 11), when a holiday falls on Saturday, employees receive holiday credit; when they fall on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be treated as the holiday. If the Legislature designates additional state holidays, CASE can raise their inclusion at the bargaining table with CalHR. 

Reminder – Use those PDDs! Don’t forget – Article 13.24 provides 5 Professional Development Days (that’s 40 hours of leave!) each fiscal year. If you haven’t used your current allotment of PDDs, make sure to do so before June 30. Anything still in the bank expires and your new Development Days appear on July 1, 2022. We recommend using that leave first each year after July 1 rolls around to ensure you don’t leave that valuable benefit unused.

MEMBER BENEFITS

Through a partnership with Liberty Mutual Insurance, CASE members – and only CASE members – qualify for significant savings on auto and home coverage with premiums conveniently paid via payroll deduction. The web application process is simple, and your information will not be sold. This link opens Liberty Mutual’s online portal with information to request a quote online or to speak with a representative over the phone. Not yet a CASE member?

Then you should … JOIN CASE TODAY!

For now, CASE Files will continue to be delivered weekly to all Unit 2 employees, but our Bargaining Updates are delivered only to members. Stay informed on the important decisions that will impact your salary and benefits by joining CASE today. Join today.

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