Keeping you up-to-date on our work to increase your salary, improve and protect your benefits, and aggressively represent your professional interests in every forum where they are at stake.
CASE BOARD OF DIRECTORS UPDATE
DIR Issues Long Overdue Telework Stipends. After hundreds of CASE Members lent their voices to a wage claim against DIR for their failure to pay timely telework stipends, a wage claim filed on behalf of members, months of meetings and advocacy by CASE Board Members, General Counsel, and staff, DIR has finally confirmed payment of outstanding telework stipends. Members can expect to see payments post to their accounts within the next two weeks and then around the middle of each month going forward. The time it takes for funds to reach your bank account can vary based on financial institution. If you do not see back pay hit your account within the next two weeks, or do not receive your stipend in any given month, make sure to contact CASE right away. If you’re a member at DIR, to ensure that you continue to receive your stipend, check with your supervisor or personnel analyst to verify that your current 2023 telework agreement has been uploaded into the DIR portal.
CASE appreciates the efforts of all our members who assisted us with filing a wage claim. The media and PR pressure created by your willingness to pursue the claim was instrumental in forcing DIR to resolve the long-pending payments for all of our members. In light of the resolution, CASE will not be pursuing further actions on the wage claim.
CASE is Here for You and Your 4-Legged Family Members. If you are one of the millions of people who adopted a pet during the pandemic you’re likely aware just how expensive animal care can be. Luckily, CASE members can now purchase discounted pet insurance through our new group policy with PrudentPet. To learn more about these exclusive coverage options and receive a quote visit CASE’s special PrudentPet portal here. The discount code is CASE10.
Leave Cash Out Season. Article 9.23 of the CASE MOU allows employees to cash out up to 160 hours of accumulated Vacation or Annual leave each year, if their department participates in the cash out program. Departments individually make the call on whether to allow employees to cash out leave and how many hours will be allowed up to the 160 cap. Requests to cash out leave at participating departments must be submitted by May 31 and department request processes can vary, so talk to your supervisor or personnel analyst for guidance on where to submit your request. We’ll be providing a searchable list of participating departments in next week’s CASE Files. Here is info on some of the largest Unit 2 employing departments that we’ve received so far:
- DOJ – Up to 80 hours
- DIR – Up to 160 hours
- State Fund – Up to 160 hours
- DSS – Up to 160 hours
- CDCR – Not participating this year
- EDD – Up to 160 hours
- Caltrans – Up to 80 hours
- SWRCB – Up to 160 hours
- DWR – Up to 160 hours
- CalFIRE – Up to 160 hours
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
News of interest to Unit 2 legal professionals:
- California Reconsiders Its Boycotts of States Over Their L.G.B.T.Q. Laws – The New York Times (free read)
- AG Bonta calls for dismissal of lawsuit challenging state’s data privacy law for children – Bay City News
- Workers’ compensation panel rejects doctor report calling idea of cumulative injury ‘bogus’ – HRD