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
First Telework Arbitration Convenes. Last week, CASE began the first of many arbitrations challenging certain departments’ refusal to allow our attorneys to telework, instead insisting they be in the office an arbitrary number of days per week. First up was the case against CalPERS, which requires attorneys to be in the office three days each week, even though they all successfully worked fully remotely for two years during the pandemic. CASE presented many witnesses to show that the legal work our members do can be performed from home just as efficiently as in the office CalPERS’ purported justifications were the need to enhance morale and build camaraderie, but could not explain why it now has its highest-ever vacancy rate since imposing the mandate. We have an idea, however: witnesses testified they left CalPERS because of its telework policy.
The CalPERS arbitration will continue in a couple weeks, and we will keep you posted on the result. Meanwhile, arbitrations for CEC and other departments are coming up in December and January.
CASE Member Sacramento Happy Hour-RSVP Deadline Extended!. Sacramento-area CASE Members are invited to a members-only happy hour at CASE Headquarters on Thursday, November 16 from 4:00-6:00 pm. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow CASE Members and your CASE leadership. Light refreshments will be provided. To attend, please RSVP no later than 5pm today, Wednesday, November 15.
Next CASE Board Meeting-November 17. The next CASE Board of Directors meeting is Friday, November 17. Members who wish to attend virtually must sign up no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, November 16. The zoom link will be sent to all registered members on the morning of November 17. If you would like to speak during the member comment section, please submit a speaker card no later than 9:00am on November 17.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
News of interest to CASE legal professionals:
- Federal judge dismisses Huntington Beach’s lawsuit against state over housing mandates– Orange County Register (free read)
- Mom sued fair that tracked down daughter’s goat for slaughter. Now state agency is suing mom – Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription)
- You might be overpaying for chicken, turkey and pork in California, lawsuit claims – The Sum / Yahoo News
REMINDERS
CASE Supplemental Insurance Open Enrollment. Through November 30, CASE members can sign up for Accident Insurance and Critical Injury Insurance available through our group policy with The Standard. Open enrollment ends November 30 and this will be your only opportunity to enroll until Fall 2024.
For more information, including cost and coverage, please review the benefit summaries available here: Accident and Critical Injury. This Enrollment Guide contains information on how to log-in to the system.To access the enrollment portal, please visit the Supplemental Insurance page in the Member Center (password: membersmatter22).
CASE Files Grievance on Behalf of ALJs. The 2022-25 CASE MOU provided a special salary adjustment in July, 2023, for ALJs who had been at the top step of their salary range for the prior 12 months. Due to a peculiarity of the 2022 ALJ Class Consolidation project, CalHR incorrectly performed salary calculations that resulted in a group of ALJs at DIR not receiving their expected increase. While CASE has been working for months to advocate for correct calculations, CalHR left us no choice but to grieve the matter. You can read the grievance here. CASE continues to advocate aggressively for the correct implementation of the special salary adjustment. Watch CASE Files for future updates.