Decision 2307M – County of Riverside
LA-CE-702-M
Decision Date: March 1, 2013
Decision Type: PERB Decision
Description: The charge alleged that the County of Riverside violated MMBA by unilaterally changing the policy regarding compensation paid to employees on approved union released time.
Disposition: The Board reversed the dismissal of the charge and directed issuance of a complaint.
Perc Vol: 37
Perc Index: 180
Decision Headnotes
602.06000 – Change in Past Practice
Allegations were sufficient to state a prima facie unlawful unilateral change violation based on a past practice of paying employees on union released time their full wages, including base wages and any differentials or special pay premiums they would have earned had they been performing their regular duties; the county began paying employees on union released time only their base wages for the time in which they were engaged in contract negotiations without notice and opportunity to meet and confer; “loss” under MMBA section 3505.3, which requires public agencies to allow reasonable time off for formal negotiations “without loss of compensation or other benefits,” is measured against the amount of pay the employee would have earned if the employee had not been “formally meeting and conferring with representatives of the public agency on matters within the scope of representation;” by causing employees to suffer a loss of compensation under MMBA section 3505.3, the county denied the union its statutorily guaranteed rights; county contention that it was unaware of its own pay practice does not defeat past practice claim.