The State Worker

Court Files introduce lawsuits of interest to state workers. We highlight the case, link you to the file and show you where to track developments on your own.

• Click on the case number below to download the file. (77 16 pages)
• Check for subsequent filings on the Sacramento Superior Court's document viewing page. Plug the case number into the appropriate field, click the search button and then scroll down to see a list of documents filed.

Case No.: 00054223
Filed: 07/29/2009
Petitioner: Department of Personnel Administration
Respondent: Professional Engineers in California Government

DPA, on behalf of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, sued PECG on Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court, alleging that the engineers' union has ...

... improperly invoked a provision in the expired Memorandum of Understanding seeking to arbitrate their grievance over the Governor and DPA's adoption and implementation of the two furlough days per month. Defendants seek to employ this expired arbitration provision to arbitrate the question of whether the Governor was authorized persuant to an Executive Order declaring a fiscal emergency to implement a two day furlough per month for all represented employees including Bargaining Unit 9. Defendants seek to arbitrate this issue despite the fact that defendants have already litigated and lost in Sacramento Superior Court the exact same issue and have in fact appealed this decision to the Third District Court of Appeals. In an effort to prevent duplicative efforts and the possibility of conflicting rulings, plaintiff requests injunctive relief to prevent irreparable harm as well as to prevent the frustration of plaintiff's rights to a meaningful and appropriately focused arbitration between the parties over this issue.

The history of this case goes all the way back to PECG's Dec. 22 lawsuit, the first to challenge Schwarzenegger's furlough order. PDF pages 9 through 12 lay out a concise history all the way up to this week's court action by the administration.

We've talked to Bruce Blanning, PECG's executive director, about the administration's action. He disagrees that the union's grievance or call for arbitration duplicates the December lawsuit, which asserted that the governor doesn't have the legal authority to impose reduced hours and commensurate wage reductions on state workers. PECG's grievance and hoped-for arbitration would be about whether the governor violated Bargaining Unit 9's contract, Blanning said.

We called DPA today. They'll get back to us next week.