SEIU Local 1000 filed a supplemental brief in San Francisco's 1st District Court of Appeal last Friday. It's a response to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Nov. 8 filing that argues the California Supreme Court's furlough decision knocked out an Alameda judge's ruling that forcing unpaid days off on so-called "special fund" departments is illegal.
Local 1000 attorney Felix De La Torre's 19-page letter brief makes several arguments:
- The 2008 Budget Act, which the state Supreme Court said gave Schwarzenegger tacit permission to furlough state workers, doesn't apply to all state agencies: "There are a number of Respondent state agencies in the SEIU action that are not appropriated through the Budget Act."
- The Supreme Court's ruling can't apply to "agencies with non-borrowable funds. The category includes state agencies whose funds are statutorily protected against transfer to the General Fund."
- The Budget Act didn't authorize furloughs of state employees whose wages are paid entirely with federal money, such as the California Disability Determination Services Division: "Because no savings are achieved when DDSD employees are furloughed, the Legislature could not have intended to ratify the furloughs for DDS employees or other employees whose wages come from the federal government."
Click here for the Nov. 17 SEIU filing. This post has more background about the special fund furlough appeal and a link to Schwarzenegger's Nov. 8 brief.
Next up: Schwarzenegger has until Nov. 30 to reply. View the court's calendar by clicking here.
In related news, CCPOA filed a brief on Friday to the same court in response to the governor's argument that the California's Supreme Court decision also has killed the so-called "self-directed furlough" argument. We're working to get the brief. Click here for an earlier post about Schwarzenegger's appeal in that case.
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