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Public sector temporary employees will soon gain new labor representation and job information rights under AB 1484 (Zbur), signed by Governor Newsom on October 10, 2023 and effective January 1, 2024, which extends provisions of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Gov. Code Section 3500 et seq.) specifically to such public sector employees. In short, AB 1484 now requires public employers to include temporary employees with permanent employees in the same bargaining unit upon request of the recognized employee organization if they have been hired to perform the same or similar type of work that is performed by the permanent employees. Further, public employers will be required to provide certain information to the temporary employees upon hire such as job description, wage rates, eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of employment, and procedures to apply for open, permanent positions.
AB 1484 defines a “temporary employee” as a temporary employee, casual employee, seasonal employee, periodic employee, extra-help employee, relief employee, limited-term employee, per diem employee, and any other public employee who has not been hired for a permanent position. The new law imposes specific duties on public employers with respect to temporary employees as defined above. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Upon request of a recognized employee organization, certain temporary employees shall be automatically included in the same bargaining unit with permanent employees, if the temporary employees are not already in the unit.
- Upon request of a recognized employee organization, a public employer shall engage in collective bargaining establishing wage, hours, and terms and conditions of employment for newly added temporary employees to be included as an addendum to an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) covering permanent employees, if the current MOU does not address them.
- Upon hire of a temporary employee, a public employer must provide each temporary employee with a job description, wage rates, eligibility for benefits, anticipated length of employment, and procedures to apply for open, permanent positions. Employers shall also produce this information to the applicable recognized employee organization within five (5) business days of hiring the temporary employee.
- Within five (5) business days of hire, public employers shall provide the applicable recognized employee organization with the temporary employee’s anticipated employment end date.
Any violation of these statutory requirements will be actionable as an unfair practice charge pursuant to Government Code Section 3509.
As noted above, AB 1484 mandates participation of eligible temporary employees in the collective bargaining process upon request of the applicable employee organization. As such, AB 1484 may impact the administration of existing local government programs, the duration of labor negotiations, and the employment and retention of temporary employees.
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