Meet and confer: observation.

Plain English Breakdown

It is unclear who will enforce this law.

Observing Meetings Between Employers and Employee Groups

This law allows employee groups to let members watch meetings remotely without participating or getting paid time off, unless both sides agree otherwise.

What This Bill Does

• Allows an exclusive representative to invite bargaining unit members to remotely observe meet and confer sessions on a memorandum of understanding.
• Prohibits observing employees from receiving paid time off for observation unless both parties agree.
• Does not prevent the parties from agreeing to allow in-person observers or greater participation by observers.

Who It Names or Affects

• Higher education employers
• Employee organizations and their members

Terms To Know

Exclusive representative

The main group chosen by employees to speak for them in talks with the employer.

Bargaining unit

A group of workers who are represented together when talking about work conditions and pay.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify what happens if both sides do not agree on allowing observers to watch meetings.
• The bill does not change how people can observe or take part in meet and confer sessions beyond adding remote observation as an option.

Official Summary Text

AB 1630, as amended, Caloza.
Meet and confer: observation.
Existing law provides for negotiations concerning wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment between a higher education employer and an exclusive representative of a recognized or certified employee organization, as these terms are defined. Existing law requires higher education employers, or such representatives as they may designate, to engage in meeting and conferring with the employee organization selected as exclusive representative of an appropriate unit on all matters within the scope of representation. Existing law requires a reasonable number of representatives of an exclusive representative to have the right to receive reasonable periods of released or reassigned time without loss of compensation when engaged in meeting and conferring and for the processing of grievances prior to the adoption of the initial memorandum of understanding.
This bill would authorize an exclusive representative, in their discretion, to invite one or more members of a bargaining unit to remotely
and passively
observe a session held for the purpose of a meet and confer on a memorandum of understanding. The bill would prohibit, absent an agreement of the parties, a member of a bargaining unit observing a session pursuant to these provisions from receiving released or reassigned time or compensation to observe a session.
The bill would not prevent the parties from agreeing to allow in-person observers or greater participation by observers in a meet and confer session. The bill would also not require any change in existing practices that allow in-person observers or greater participation by observers in a meet and confer session.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF