Changes Will Increase Rates of Entry Level and Supervisory / Managerial Positions
| On November 13, 2024, CalHR furnished CSLEA with information concerning its intention to make adjustments to certain Unit 7 and supervisory/managerial classifications. Both of the changes are within CalHR’s existing statutory authority to implement classification-wide HAMs (Hiring Above Minimum) and to set the pay of unrepresented S07 and M07 positions. The decision to implement the HAMs was motivated in response to the Governor’s veto of AB 2872, a bill which was intended to close the gap and maintain salary parity between California Department of Insurance (CDI) Investigators and Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Agents. CSLEA has previously reported its position of supporting the immediate increase in CDI pay but opposition to the pay parity requirement going forward due to its interference with the collective bargaining process. The bill was also opposed by CalHR and vetoed by the Governor for the same reason. In response, and in an effort to bridge some of the gap between other Unit 7 peace officer positions and DOJ Special Agents, CalHR has decided to implement HAMs for all Unit 7 peace officer classifications with the exception of DOJ Special Agents, varying from 5-15% above the applicable bottom step of each salary range. Employees who are currently earning less than the existing salary ranges plus HAMs will be moved to the new salary ranges which include the HAMs. The attached spreadsheets show which classifications will receive the HAMs, how much the bottom steps of each impacted pay range will be increased, and a breakdown of the 448 Unit 7 employees who will see an increase in pay. CalHR also announced that it was implementing a 5% Special Salary Adjustment for specified excluded S07 and M07 positions which are also identified in the attached spreadsheet. CalHR’s explanation for this action was in response to like pay litigation pursued by CDI excluded employees who successfully argued before a CalHR Administrative Law Judge that they performed similar work to that performed by DOJ excluded employees and recommended that CalHR take appropriate steps to see that the classifications were more closely aligned. CalHR has elected to exercise its statutory authority under Government Code Section 19826 to implement the SSAs for a number of excluded supervisory/managerial classifications, not including classifications within DOJ. This statute specifically excludes represented employees from pursuing like pay claims before CalHR and such arguments are required to be addressed via the collective bargaining process. On December 4, 2024, the CSLEA Negotiations Team comprised of CSLEA Unit Vice Presidents Tina Brazil, Ken Ehrman, Tom Ineichen, CSLEA President Alan Barcelona and CSLEA attorneys Kasey Clark and Ryan Navarre. met with CalHR representatives to discuss the impact of the changes on the CSLEA-represented bargaining unit. The first point that CalHR made clear was that the reasons why it elected to use its existing statutory authority in implementing the HAMs and excluded SSAs was because it did not require any legislative committee review or approval as a side letter would require if pay or benefit increases were negotiated via a side letter impacting employees in the bargaining unit. CalHR indicated that it had no authority to negotiate increases which required legislative approval. CSLEA also noted that there were a number of non-sworn classifications that were experiencing significant vacancy issues that would not be included in the HAMs. Although CalHR acknowledged the State’s difficulty in filling Unit 7 positions was not limited to the peace officer classifications, the motivation for the HAMs was in response to the veto of AB 2872 which was a bill intended to impact peace officer represented and unrepresented classifications. There was also discussion that despite the purpose in not including DOJ in the HAM and SSA increases, the DOJ Special Agent classification is experiencing the highest vacancy rate of any Unit 7 peace officer classification. CSLEA also noted that the purpose behind AB 2872 was to benefit all CDI investigators regardless of their placement in the current salary ranges and would not address the retention component of keeping experienced employees at CDI and other Unit 7 departments. CSLEA inquired whether an increase in longevity pay might be away of addressing this problem but CalHR reiterated its position that no side letter with an accompanying cost would be negotiated at this time. The impacts of the changes should help with recruitment of new peace officer hires to the bargaining unit and will minimize the overlap between represented and unrepresented classes that will serve as an opportunity to address in future bargaining. Unit 7 – Summary of HAMs and SSAs 10-30-2024 Unit 7 – HAM Counts by Class Payletter |
