LA County Board

16.\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisors Horvath and Solis: Instruct\nCounty Counsel to draft the necessary documents, including an ordinance, for\na proposed Charter amendment adopting binding arbitration as the means of\nresolving disputes involving wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of\nemployment that are not uniquely within the jurisdiction of a memorandum of\nunderstanding providing fringe benefits, for public safety employees including\nfirefighters, deputy sheriffs, district attorney investigators, deputy medical\nexaminers, County lifeguards, and their supervisors, as well as\nnonadministrative civilian employees in the County Fire Department, Sheriff’s\nDepartment, and Department of the Medical Examiner, containing the following\nprovisions, and place the ordinance on the March 3, 2026 Board agenda for\nconsideration. The Charter Amendment shall be placed on the ballot for the\nNovember 3, 2026 General Election.\nDeclaration of Policy: It is hereby declared to be the policy of the County\nthat strikes by firefighters, deputy sheriffs, sworn law enforcement\nsupervisors and managers, lifeguards, and civilian employees working\nfor the Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department, and Department of the\nMedical Examiner and are not in the public interest and are prohibited.\nAs set forth in this section, a method shall be adopted for peaceably and\nequitably resolving labor disputes that might otherwise have led to strikes.\nThis method shall be referred to in this section as “interest arbitration.”\nAny employee covered by this section who willfully participates in an\nillegal strike or work stoppage shall be subject to disciplinary action up to\nand including termination from employment.\nEmployees Covered: This section shall apply to labor organizations\ncertified by the County’s Employee Relations Commission, established\npursuant to Chapter 5.04 of the Los Angeles County Code, as\nrepresenting employees in the following bargaining units: Bargaining Unit\n601, Bargaining Unit 602, Bargaining Unit 603, Bargaining Unit 604,\nBargaining Unit 611, Bargaining Unit 612, Bargaining Unit 614,\nBargaining Unit 621, Bargaining Unit 631, Bargaining Unit 632,\nBargaining Unit 641, Bargaining Unit 642, Bargaining Unit 411, and\nBargaining Unit 412. For purposes of this ordinance, the labor\norganizations described above shall hereinafter be referred to as\n“Certified Public Safety Employee Organizations” and any employee\ndescribed in this subdivision may be designated as a “public safety\nemployee” and collectively as “public safety employees.”\nObligation to Negotiate in Good Faith: The County, through its duly\nauthorized representatives, shall negotiate in good faith with Certified\nPublic Safety Employee Organizations on all matters relating to wages,\nhours, and other terms and conditions of employment, including the\nestablishment of procedures for the resolution of grievances concerning\nthe interpretation or application of a negotiated agreement. Unless and\nuntil agreement is reached through negotiations between authorized\nrepresentatives of the County and the applicable Certified Public Safety\nE\nl\nO\ni\nti\nti\nl\nd t\ni\nti\ni\nd\nth\nh\nEmployee Organization, respectively, or a determination is made through\nthe impartial arbitration procedure hereinafter provided, no existing\nwages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment for said\npublic safety employees in the Certified Public Safety Employee\nOrganizations shall be eliminated or changed.\nImpasse Resolution Procedures:\nMediation and Fact-Finding in Chapter 5.04 Not Applicable - The\nmediation and fact-finding provisions of the Employee Relations\nOrdinance, as set forth in Chapter 5.04 of the Los Angeles County\nCode, shall not apply to negotiations impasses involving Certified\nPublic Safety Employee Organizations.\nApplicability of Interest Arbitration - All disputes or controversies\npertaining to the renewal of a Certified Public Safety Employee\nOrganization’s memorandum of understanding covering wages,\nhours, and other terms and conditions of employment that are not\nuniquely within the jurisdiction of a memorandum of understanding\nproviding fringe benefits, and which remain unresolved after good\nfaith negotiations between the County and a Certified Public\nSafety Employee Organization shall be submitted to a\nthree-member Board of Arbitrators for resolution.\nSelection of Interest Arbitration Board of Arbitrators -\nRepresentatives designated by the County and representatives of\nthe Certified Public Safety Employee Organization involved in the\ndispute shall each appoint one arbitrator to the Board of\nArbitrators within seven days after either party has notified the\nother, in writing, that it desires to proceed to arbitration. The third\nmember of the Board of Arbitrators shall be selected by agreement\nbetween the County and the Certified Public Safety Employee\nOrganization and shall serve as the neutral arbitrator and\nChairperson of the Board. In the event that the County and the\nCertified Public Safety Employee Organization involved in the\ndispute cannot agree upon the selection of the third, neutral\narbitrator within 10 days from the date that either party has notified\nthe other that it has declared an impasse, either party may then\nrequest the State Mediation and Conciliation Service to provide a\nlist of seven persons who are qualified and experienced as labor\narbitrators. If the County and the certified Public Safety Employee\nOrganization cannot agree within seven days after receipt of such\nlist on one of seven persons to act as the neutral arbitrator, they\nshall alternately strike names from the list of nominees until one\nname remains and that person shall then become the neutral\narbitrator and Chairperson of the Board of Arbitrators.\nAlternatively, the parties may agree to waive the appointment of\nparty-appointed arbitrators and proceed with a single neutral\narbitrator. If the parties agree to the appointment of a single\nneutral arbitrator, the single neutral arbitrator shall fulfill the duties\nand responsibilities of the Board of Arbitrators and Chairperson of\nthe Board of Arbitrators, as are applicable and set forth in this\nsection.\nInterest Arbitration Hearing Procedures and Decision - Any\ninterest arbitration proceeding convened pursuant to this section\nshall be conducted in conformance with, subject to, and governed\nby Title 9 of Part 3 of the California Code of Civil Procedure, as\nmay be amended from time to time. The Board of Arbitrators shall\nhold hearings, receive evidence from the parties, allow for public\ninput and cause a transcript of the proceedings to be prepared.\nThe Board of Arbitrators, in the exercise of its discretion, may\nmeet privately with the parties and mediate or “mede-arb” issues in\ndi\nt\nTh\nB\nd\nf A bit\nt\nl\nd\nt\nh\nth\ndispute. The Board of Arbitrators may also adopt such other\nprocedures that are designed to encourage an agreement\nbetween the parties, expedite the arbitration hearing process, or\nreduce the costs of the arbitration process. The rules of evidence\nprevailing in judicial proceedings may be considered, but are not\nbinding, and any oral testimony or documentary evidence or other\ndata deemed relevant by the Chairperson of the Board of\nArbitrators may be received in evidence. A recording of the\nproceedings shall be taken. The Board of Arbitrators has the\npower to administer oaths, require the attendance of witnesses,\nand require the production of such books, papers, contracts,\nagreements, and documents as may be deemed by the panel to\nbe material to a just determination of the issues in dispute. In the\nevent no agreement is reached prior to the conclusion of the\narbitration hearings, the Board of Arbitrators shall direct each of\nthe parties to submit, within such time limit as the Board of\nArbitrators may establish, a last offer of settlement on each of the\nremaining issues in dispute. The Board of Arbitrators shall decide\neach issue by majority vote by selecting whichever last offer of\nsettlement on that issue it finds most nearly conforms to those\nfactors traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of\nwages, hours, benefits, and terms and conditions of public and\nprivate employment including, but not limited to, the following: the\ncost of living; recruitment and retention; workload and productivity;\nthe interests and welfare of the public; the wages, hours, benefits,\nand terms and conditions of employment of California State and\nlocal public employees performing similar services; the financial\ncondition of the County and its ability to meet the costs of the\ndecision of the Board of Arbitrators; and other factors not\nconfined to the foregoing that are traditionally taken into\nconsideration in the determination of wages, hours, and other\nterms and conditions of employment\nterms and conditions of employment.\nPost-Hearing Process - After reaching a decision, the Board of\nArbitrators shall mail or otherwise deliver a true copy of its\ndecision to the parties. The decision of the Board of Arbitrators\nshall not be publicly disclosed and shall not be binding until 30\ndays after it is delivered to the parties. During that 30-day period\nthe parties shall meet privately and attempt to resolve their\ndifferences. Any agreements reached during the 30-day period\nshall be incorporated into the decision of the Board of Arbitrators.\nAt the conclusion of the 30-day period, which may be extended by\nmutual agreement between the parties, the decision of the Board\nof Arbitrators shall be publicly disclosed and shall be binding on\nthe parties. The County and the Certified Public Safety Employee\nOrganization shall take whatever action is necessary to carry out\nand effectuate the arbitration award. No other actions by the\nBoard of Supervisors or by the electorate to confirm or approve\nthe decision of the Board of Arbitrators shall be permitted or\nrequired.\nExpenses of Interest Arbitration - The expenses of any arbitration\nproceeding convened pursuant to this section, including the fee\nfor the services of the Chairperson of the Board of Arbitration and\nthe costs of preparation of the transcript of the proceedings, shall\nbe borne equally by the parties. All other expenses which the\nparties may incur individually are to be borne by the party\nincurring such expenses.\nEmployee Relations Commission: The Employee Relations Commission,\nas created in Chapter 5.04 of the Los Angeles County Code, shall have\nthe authority to administer the provisions enacted by the measure.\nRelationship to Chapter 5.04 of the Los Angeles County Code: This\nsection supplements the provisions of the Employee Relations Ordinance\nas set forth in Chapter 5.04 of the Los Angeles County Code. Where\nthere is a conflict between the provisions of this measure and those of\nthe Employee Relations Ordinance, the provisions of this section shall\ncontrol.\nSeverability: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or\napplication of this measure is for any reason held to be invalid or\nunconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction,\nsuch decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or\napplications of this measure. The electors hereby declare that they would\nhave passed this measure and each and every section, subsection,\nsentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional\nwithout regard to whether any portion of the measure would be\nsubsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.\nConflicting Measures: If this measure and one or more County measures\nadopted at the same election conflict, the measure receiving the highest\nnumber of affirmative votes shall control.\nEffective Date; Operative Date: The proposed charter amendment that is\nthe subject of this measure, if approved by the voters at the next regular\nCounty election, or such other election as authorized by law, shall be\ndeemed adopted upon the date that the vote is declared by the Board,\nand shall go into effect 10 days after that date.\nLegal Defense: If approved by a simple majority of voters, and thereafter\nchallenged in a court of competent jurisdiction, the County shall defend\nthis measure in such court of competent jurisdiction. The People of the\nCounty by approving this measure by a simple majority of voters hereby\ndeclare that the proponent(s) of this measure have a direct and personal\nstake in defending this measure from constitutional or statutory\nchallenges to this measure’s validity or implementation. In the event the\nCounty fails to defend this measure, or the County fails to appeal an\nadverse judgment against hits measure, in whole or in part, in any court\nof competent jurisdiction, this measure’s proponent(s) shall be entitled to\nassert his, her, or their direct personal stake by defending this measure’s\nvalidity and implementation in any court of competent jurisdiction and\nshall be empowered by the People through this measure to act as agents\nof the People of the County, and the County shall indemnify the\nproponents(s) for reasonable attorneys’ fees.\nCodification; Numbering; Non-substantive Edits: If approved by the\nvoters, this measure shall be codified in the Los Angeles County Charter.\nThe chapter, article, and section numbers set forth in this measure are\nfor reference only and the County is authorized to assign alternative\nchapter, article, and section numbers, and to make nonsubstantive\nformatting, typographical, and cross-reference corrections as necessary\nto effectuate this measure without changing its substance.  (26-0872)\nMotion by Supervisor Horvath\nMotion by Supervisors Horvath and Solis (Updates Following Cluster)\nSunsetting the Education Coordinating Council and Aligning Education\nWork for Systems-Impacted Youth Under the Los Angeles County\nChildren and Youth System of Care Partnership