In this issue...

Why Can’t We Contract Out Half Our Workforce?
By Irma Rodriguez Moisa, Nate Kowalski, and Lisa M. Carrillo

In the wake of the economic recession that rocked the country over the past few years, cities and counties have searched for ways to trim their budgets. Because a significant proportion of a public entity’s funds are dedicated to personnel costs, an increasingly popular option has been to contract with another public or private entity to provide public services that are currently performed by an agency’s own civil service employees. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages associated with contracting out public services. But, as critical as these personnel considerations are, it is equally as important to review the legal parameters associated with the decision to enter contracts for public services. This article provides the legal framework a public agency must consider before making such a decision.

It’s After January 1, 2013...What Should We Do With Our Retired Annuitants?
By Sabrina Thomas

Since the new year began, the phone has been ringing off the hook. Anxious clients are calling because they are not quite sure how to handle employment situations for retired annuitants. Given the continuing fiscal pressures on public agencies, many are being forced to consider rehiring these retirees – and they fear of running afoul of the newly enacted California Public Employees’ Retirement System rules. In addition, public entities are being asked to defend this hiring practice in the face of civil servants still being furloughed, and in some cases, laid off. Public employers should have questions and concerns. Since the recent enactment of Assembly Bill 1028, Senate Bill 1021, and the infamous Assembly Bill 340, also known as the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), there have been significant changes to the waiting period for, use of, and frequency of hiring retired annuitants.

Recent Developments in this issue...AB 646 and effects bargaining...mixed results for mixed-motive cases...San Francisco’s pay equity proposals...Los Angeles’s ERB...teacher evaluations and credentialing...No Child Left Behind waivers... bargaining online education...avoiding PEPRA...retiree health benefits...whistleblower hurdles...and more.