California state union secures paid family leave in contract deal. Will others follow?

A new California public employee union contract for the first time gives rank-and-file workers paid family leave without requiring them to accept a paycheck deduction to fund the benefit.

The tentative agreement for the state attorneys union, reached Friday, provides up to six weeks of paid leave time that may be used by workers with new children or those with sick family members, according to a summary that was emailed to union members Monday morning.

The California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges, and Hearing Officers in State Employment struck the deal with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration in time for the Legislature to vote on it before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31. The union’s dues-paying members and the Legislature must each approve the deal for it to take effect.

The agreement provides 5.5% raises over two years for all 4,500 employees represented by the union and bumps of up to 16.2% for select groups over its full three-year term, according to the summary.

The union had been pressing for raises of up to 30% after members elected new leaders who promised to take a more aggressive stance in bargaining.

“It does not contain all that you deserve, nor everything the team sought, however, it is the best deal available from this administration,” the union’s bargaining team said in the email to members.

California’s paid family leave

Most Californians who work in the private sector have been eligible for paid family leave since the state created the nation’s first paid family leave program, which took effect in 2004. The program, which was expanded last year, provides eight weeks of partially paid leave and up to 12 weeks unpaid. Workers must contribute around 1% of pay toward the state program.

The family leave was not automatically extended to California state employees because it’s a benefit subject to collective bargaining. SEIU Local 1000, the largest state employee union, obtained the benefit through the bargaining process, electing to make the contributions in exchange for California’s standard family leave program. But no other state employee union did so.

Rank-and-file state employees who aren’t represented by SEIU Local 1000 are eligible for partially paid medical leave in the weeks before and after birth, but they have to go back to work as soon as a doctor says they’re ready — typically after about six weeks.

Under the attorneys’ agreement, new mothers would be eligible starting July 2023 for another six weeks of partially paid leave after the medical time runs out. Like medical leave, the leave for bonding time provides 50% of pay, or up to 100% if supplemented with annual leave time.

Tim O’Connor, the union’s president, said family leave was a priority from the start of this year’s contract talks.

“It’s something that has ranked in importance to our members, and Unit 2 is now the first rank and file unit in state history to secure this benefit, O’Connor said, referring to the union by the bargaining unit number assigned it by the state Human Resources Department. “We think that’s a good win for our members and it’s been important for our unit.”

O’Connor said contract negotiations ultimately took about 250 hours and 35 meetings with CalHR negotiators.

Back-dated raises in contract

The new benefit — technically called Nonindustrial Disability Insurance — Family Care Leave — may also be used by the spouses of women who give birth, by workers who adopt children and workers who need to care for seriously ill family members. Employees don’t pay for the benefit.

Supervisors and managers in state service received the same no-deduction benefit in 2019, but it wasn’t extended to rank-and-file workers covered by collective bargaining agreements.

The 100,000 state employees represented by SEIU Local 1000 contribute about 1% of their pay for California’s primary paid family leave program, which provides 60% to 70% of an employee’s pay up to a salary cap of about $133,000 per year, according to an Employment Development Department eligibility chart.

Along with the new leave, the attorneys’ tentative agreement provides a 2.5% raise for all employees covered by the union retroactive to July 1 of this year. It provides another 3% raise for all employees in July 2023.

Also next year, the agreement provides a 4.5% raise to administrative law judges who are at the top of their pay scales.

In July 2024, all attorneys at the top of their pay scales — except those in the Attorney III classification — will receive a 4.5% raise. Attorney IIIs will receive a 10% raise, according to the summary.

This story was originally published August 22, 2022 at 2:37 PM with the headline "California state union secures paid family leave in contract deal. Will others follow?."