REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 7, 2020
FROM
GARY McBRIDE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Side Letter Agreement with the Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Association - Safety Unit
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve a side letter agreement with the Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Association for employees in the Safety Unit.
(Presenter: Bob Windle, County Labor Relations Chief, 387-3101)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Create, Maintain and Grow Jobs and Economic Value in the County.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The additional one-time cost associated with the continuation of the stipulated award of a 1.25% differential is estimated to be $558,200 through August 9, 2024, which is the term of the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Safety Unit, of which an estimated $290,800 will be funded with one-time Discretionary General Funding. The cost is considered one-time, as the stipulated award differential of 1.25% will sunset when the current MOU expires, as the eligible employees will have reached the top step of the salary schedule.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On October 13, 2016, the Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Association (SEBA) filed a grievance on behalf of the Safety Unit alleging the County of San Bernardino (County) violated the Salary Rates and Step Advancements article of the 2016 - 2019 MOU. The parties proceeded to mediation which resulted in a stipulated award between the parties which included differential pay for certain Deputy Sheriffs impacted by the Step Advancements article. The stipulated award was issued and the dispute was resolved. The stipulated award provided that, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the agreement would expire in August of 2019 when the Safety Unit’s MOU expired.
On August 6, 2019, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved a successor MOU between the County and SEBA, which did not include the continuation of the stipulated award. Upon a request from SEBA, the County met and conferred with SEBA’s representatives regarding the terms and conditions of employment of the Safety Unit. The meet and confer process resulted in the County and SEBA agreeing to the proposed side letter agreement to continue the differential pay for eligible employees in the Safety Unit. The differential pay will continue on a prospective basis and for a limited period of time.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Cynthia O’Neill, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 11, 2020; Labor Relations (Bob Windle, County Labor Relations Chief, 387-3101) on March 11, 2020; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222) on March 27, 2020; County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on March 27, 2020.