Today the Second District Court of Appeal issued a published decision in favor of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) and against the County of Los Angeles, its Inspector General, Max Huntsman (IG), and its Sheriff, Robert Luna, reinforcing the bargaining rights of unions across the State. The Court held that the County and any independent investigatory agency or body must meet and confer with the recognized union before adopting and implementing decisions that can impact the disciplinary process.
The action stems from an order by the IG issued to approximately 35 deputies requiring them, under pain of discipline and threat of report to POST, to submit to an interview where they would be forced to answer questions about their membership in alleged law enforcement gangs and reveal tattoos on their bodies believed to be associated with those gangs. The Sheriff thereafter sent an email ordering the deputies to comply with the IG’s order. Neither the County nor its related officials met and conferred in good faith with ALADS prior to the orders.
ALADS filed an unfair labor practice charge and a lawsuit in the Superior Court arguing that the County was required to meet and confer with ALADS prior to ordering the deputies to be interviewed, as the IG had never before ordered deputies to be interviewed in this fashion. ALADS sought and was granted emergency injunctive relief from the Superior Court, prohibiting the interviews from taking place until either ALADS’s unfair labor practice charge is adjudicated or until the County completes the meet and confer process.
The Court of Appeal today affirmed the lower court’s decision, concluding that the County is required to meet and confer with ALADS prior to issuing the IG’s order. Importantly, this does not prohibit the interviews from taking place at some point in the future; it requires the County to comply with its obligations under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Government Code section 3500 et seq.) by bargaining with ALADS about the important issues and effects raised by the IG’s decision ordering the deputies to be interviewed.
ALADS was represented throughout this case by Jacob Kalinski, Brian Ross and Richard Levine of RLS.
