Supreme Court of California

The memoranda of understandings of four state employee bargaining units and their implementing legislation violate the California Constitution by infringing upon the State Personnel Board's authority to "review disciplinary actions" taken against state civil service employees.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/01/2005
• Published 12/01/2005

Judges

• KENNARD, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Elise S. Rose, Dorothy Bacskai Egel, Sacramento;  Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard and Susan R. Denious, Sacramento, for Plaintiff and Appellant and for Plaintiff and Respondent State Personnel Board., Howard L. Schwartz, K. William Curtis, Marguerite D. Seabourn and Linda Diane Buzzini, Sacramento, for Defendant and Appellant and for Defendant and Respondent Department of Personnel Administration., Anne M. Giese, Sacramento, and Mark DeBoer, for Defendant and Appellant and for Defendant and Respondent California State Employees Association., Carroll, Burdick & McDonough, Ronald Yank, David M. Rice, San Francisco, and Gregg McLean Adam, for Defendant and Appellant and for Defendant and Respondent Department of Forestry Firefighters., VanBourg, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld, William A. Sokol, Vincent A. Harrington, Los Angeles, M. Suzanne Murphy, Oakland, and Matthew J. Gauger, for Defendant and Appellant and for Defendant and Respondent International Union of Operating Engineers., Norman Hill, Sacramento, and Wendy Breckon, for Defendant and Appellant and for Defendant and Respondent Department of Forestry and Fire Protection., Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, David S. Chaney, Assistant Attorney General, Damon M. Connolly, Miguel A. Neri, Jacob Appelsmith, Alicia M.B. Fowler and Michelle Littlewood, Deputy Attorneys General, as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant and Defendant and Respondent Department of Personnel Administration., Anne M. Giese, Sacramento;  Katzenbach and Khtikian and Christopher W. Katzenbach, San Francisco, for California State Employees Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendants and Appellants and Defendants and Respondents Department of Personnel Administration, Department of Forestry Firefighters and International Union of Operating Engineers., Law Office of Steven B. Bassoff, Steven B. Bassoff, Sacramento;  Eisen & Johnston Law Corporation, Jay-Allen Eisen Law Corporation, Jay-Allen Eisen, Marian M. Johnston, Sacramento, and C. Athena Rousos, for Plaintiffs and Respondents Association of California State Attorneys and Administrative Law Judges et al., Elise S. Rose, Dorothy Bacskai Egel;  Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard and Susan R. Denious, Sacramento, for State Personnel Board as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Respondents Association of California State Attorneys and Administrative Law Judges et al.