California Labor Law Victory Comes Too Late for 2010

Sacramento, CAA recent attempt to circumvent California labor law and save some dollars by dropping two paid holidays from the California state calendar has been thwarted by a Sacramento Superior Court judge, according to a recent article in the Sacramento Bee. The Schwarzenegger Administration dropped Columbus Day and Lincoln's birthday from the paid holidays calendar. Three unions fought the decision and won.

However, the California labor code victory may come too late for Columbus Day, which is normally observed on the second Monday of October and this year falls on October 11. That's because the decision by Judge Timothy Frawley, who ruled that the move by the Schwarzenegger administration was illegal, does not become binding for 60 days.

Frawley's ruling affects about 105,000 state workers represented by SEIU Local 1000, California Association of Professional Scientists and the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians. However, they may not be in a position to benefit from that ruling this year, given that administration discretion will likely govern whether state employees will have to work Columbus Day as a normal day or get the day off with pay.

The administration signaled that it planned to appeal the California and labor law ruling. Given the expected appeal and the 60-day wait for Judge Frawley's ruling to become binding, the expectation is that state employees will be told to treat October 11—Columbus Day—as a normal business day.

A spokesperson for one of the three unions involved in the California labor employment law tussle said that in his view the administration should do the right thing and give their employees the day off.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the legal battle had been going on for about a year. California, long plagued by budget and fiscal woes bordering on crisis proportions, felt that dropping two paid holidays was warranted given that workers still receive 12 paid holidays each year.

However, the unions countered that the move by the administration was in violation of California state labor laws and state labor contract law. The Court sided with the union, but unless the administration has an immediate change of heart, California state employees will likely not be in a position to benefit from their victory this year.