Deputy Sheriff's Association files lawsuit against Placer County

The Placer County Deputy Sheriff's Association (DSA) has filed a lawsuit against Placer County for alleged unfair labor practices. "Unfortunately, after years of one-sided 'negotiations' paired with Placer County's leaders continuing to push illegal contract provisions on our deputies, we were left with no choice," the DSA posted on its Facebook page Sept. 26 in announcing the lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed Sept. 24, alleges the county violated its duty to bargain in good faith regarding deputy pay and benefits due to "insisting to impasse over illegal proposals and engaging in surface bargaining." The lawsuit also alleges the Q&A the county provided to the public in September was "misleading propaganda on their website, falsely claiming their proposals were legal." "We're trying to get the county to bargain fairly with us," David Mastagni, the association's attorney, said in an interview with the Auburn Journal on Wednesday. The DSA and Placer County have been in negotiations regarding deputies' contracts since March 2018. According to the lawsuit, the county provided the DSA with its last, best and final offer (LBFO) on July 21. The DSA repeatedly objected to the proposal, stating it violated the Measure F wage ordinance and was illegal. An impasse was declared by the county after the association unanimously voted to not bring the LBFO to its members for a ratification vote and rejected the offer. Mastagni said one issue with the county's proposal is expecting the association to agree that members can be stripped of their coverage. According to the lawsuit, the proposal seeks to have the association waive its right to bargain over health care coverage changes and withdraw DSA members from CalPERS-provided health care plans and place them in a county-sponsored plan of its choice. A second issue is deputies are expected to pay an additional 2 percent of their salaries to their retirement benefits. Mastagni said the association views this as unfair because any employee hired after 2013 is required to pay an automatic 50-percent contribution rate, as set by the California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act and those employees receive a lower pension, which results in them paying more. The third issue is the proposal to increase deputy base pay by 7 percent but decrease the incentive pay (when a deputy speaks a second language or has a degree, as examples) by 7 percent. Mastagni said this is an attempt to cut deputy pay by 7 percent over time, which will put deputies above the average of comparable positions in Sacramento, Nevada and El Dorado counties and "freeze their pay for three years while everyone else is getting cost-of-living adjustments." Mastagni also said even if the association wanted to agree to the changes, it could not, as then it would be party to violating Measure F, which requires the Board of Supervisors to fix the average salary. According to DSA President Noah Frederito, the association, which represents 250 sworn deputies, is asking to maintain the status quo and has not asked for any raises. "We're just trying to maintain the pay and benefits we already receive," Frederito said Wednesday. Frederito also said the association is "constantly trying to stay ahead of the game" with regard to pay and benefits, as it assists with retaining "tenured, experienced employees we have while at the same time (recruiting) new staff." Placer County Director of Communications and Public Affairs Wendy Williams responded to an email from the Auburn Journal on Wednesday and said the county does not comment on pending litigation but ... "We are continuing to negotiate in good faith with the DSA to come up with an amicable solution. We will be meeting with the DSA in mediation next week." The DSA and county are scheduled to meet Oct. 6. According to Mastagni, they will be "going in in good faith" and prefer to make a deal than to litigate out. "We remain optimistic," Frederito said. "Hopefully, they show up on October 6 flexible and willing to try to figure out a path that works for everybody and keeps us competitive with recruitment and retention."