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County Ordered To Pay Association Back Dues
By: Dieter C.
Dammeier
Lackie & Dammeier Llp
The Los Angeles County Police Officers
Association Is An “Agency Shop” Association Pursuant To The Meyers-Milias-Brown
Act. Accordingly, The County Of Los Angeles Has A Statutory Obligation To
Withhold Either Union Dues Or A “Fair Share Fee,” As A Condition Of
Employment For Employees Represented By Lacpoa. An Arbitrator Has Found
That The County Violated Its Obligations And Thus Owes The Association
Over $100,000.00 In Back Dues It Failed To Withhold From Current And
Former Employees During A Seventeen Month Period.
An Association May Be Become “Agency Shop” By
Either An Election Of Its Members Or Negotiating It Into The Applicable
Memorandum Of Understanding. In This Case, Lacpoa Did Both. Agency Shop
Was Implemented By Election In 1999 And Then Negotiated Into The Mou
Effective February 2001. Initially, The County Complied With The Agency
Shop Provisions And Began Withholding Union Dues Or A Fair Share Fee. The
Problem Arose Where, Subsequent To The Initial Withholdings In Early 2001,
The County Failed To Implement Such Withholdings For New Hires. By
December Of 2002, The County Had Failed To Obtain Withholdings From
Approximately 117 Officers. Compounding The County’s Negligence, Was The
County’s Failure To Provide Monthly Employee Rosters To The Association As
Required By The Mou. Had It Done So, Lacpoa Would Have Realized The Short
Fall Much Sooner Than It Had. Upon Realizing The Large Discrepancy,
Lacpoa Filed A Grievance In November Of 2002.
The Grievance Was Ultimately Sent To Binding
Arbitration. Lacpoa, Represented By Dieter Dammeier Of Lackie & Dammeir
Llp Argued The Clear Requirements Of Both The Government Code And The
Applicable Memorandum Of Understanding And The County’s Complete Failure
To Abide By Either. The County, In An Effort To Shift Blame, Threw Up A
Number Of Excuses, First Claiming That Lacpoa Failed To Provide Required
Notice To Employees For The Deductions. The Evidence Established The
Contrary And Only Made The County’s Argument More Ridiculas Since It Had
In Fact Withheld Dues And Fair Share Fees From Some Employees, Just Not
All Of Them.
Next, The County Argued That The Association
Was Required To Provide Annual Financial Statements To The County Before
Deductions Can Be Made. Again, The County’s Assertion Was Correctly
Overcome. California Law Only Requires That Financial Statements Be Made
“Available” The Employer And Employees Upon Request.
Finally, The County Argued
That Lacpoa Did Not Timely Grieve The Matter Since It Waited Until
November 2002 To File A Grievance. Fortunately, The Evidence Showed The
County’s Culpability In That It Failed To Provide Monthly Notices To
Lacpoa Of Employee Rosters, Which Was More Than Adequate Justification For
Lacpoa’s Delay In Filing The Grievance Since It Was Unaware Of The
Discrepancy Until November 2002.
The Arbitrator Has Ordered
The County To Reimburse Lacpoa The Amount Of Dues Or Fair Share Fee It
Failed To Withhold From Employees Between November 2001 And April 2003,
Which Lacpoa Estimates At Well Over $100,000.00.
About The Author: Dieter C. Dammeier Is A Ldf Panel Attorney And Partner
At The Law Firm Of Lackie & Dammeir Llp Representing Police Associations
And Its Members Throughout Southern California.
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