Employer-employee relations: confidential communications., the official text

An act to add Section 3558.9 to the Government Code, relating to employer-employee relations.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law that governs the labor relations of public employees and employers, including, among others, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act, the Ralph C. Dills Act, provisions relating to public schools, and provisions relating to higher education, prohibits employers from taking certain actions relating to employee organization, including imposing or threatening to impose reprisals on employees, discriminating or threatening to discriminate against employees, or otherwise interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees because of their exercise of their guaranteed rights. Those provisions of existing law further prohibit denying to employee organizations the rights guaranteed to them by existing law.
This bill would prohibit a public employer from questioning a public employee, a representative of a recognized employee organization, or an exclusive representative regarding communications made in confidence between an employee and an employee representative in connection with representation relating to any matter within the scope of the recognized employee organization’s representation. The bill would also prohibit a public employer from compelling a public employee, a representative of a recognized employee organization, or an exclusive representative to disclose those confidential communications to a third party. The bill would not apply to a criminal investigation or when a public safety officer is under investigation and certain circumstances exist.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 3558.9 is added to the Government Code, to read:
3558.9.
(a) (1) A public employer shall not question a public employee, a representative of a recognized employee organization, or an exclusive representative regarding communications made in confidence between a public employee and the representative in connection with representation relating to any matter within the scope of the recognized employee organization’s representation.
(2) Paragraph (1) is intended to be consistent with, and not in conflict with, William S. Hart Union High School District (2018) PERB Dec. No. 2595.
(b) A public employer shall not compel a public employee, a representative of a recognized employee organization, or an exclusive representative to disclose to a third party, communications made in confidence between a public employee and the representative in connection with representation relating to any matter within the scope of the recognized employee organization’s representation.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), this section does not apply to a criminal investigation and does not supersede Section 3303.