Article 6. Staffing, Labor, And Retirement Benefits of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 12.7. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 6.

Administrative authority for the consolidated agency shall be vested in the office of the executive director, subject to the direction and policies of the consolidated agency as approved by the board. The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the board and may appoint employees as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the consolidated agency.

The employees of the consolidated entities affected by this chapter shall become employees of the consolidated agency and shall suffer no loss of employment or reduction in wages, health and welfare and other benefits, seniority, retirement benefits or contributions made to retirement plans, or any other term or condition of employment as a result of the enactment of this chapter.

(a) Upon succession of the consolidated agency under Section 132351.3, and in accordance with Article 4 (commencing with Section 132353), all affected employees of the consolidated entities shall become employees of the consolidated agency at their existing or substantially equivalent classifications, salaries, and benefits. All consolidated entity employees who become employees of the consolidated agency shall be given sick leave, seniority, and vacation credits in accordance with the records of the consolidated entity that previously employed them.
  (b) On the effective date of succession of the consolidated agency:
  (1) Regular employees of the consolidated entities shall be deemed qualified, and no other qualifications shall be required for employment or retention by the consolidated agency.
  (2) Probationary employees of consolidated entities shall retain their probationary status and rights, and shall not be deemed to have transferred so as to require serving a new probationary period.
  (c) Upon transfer of any public benefit corporation owned solely by the MTDB pursuant to Section 132353.3, any reference to the board or to the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board in Article 1 (commencing with Section 120500), Article 2 (commencing with Section 120520), and Article 3 (commencing with Section 120540) of Chapter 5 of Division 11 shall be deemed to refer to the consolidated agency.

(a) Members and beneficiaries of any pension or retirement system or other benefits established by the consolidated entities shall continue to have comparable rights, privileges, benefits, obligations, and status with respect to the established systems.
  (b) The consolidated agency and the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) shall enter into an agreement to provide comparable benefits to those persons who were employees, retirees, or beneficiaries of the consolidated entities' pension and retirement plans at the time of consolidation. Any expense related to this agreement between the consolidated agency and PERS, including retiree coverage, shall be borne by the consolidated agency. The agreement shall be effective as of the date of succession by the consolidated agency.
  (c) Those retired employees of the consolidated entities, including their eligible dependents, who are (1) retired on the effective date of the succession; or (2) an eligible beneficiary of a retired employee on the effective date of succession, and (3) who were eligible for benefits through PERS as provided and paid for by a consolidated entity, shall continue to be eligible for comparable benefits, including health care insurance, under the terms of the contracts between the consolidated entities and PERS in effect on the day prior to the succession. These benefits shall be provided at no cost to the retired employee or eligible beneficiary, except for normal copayments as otherwise provided for in the terms of the contracts between the consolidated entities and PERS in effect on the day prior to the succession.
  (d) Allowances of persons retired from the consolidated entities as of the consolidation date and their beneficiaries and of beneficiaries of deceased members or retired persons who are receiving allowances as of the succession date, shall be continued in at least the amount provided under the contracts between the consolidated entities and PERS in effect on the day prior to the succession. The succession shall not affect the contribution rate of any employee, retiree, or beneficiary or any retirement allowance or other benefit based on service to a consolidated entity being paid on the day prior to succession.
  (e) Notwithstanding Section 20511 of the Government Code, time of service by consolidated entity employees shall be credited as services rendered for the consolidated agency for purposes of calculating retirement benefits. The time of service by consolidated entity employees shall create prior service liabilities against the consolidated agency. Service rendered by consolidated entity employees who become employees of the consolidated agency on the date of succession shall be combined with service rendered by the employee as an employee of the consolidated agency for purposes of calculating retirement benefits. The consolidated agency's contract with PERS shall contain a provision to bring this section into effect.

(a) Whenever a majority of the employees employed by the consolidated agency in a unit appropriate for collective bargaining indicate a desire to be represented by a labor organization, and upon determining that the labor organization represents at least a majority of the employees in the appropriate unit, the determination of questions concerning employee representation and the conduct of employee-employer relations for the consolidated agency shall be governed by the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
  (b) For the purposes of the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, the consolidated agency shall be considered a special district.