Section 71627 Of Article 2. Authority To Hire, Classification, And Compensation From California Government Code >> Title 8. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 2.
71627
. Notwithstanding any other provision of law:
(a) As provided in Section 71612, the implementation of this
chapter shall not be a cause for the modification of the level of
federally regulated benefits provided to a trial court employee. The
level of federally regulated benefits provided to a trial court
employee as of the implementation date of this chapter shall remain
in effect unless modified pursuant to subdivision (b). If the same
federally regulated benefits are not permitted by law or by the
vendor, the same level of federally regulated benefits shall be
provided by the trial court subject to the provisions of subdivision
(b).
(b) (1) For employees who are represented by a recognized employee
organization, (A) the level of federally regulated benefits accruing
to a trial court employee pursuant to the terms of a memorandum of
understanding or agreement is subject to modification only pursuant
to the terms of that memorandum of understanding or agreement, and
upon expiration of that memorandum of understanding or agreement,
those federally regulated benefits may not be modified except
pursuant to a subsequent memorandum of understanding or agreement;
and (B) the level of federally regulated benefits accruing to a trial
court employee pursuant only to personnel, policies, procedures, and
plans may be modified by the trial court, subject to meet and confer
in good faith.
(2) For employees who are not represented by a recognized employee
organization, the level of federally regulated benefits may be
revised by the trial court.
(c) If the county administers federally regulated benefits to
trial court employees, or if the trial court contracts with the
county to administer federally regulated benefits to trial court
employees, a trial court employee shall be eligible to participate in
federally regulated benefits subject to federally regulated benefit
regulations, policies, terms, and conditions, and subject to both of
the following requirements:
(1) A trial court employee shall have the right to receive the
same level of federally regulated benefits as county employees in
similar classifications, as designated by the trial court subject to
the obligation to meet and confer in good faith, without the
opportunity to meet and confer with the county as to those benefits.
(2) The level of federally regulated benefits accruing to a trial
court is subject to modification by the county if the county changes
the level of federally regulated benefits of county employees in
classifications that have been designated as similar classifications
pursuant to paragraph (1).
(d) For purposes of this section, "federally regulated benefits"
means benefits that provide tax-favored treatment for employees
pursuant to federal laws or regulations, including, but not limited
to, cafeteria plans under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code,
educational assistance benefits under Section 127 of the Internal
Revenue Code, and fringe benefits under Section 132 of the Internal
Revenue Code, but not including federally-regulated deferred
compensation plan benefits provided to trial court employees pursuant
to Section 71628.
(e) As of the implementation date of this chapter:
(1) If the trial court administers federally regulated benefits
for trial court employees separately from the county, the trial court
shall administer these benefits as provided under existing personnel
policies, procedures, plans, or a memorandum of understanding or
agreement applicable to trial court employees.
(2) If the county administers federally regulated benefits for
trial court employees, or if the trial court contracts with the
county to administer federally regulated benefits, the following
provisions govern the transition of responsibility for administering
these benefits to the trial court:
(A) Until the effective date of the transition of responsibility,
the county shall continue to administer represented trial court
employees' federally regulated benefits as provided in the memorandum
of understanding or agreement and unrepresented trial court
employees' federally regulated benefits as provided in personnel
policies, procedures, and plans.
(B) During the period of time between the implementation date of
this chapter and the effective date of the transition of
responsibility, both the trial court and the county shall cosponsor
the federally regulated benefit plan. Cosponsorship shall continue as
long as trial court employees are governed by a plan not offered by
the trial court, but in no event longer than 18 months after the
implementation date of this chapter, or the term of the memorandum of
understanding or agreement applicable to trial court employees,
whichever is longer, unless the trial court and the county agree to
continued cosponsorship.
(C) If during the cosponsorship period the trial court decides to
offer particular benefits that are different from what the county is
administering, then the trial court shall be responsible for
administering those particular benefits unless the trial court and
county agree otherwise.
(D) The effective date of the transition of responsibility shall
coincide with the first day of the applicable federally regulated
benefits plan year to ensure that there is no financial impact on the
employee or on either employer.
(f) To facilitate trial court employee participation in county
federally regulated benefits plans, the trial court and county may
mutually agree that the county shall administer the payroll for trial
court employees.
(g) The trial court shall reimburse the county for the cost of any
coverage of trial court employees in county federally regulated
benefit plans.
(h) A county shall have authority to cosponsor federally regulated
benefits with a trial court to provide those benefits to trial court
employees if those benefits are requested by the trial court subject
to county agreement to cosponsor those benefits. A county's
agreement to cosponsor those benefits shall not be construed as
creating a meet and confer obligation between the county and any
recognized trial court employee organization.
(i) Nothing in this section shall prevent a trial court from
offering to trial court employees a future option of participating in
other federally regulated benefit plans that may be developed
subject to the obligation to meet and confer in good faith.