Section 101659 Of Article 2. Establishment Of The Central Coast Hospital Authority From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 101. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 2.5. >> Article 2.
101659
. (a) Permanent employees of the medical center on the
effective date of affiliation shall be deemed qualified for
employment or retention and no other qualifications shall be
required. Probationary employees on the effective date of affiliation
shall retain their probationary status and rights and shall not be
deemed to have transferred so as to require serving a new
probationary period.
(b) Employment seniority of an employee of the medical center on
the effective date of affiliation shall be counted toward seniority
in the authority. The authority shall provide for the maintenance of
benefits that accompany seniority, including, but not limited to,
preference in vacations and scheduling, when applicable. All time
spent in the same, equivalent, or higher classification shall be
counted toward classification seniority.
(c) The implementation of this chapter shall not be a cause for
the modification of the level of medical center employment benefits.
Upon consolidation or affiliation of the medical center with at least
one other health care facility, employees who serve or work for the
medical center immediately prior to the implementation of this
chapter shall retain their existing or equivalent classifications and
job descriptions upon transfer to the authority, comparable pension
benefits, and at least their existing salaries and other benefits
that include, but are not limited to, accrued and unused vacation,
sick leave, personal leave, health care, retiree health benefits, and
deferred compensation plans.
(d) Subject to subdivision (h), and to the extent permitted by
federal law, the authority shall contract with the Public Employees'
Retirement System, consistent with the requirements of Section 20508
and other applicable provisions of Part 3 (commencing with Section
20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code, for the
purpose of providing membership in the Public Employees' Retirement
System for authority employees. If the authority contracts with the
Public Employees' Retirement System, the authority, to the extent
permitted by federal law, shall provide for the continued membership
of medical center employees in the Public Employees' Retirement
System. If permitted under federal law, the authority and the
employees' exclusive representatives may mutually agree to terminate
any contract that the authority enters into with the Public Employees'
Retirement System, and mutually agree to an alternative pension
plan.
(e) Any transfer of functions from county employee classifications
to authority employees established pursuant to this article shall
result in the recognition by the hospital authority of the exclusive
representative of the classifications performing those functions at
the time of transfer.
(f) In order to stabilize labor and employment relations and
provide continuity of care and services to the people of the county,
and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority shall
do all of the following for 24 months after the term end date of any
medical center memorandum of understanding in existence when the
county establishes the authority:
(1) Continue to recognize each exclusive representative of each
bargaining unit.
(2) Continue to provide at least the same level of employee
benefits to authority employees, who were medical center employees,
that had been provided to these employees, whether these benefits
arise out of a memorandum of understanding or other agreement or law.
(3) Roll over and continue to be bound by any existing medical
center memorandum of understanding or agreement covering the terms
and conditions, including the level of wages and benefits, of those
employees for 24 months after the term end date of any memorandum of
agreement, unless modified by mutual agreement with each of the
exclusive representatives, and only to the extent that continuing to
provide those pension benefits specified in any memorandum of
understanding does not conflict with any Public Employees' Retirement
System regulation or federal law. Any conflicts in the existing
agreements as to wages and other terms and conditions of employment
shall be resolved only by mutual agreement between the authority and
each of the exclusive representatives.
(g) Except as provided in the transfer agreement described in
subdivision (d) of Section 101658, subdivision (m) of Section 101661,
and this section, nothing in this chapter shall be construed as
prohibiting the authority from determining the number of employees,
the number of full-time equivalent positions, job descriptions, the
nature and extent of classified employment positions, and salaries of
employees.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, the authority and employees of
the authority shall not participate in the Public Employees'
Retirement System if the Board of Administration of the Public
Employees' Retirement System, in its sole discretion, determines that
their participation could jeopardize the Public Employees'
Retirement System's tax-qualified or governmental plan status under
federal law.