California University of California Contract Labor Standards Amendment (2020)

California University of California Contract Labor Standards Amendment
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Labor and unions
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of California measuresCalifornia Proposition 13 (March)California Proposition 14California Proposition 15California Proposition 16California Proposition 17California Proposition 18California Proposition 19California Proposition 20California Proposition 21California Proposition 22California Proposition 23California Proposition 24California Proposition 25Submit

The California University of California Contract Labor Standards Amendment was not on the ballot in California as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.

The ballot measure would have required the University of California (UC) Regents to provide contract workers who perform support services with the same employment standards as university employees performing similar services.

The ballot measure would have also prohibited the UC Regents from employing contract workers unless authorized by statute to address a specific need, including emergency circumstances; supporting student housing development; performing support services for an unanticipated special event; having licensed, clinically trained workers from a clinical registry; and training university employees to use equipment or techniques. The ballot measure would have required a contractual arrangement to (a) not cause or facilitate the displacement of university employees; (b) be made available to the public; (c) consider contract workers to be university employees if the work period lasts more than 10 days in a calendar year; and (D) not adversely affect the university’s nondiscrimination standards.

The ballot measure would have defined support services as "cleaning or custodial services; food services; groundskeeping; building maintenance; transportation; security services; billing and coding services; sterile processing; hospital or nursing assistant services; medical imaging or respiratory therapy technician services; and other nonsupervisory, nonmanagerial work as defined by the Public Employment Relations Board."

Text of measure

Constitutional changes

See also: Article IV, California Constitution

The measure would have added a Section 9.5 to Article IX of the California Constitution. The following text would have been added:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

(a) The people of California declare all of the following:

(1) We, the people of the State of California, strongly support the University of California’s mission to enhance the lives of those it serves, educates, and employs.

(2) As one of the State’s largest and most respected public or private employers, the University of California is uniquely positioned to improve equal employment opportunity standards for every Californian working on its campuses or in its medical centers.

(3) The equal employment opportunity standards placed in this Constitution by a majority of voters casting ballots in the Presidential Election, at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, will eliminate unequal treatment for those covered by provisions specified in this constitutional amendment.

(b) The Regents of the University of California shall ensure that all contract workers who are paid to perform support services for students, faculty, patients, or the general public at any campus, dining hall, medical center, clinic, research facility, laboratory, or other university location, are at all times subject to and afforded the same equal employment opportunity standards as university employees performing similar services.

(c)  (1) The Regents of the University of California, or any campus or other entity of the University of California, may contract for, or otherwise arrange to use, contract labor to perform support services only if authorized to do so by statute, and only to the extent necessary to address one or more of the following needs:

(A) A bona fide emergency circumstance, which may include ensuring the continuous operations of emergency departments and providing medical care to address life-threatening situations during an emergency, for no longer than the actual duration of that circumstance.

(B) To support a student housing development that becomes available for occupancy on or after January 1, 2021.

(C) To perform support services in relation to an unanticipated special event scheduled by the university with less than 30 calendar days’ advance notice.

(D) To supply the university with licensed, clinically trained workers from a clinical registry.

(E) To train university employees on the use of new or specialized equipment or techniques.

(2) Any contractual arrangement for a person, firm, or other entity to supply the university with contract labor for one of the purposes specified in this subdivision shall meet all of the following requirements:

(A) It will not cause or facilitate the displacement of university employees. For purposes of this subparagraph, “displacement” includes layoff, demotion, involuntary transfer to a new job classification, involuntary transfer to a new location, or time base reduction. For purposes of this subparagraph, “displacement” also includes circumvention or delay of the regular hiring process, the filling of vacancies, or the budgeting for a full complement of university employees to perform support services.

(B) Each proposal and the resulting contractual arrangement, and documentation reflecting each decision to assign specific positions or narrowly defined types of work to contract workers, as well as documentation reflecting any change to the locations at which contract workers will perform support services, shall be, at all times, available to the public. This documentation shall specify in writing that all persons who perform support services under the contractual arrangement shall be compensated in an amount equivalent to the hourly wage rate and the value of benefits provided to university employees who perform the same or similar work or duties on a full-time basis.

(C) Any person who performs support services under the contractual or other arrangement provided for in subparagraph (C) or (D) of paragraph (1) for more than 10 days in a calendar year shall be employed directly by the university for all periods of work in excess of those 10 days.

(D) The use of contract labor shall not adversely affect the university’s nondiscrimination standards.

(d) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Contract labor” and “contract workers” mean persons other than university employees who are paid to perform support services at a University of California location.

(2) “Contractual arrangement” includes any contract, contract amendment, contract renewal, automatic renewal, contract extension, subcontract, purchase order, order, change order, or other agreement between a private entity and the Regents of the University of California or any other entity of the University of California, or between a private entity and any public entity other than the University of California, that may be used to provide the University of California with contract labor.

(3) “Equal employment opportunity standards” means all of the following:

(A) The right to be free from discrimination in the workplace.

(B) Direct employment by the university, except as permitted by subdivision (c).

(C) Equal pay for equal work, meaning each contract worker shall receive at least the same wages and benefits, and be subject to the same standards of accountability, as university employees who perform similar services.

(4) “Support services” include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of the following: cleaning or custodial services; food services; groundskeeping; building maintenance; transportation; security services; billing and coding services; sterile processing; hospital or nursing assistant services; and medical imaging or respiratory therapy technician services. “Support services” also include other patient care technical and service bargaining unit work and related nonsupervisory, nonmanagerial work functions as defined by the Public Employment Relations Board or a successor entity, pursuant to the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 3560) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code), as it is from time to time amended, or a successor act.

(e) Nothing in this section shall preclude the Regents of the University of California, or any campus or other entity of the University of California, from using per diem university employees to complement career and limited position university employees when it is necessary to maintain staffing levels for temporary and emergency periods.

(f) This section shall become effective on January 1, 2021. However, if any contract that is in effect on January 1, 2021, would be impaired by the enforcement of this section, then this section shall not apply to that contract until the earliest date on which: (1) the immediate contract term expires, (2) the contract may be amended, extended, renewed, or permitted to renew, or (3) additional funding is authorized or a substantial change is made to the scope of work that had been expressly authorized or actually performed under the contract before January 1, 2021.

(g) The Legislature may enact statutes to further the purposes of, and to aid the enforcement of, this section.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the California Constitution

In California, a two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber of the California State Legislature to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

Asm. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-80) was the lead author of the constitutional amendment, titled Assembly Concurrent Resolution 14 (ACA 14), in the California State Legislature. On June 25, 2019, the California State Assembly voted 57-12 to pass ACA 14. On September 14, 2019, the California State Senate voted 23 to 12 on ACA 14. As the constitutional amendment needed 27 votes, ACA 14 was defeated.

Vote in the California State Assembly June 25, 2019
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 54  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	57	12	10
Total percent	72.15%	15.19%	12.66%
Democrat	56	2	3
Republican	1	10	7

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Labor and unions on the ballot

California

• California ballot measures
• California ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 14 (2019)