On January 25, 2016, the City of San Diego petitioned the Fourth Appellate District Court of Appeal to vacate a ruling by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) that would unwind Proposition B, the 2012 pension-reform initiative.
The Petition for Writ of Extraordinary Relief was filed by the City and describes the PERB ruling as “unprecedented and clearly erroneous” and an action that amounts to an “evisceration of the citizens’ right to bring an initiative.”
Proposition B, approved by the City of San Diego voters in 2012, closed the defined benefit retirement plan to City employees hired on or after July 20, 2012, other than for sworn police officers. Four City unions filed a complaint with PERB, contending, among other things, that the City failed to meet and confer with the unions prior to supporting Proposition B, in violation of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act.
On December 29, 2015, PERB issued a ruling finding the City violated the law, and ordered the City to, among other things, meet and confer with the unions, to reimburse the unions for their costs and attorney’s fees for the unions’ anticipated legal action to overturn Proposition B, and to make the affected employees whole.
Importantly, Proposition B is still the law pending further court hearings. That means SDCERS will continue to implement Proposition B. SDCERS staff will continue to monitor developments on the issue and work with the parties involved on the outcome of any court proceedings.