SR Holguin, PC is a union-side labor and employment law firm with nearly four decades of experience representing private sector unions, public sector unions, and multi-employer trust funds. SR Holguin, PC is committed to providing full-service legal representation to each of our clients.
One way in which SR Holguin, PC ensures our clients and their members stay informed is by keeping you updated on recent developments relating to workers’ rights. Today’s updates come following the release of the February 23, 2021 Los Angeles City Council meeting agenda. There is one item in particular that could impact you.
Workers Who Could be Impacted: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Laborers’ International Union of North America; Los Angeles Police Command Officers Association; Service Employees International Union, Local 721
On January 7, 2021, City of Los Angeles Personnel Department sent a Report to the City Council entitled “Proposed Letter of Agreement Modifying the Special Memorandum of Understanding on Commute Options and Parking – City Employee Parking and Temporary Suspension of Parking Fees.”
The Report provided in part “[t]he City offers a variety of transportation benefits to eligible employees through what the Personnel Department has branded the COMMUTEwell Program. Transportation benefits include ridesharing programs as well as City-sponsored parking. Transportation benefits are established within the City’s Special Memorandum of Understanding on Commute Options and Parking (‘Special Parking MOU’) and overseen by the City’s Joint Labor-Management Committee on Commute Options and Parking (JLMC-COP)…
On March 12, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti issued Citywide COVID-19 guidelines to protect the City workforce while ensuring continuity of operations…Consequently, to maintain continuity of City department operations, on March 18, 2020, [the General Services Department (GSD)] implemented a temporary parking policy allowing City employees to park at the LA Mall and City Hall East garages without parking permits. The policy was subsequently extended to the Piper Tech and Marvin Braude Building garages. This temporary parking policy is in effect until further notice and is on a first come, first served basis. GSD monitors all parking levels daily to ensure there are spaces to accommodate employees with permits. Occupancy varies daily based on days off, employees telecommuting, and departments’ staffing in response to COVID-19…
In accordance with the Special Parking MOU that establishes parking permit priorities and authorizes the issuance of such permits under certain conditions, City employees with parking permits pay a parking fee that is deducted from their paycheck on a biweekly basis. To support COVID-19 safety measures, many City employees are currently telecommuting and not utilizing their parking permit but continue to have a parking fee deducted from their paycheck. Due to GSD’s temporary parking policy allowing City employees to park at City parking facilities at no cost during the period of the Safer at Home Emergency Order, many City employees who currently have a biweekly parking payroll deduction have raised concerns regarding paying for parking they are currently not using and which is currently being provided to others at no cost. Many of these employees have requested that parking payroll deductions be suspended or that a refund be issued for parking fees that were paid while telecommuting…
[T]here is no provision in the Special Parking MOU providing the ability to temporarily stop or refund City employees for not using their parking permits due to an emergency situation such as that posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the unusual circumstances created by the prolonged emergency response to COVID-19 (with respect to accessing certain City parking facilities at the same time parking permit rules and costs remain in effect) suggests that interim options be taken.”
Therefore, the JLMC-COP’s proposed Letter of Agreement (LOA) recommends: (1) Suspension of parking fees for parking deduction payroll codes for six consecutive pay periods (not including no-deduction paychecks) beginning as soon as administratively practical. (2) Review of the status of the parking fee suspension by the JLMC-COP within approximately sixty days from the effective start date of the suspension. (3) An option to extend the parking fee suspension for an additional period of time upon further action by the JLMC-COP.”
On February 17, 2021, the City Council’s Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee considered the Report. The Committee’s Report provided in part “[a]fter consideration and having provided an opportunity for public comment, the Committee moved to recommend approval of the LOA. This matter is now submitted to Council for its consideration.”
Now, agenda item 17 of the February 23, 2021 Los Angeles City Council meeting calls for the Council to consider the Report.
We hope these updates are helpful to you.
Fraternally,
SR Holguin, PC
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