Minutes

DRAFT BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Meeting Date:   November 4, 2004
Board Members Present:   Shelley Smith (President), Mary Dennis (Vice-President), Judith Reel (Secretary), Marsha Berkowitz (Civil Director), Lisa Berger (Proprietary Director), Rosemary Chavez (Criminal Director), Terri Siegel (Criminal Director)

SEIU Local 347 Representative Present:  Bob Hunt (General Counsel)

I.     Old Business

A.    MOU Negotiation Update

Board members on the MOU bargaining team, assisted by SEIU, Local 347, continued to meet with City Attorney management to discuss ways to ensure career advancement for attorneys intending to have a career in the Office.  We believe that these discussions have been productive.   We have now resumed meeting with City management, in addition to City Attorney management, to see if we can reach agreement on the specifics details of our next MOU.

B.    Board Election

The following submitted petitions to run for open seats on the Board: Bob Cramer for First Vice-President; Jule Bishop for Treasurer; Kimberly Willis for Criminal Director; and Phil Sugar for Civil Director.  There were no contested seats and accordingly, with one exception, the Board voted to approve the seating of the persons submitting petitions without the need or expense of formal balloting.  The Board voted to consider the issue of seating Ms. Willis at its next meeting; we understand that Ms. Willis may be transferring to an assignment in the Civil Section, and we need to consider the effect on a Criminal or Civil representative of transferring to the other section.  Phil Sugar agreed to attend City meetings pertaining to the retirement system. 

 

II.    New Business

A.     Workers= Compensation Doctor Designation

Under former law, an employee injured at work could designate, after the injury, the treating physician.  Under a new workers= compensation scheme now in effect, employees wishing to be treated by their own personal physicians for a work-related injury must now pre-designate the physician.   If an injured employee does not predesignate a doctor, the City will send the employee to a City doctor for treatment.
Employees insured by Kaiser and desiring treatment by a Kaiser doctor must submit a form designating Kaiser as the treating entity; the employee does not have to identify any particular Kaiser doctor.  All other employees must designate the name of their treating doctor, and must obtain the doctor=s signature on a form to be filed with the City.
A copy of the form required for pre-designating a doctor can be obtained from the Personnel Department website as follows:
1.  go to http://insidela.ci.la.ca.us/
2.  click on Personnel under the section entitled Departmental Intranet;
3.  at the top of the Personnel Mission Statement click on the link to Workers Compensation; and
4.  click on the link entitled: Predesignated Physician Form.
 
A copy of the form can also be downloaded at SEIU, Local 347's website [www.seiu347.org].  If you do obtain the form from this website, make sure you locate the form applicable to ALA Workers.@  SEIU, Local 347 members working for other employers use a different form.

B.    LACERS

The Board discussed the recent newspaper articles concerning Shelley Smith and the LACERS Board.  Shelley Smith discussed the sequence of events and expressed gratitude for the support shown by many City employees.  The Board also reviewed materials issued by LACERS on this issue and found the materials provide a clear explanation.  The LACERS information can be viewed at its web-site [www.lacers.org] with the link entitled:  FAQs Regarding LACERS Contract with DFA.

C.    Bereavement Leave

The Administrative Code requires employees seeking bereavement leave to present proof of death to justify the absence.  The Office, acting in response to concerns about audits of compliance with this requirement, began asking employees seeking bereavement leave to present proof of death.  The Union raised concerns about this practice, and the Office has agreed that identifying on the AComments@ section of the time sheet the relationship of the person who passed away shall satisfy the proof requirement.

D.    Subpoena Request

Bob Hunt advised the Board on the status of a subpoena issued to the Association by an outside law firm representing the City in litigation.  The subpoena seeks access to certain grievance records.  The Association has filed objections with the outside law firm and begun informal discussions to resolve the issue.  If the subpoena is not withdrawn, the Association is prepared to litigate the issue and is also ready to commence unfair labor practice proceedings against the City in light of the serious labor relations implications of the request. 

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Next meeting: 12/28/2004
             Closed Board session regarding contract negotiations
 

 

As you know, our new MOU includes annual reimbursement for MCLE-related expenses. To ensure that you receive complete and timely reimbursement, we encourage you to follow the instructions contained in the MCLE protocol provided by City Attorney Management. You must complete and submit a reimbursement form in order to receive reimbursement.

You can reimburse expenses related to attending MCLE programs that are accepted by the California State Bar, even if the program takes place in another state. Eligible expenses include the cost of the program, travel, and per diems.

Please be judicious when choosing lodging and which food/drink expenses you submit for reimbursement.

The Board is pleased to announce that LACAA has retained the law firm of MASTAGNI, HOLSTEDT, AMICK, MILLER & JOHNSEN as General Counsel.