Local 1000 nets $600,000 for 2500 IT workers in Reclass Settlement

SEIU Local 1000 and the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) have settled a claim at the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB). This claim was filed by the Union to recover unpaid wages for IT workers as a result of the State’s IT Reclass in 2018, which fundamentally changed IT worker job titles, classifications and promotional structure. Local 1000 held the State accountable and fought for all the pay that was negotiated during the consolidation. As a result of that fight, 2,500 IT workers will receive approximately $600,000 in additional pay, which had been delayed by the Brown Administration.

This delay was a unilateral change in a term the Union had bargained at the table. As a result, Local 1000 filed a PERB charge (SA-CE-2133-S) that the employees who received an increase in pay as a result of either the initial 2018 statewide IT class consolidation or as a result of the “secondary placement” process, were due the pay increases effective January 11, 2018, the date the consolidation began, and not when the State started the pay raise, on February 1, 2018.

Bargaining Unit 1, which included the affected IT workers and is led by BU Chair Susan Rodriguez, stated “Local 1000 and the State entered into an agreement regarding the IT reclass and the State ultimately had to honor it.” Anyone employed by a state department in an IT classification who were subject to secondary placement during the reclassification of IT workers in January 2018 may be entitled to a settlement award.  The State’s delays, intended to create a smooth transition given the complications of moving approximately 6,237 rank-and-file IT employees statewide and changing 36 former classifications into 9 classifications, ended up costing IT workers the pay that had been negotiated.

The complexities of the over 6,000 employees in transition and the pay of the new classifications means that different recipients will receive different amounts, from $5 up to about $400. Vincent Green, the Union’s elected IT Classification Bargaining Unit Representative and a state IT worker said, “The reclass was a culmination of a great deal of work that was much needed for the past 20 years.  Because the industry changes quickly, we as the human infrastructure piece of IT, need the ability to adapt and compete as our talent and expertise continues to grow.”

The future of the IT roles that were reclassified remains in flux. “This reclass, which included both salary and minimum qualifications for the classifications, was a start,” Green said. “But the work continues as the information technology industry continues to evolve. This settlement is a continuation of the evolution.”

Those affected by this reclassification will receive a letter in the mail about their specific amount and the steps to be followed to receive payment. Affected IT workers have only 60 days to submit additional claims to CalHR, who will determine if they are affected by the settlement and eligible to receive any backpay. Qualified individuals must sign and send an Individual Employee Release to the CalHR on or before the deadline. Individual Releases postmarked after this deadline will not be accepted, and the employee submitting the late release will not receive payment under the settlement agreement. Releases should be mailed to the California Department of Human Resources, Legal Division, 1515 S Street, North Building, Suite 500, Sacramento, CA 95811.

Those not on the list to be notified are not scheduled to receive any backpay. This is usually because you were already at the top of the scale of your pre- and/or post-reclass positions or didn’t move as part of the secondary placement. If you’re an IT worker and believe you should be included, you need to provide your email address to the union so you can receive a form to complete and return to the Union. Please direct any further questions to the SEIU Local 1000 Member Resource Center (MRC) at 866.471.SEIU (7348).