Happy New Year From CCS

Happy New Year from Crabtree Consulting Services, LLC (CCS), to all of our customers and fire departments in California.  We are looking forward to another wonderful year for our little company, and hope that your department is also anticipating a wonderful year.

Highlights from 2011:

• Produced an EOC Handbook for Alpine Fire Department
• Assisted Copperopolis Fire Department in its search for a new Fire Chief
• Began a complete re-write of administrative policies for the Mi-Wuk Sugar Pine Fire Department.
• Exhibited at three different trade shows.
• Presented workshops on Board – Chief Obligations / Relations and Consolidation Issues.

In 2012 we plan to:

• Present more workshops including two break-out sessions at the FDAC Annual Conference in Napa.
• Complete the selection process for Linden-Peters Fire Department’s new Fire Chief.
• Exhibit at the Cal Chiefs Annual Conference, the California Special Districts Association Annual Conference, and the Fire Districts Association of California Annual Conference.
• Continue to work with several fire departments in revising administrative / board policies.

2012 promises to be a good year for CCS as we continue to meet the needs of the small and medium sized fire departments.  Our many services are designed specifically for those departments that lack full time experienced staff in a particular area.  Our prices are the best available, and as a small business we remain responsive to the needs of our customers.

For more information, or to contact us please visit our website at crabtreeconsulting.net.

Do Your Agendas Have To Be Posted On The Web?

Do the agendas for your regular and special board meetings need to be posted on the World Wide Web (WWW or Web)?  If your district has a web site, the answer to that question will be “YES!” beginning January 1, 2012.  AB 1344 (Feuer) added several new mandates affecting local agencies like Fire Protection Districts which will take effect on January 1, 2012.  In what might be the most striking mandate for small fire districts is a new requirement that agendas for regular and special meetings be posted on the district’s web site at least 72 hours prior to commencement of a regular meeting and 24 hours prior to commencement of a special meeting.  The agendas only need to be posted on the district’s web site if the district has a web site, it does not mandate that the district develop or maintain a website, or that the agenda be posted on any other website or internet ‘location.’

If your district maintains a web site it now has a new mandate to post agendas even if the web site doesn’t lend itself easily to this type of dynamic information.  In certain circumstances districts may want to consider discontinuing the district sponsored site, or transferring the site to a different entity which is not directly supported by district resources (such as an auxiliary or volunteer association).  There is no requirement that you have a web page, site, or presence of any kind.

In some instances the firefighters association, auxiliary association, or the local union maintains a web site.  If this web site is not supported directly from district funds then the district will not be obligated to post its agendas there, although it may provide its agendas to the site owner to post at its discretion.  In this case districts should critically analyze those web sites and work with the web site owner to make sure that it is clear on the web site that it is NOT a district owned, operated, or sponsored site.

Other fallout from AB 1344 include:

• Limitations on COLAs in multi-year employment agreements with executives.
• Limitations on cash settlement terms in employment agreements with executives.
• Repayment of specified payments where executive is convicted of certain crimes involving abuse of office.
• Requirement that executive compensation be discussed and acted on at regular meetings (and not at special or emergency meetings).

For more information on these and other new requirements coming January 1, 2012, contact Crabtree Consulting Services, LLC, by email at Info@crabtreeconsulting.net or by telephone at 916.684.8899.

CalPERS Changes That Might Impact Your Fire Chief

Current Public Employees Retirement Law (PERL) generally prohibits any person who has been retired under CalPERS from being employed in any capacity unless he or she is first reinstated from retirement. PERL now authorizes a retired person to serve without reinstatement from retirement if:

(1) The appointment is an interim appointment; and,
(2) The appointment is to a vacant position; and,
(3) The department is recruiting for a permanent appointment; and,
(4) The position is deemed to require specialized skills or during an emergency; and,
(5) The appointment does not exceed 960 hours in any fiscal year; and,
(6) The compensation doesn’t exceed the maximum published pay scale for the position; and,
(7) The appointment does not exceed 12 months; and,
(8) The employee is only appointed one time (no contract renewal or reappointments).

If these new requirements will have an adverse impact on your department, we are interested in hearing from you regarding the impact and any possible solutions that might work in your situation.  You can contact us by email at Info@crabtreeconsulting.net, or through our website at http://www.crabtreeconsulting.net.

For additional information on other new laws or changed laws that might impact your department, be sure to read our December 2011 edition of FDCAAlert.

Reference: AB 1028 (Chaptered 10/3/2011); Government Code section 21221(h)

Even Best Practices Can’t Always Ensure Quick Dismissal of Wage & Hour Claims

You’re a savvy employer. Your timekeeping policies are clear….

via Even Best Practices Can’t Always Ensure Quick Dismissal of Wage & Hour Claims.

Background Check Changes Coming

Changes to California’s consumer credit reporting laws will have an impact on the background checks that fire departments perform on employees and prospective employees. AB 22 was signed into law by Governor Brown and makes changes to California Civil Code section 1785.20.5 and adds a new section, 1024.5, to the California Labor Code.

Prior to performing a credit check on an employee or prospective employee the employer or prospective employer must give written notice to the employee or prospective employee (except for special circumstances). What must be contained in the notice requirement is changing effective January 1, 2012. The notice must include a statement that a consumer credit report will be used, the legal exception under Labor Code section 1024.5 permitting the use of the consumer credit report, the source of the report, a box for the person to check if he/she wants a copy of the report. Additional reporting and notice requirements may follow depending on the circumstances.

In addition an employer or prospective employer is prohibited from using a consumer credit report for “employment purposes” unless the position of the person for whom the consumer credit report falls into one category from a specific list in the law. Three exceptions (there are others in the law which may also apply) that may permit fire departments to use a consumer credit report for employment decisions are:

• The person will be a signatory on a credit card account of the employer.
• The person will be authorized to transfer money on behalf of the employer.
• The person will be authorized to enter into financial contracts on behalf of the employer.

There may be other circumstances where the employer or prospective employer may be permitted to use a consumer credit report to make employment decisions. Because of the sensitive nature of consumer credit reports employers should be ensured that any use of consumer credit reports in employment decisions falls clearly within one or more of the exceptions in the law, and that the notice to the employee or prospective employee is in full compliance with the provisions of the law.

Employers are encouraged to review and revise policies as appropriate to ensure compliance with these changes in the laws.

(Ref: Civil Code 1785.20.5, Labor Code 1024.5)

New Laws Add Classifications to Protected Lists (Anti-Discrimination)

Two new state laws take effect on January 1, 2012, which will add new classifications to the existing list of those classifications protected from discrimination. In addition to current protections, it will now be illegal to discriminate against employees and applicants based on genetic information, gender identity, and gender expression.

SB 559 add provisions to California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) which includes genetic information in protected ‘classifications’. This California protection against genetic information discrimination follows the US law (Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act or GINA, passed in 2008) prohibiting discrimination based on genetic information. It is now illegal, under California law, to discriminate against someone who may simply be carrier of a genetic disorder and who may one day exhibit symptoms of the disorder.

AB 887 adds protections for gender ‘identity’ and ‘expression.’ Gender ‘identity’ refers to a person’s deep felt sense of being male or female, genetic or physical indications. Gender ‘expression’ refers to a persons behavior, mannerisms, appearance, and other ‘characteristics’ that might be perceived as either masculine or feminine. This new protection means, for example, that a male employee may not be harassed or discriminated against because he wears lipstick, make-up, or skirts, behaves ‘effeminately.’ Likewise a female employee or applicant may not be discriminated against because she prefers to wear ‘men’s’ blue jeans instead of skirts or dresses.

Employer’s should review and revise their harassment and discrimination polices to ensure compliance with these two new laws. In addition, employers should ensure that all employees receive training that includes these new classifications of protected employees and applicants.

Is Consolidation In Your Future?

Fire departments throughout California and the nation frequently investigate consolidation with other fire departments as a solution to any number of ‘problems.’

While consolidation seems like a reasonable solution in many instances, it is not without its problems – before, during, and after consolidation. What are the types of agencies that are talking to each other about consolidation: cities, fire protection districts, community services districts, county fire departments, or some other type of special district? While any of these agencies can in fact consolidate with others, each situation brings its own set of unique issues to the table. In addition, decisions need to be made regarding what type of agency the new fire department will be: a fire protection district, community services district, or different type of special district? Perhaps a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) is the solution, either long term or short term. Each has its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages.

Regardless of these issues there will be ’1001 unexpected problems’ in any consolidation effort. Many of the hiccoughs or ‘bumps in the road’ can be anticipated, but some will inevitably hit you without warning.

If your district is contemplating a consolidation, do yourself, your district, and your taxpayers a favor by reviewing the issues long before any decision is made. Even before you might think to hire a consultant to analyze the pro’s and con’s of a consolidation, you should get some reliable information regarding the process, stumbling blocks, and troubles that you might face.

Crabtree Consulting Services, LLC, (CCS) can offer your district just this kind of information. CCS does NOT contract to manage consolidations, so it has no vested interest in any final decision that your district makes; however it does have consultants available to discuss the lessons learned from consolidation of fire departments in small communities. A couple of hours spent with CCS consultants in advance of any committment by a district will be money well spent. If you or your district is contemplating a consolidation, give CCS a call before you sign that contract with a project manager or consolidation consulting firm.

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