On
February 26, 2025, the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) issued a
decision to reverse a PERB Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) ruling that the City
of California City failed to follow disciplinary procedures when issuing
Notices of Termination for three police officers represented by the California
City Police Officers Association (“Association”). Mastagni Holstedt
partner Kathleen
Mastagni Law Blogs
Blog Authors
Latest from Mastagni Law
Watch: David E. Mastagni Testifies In Support of Bill Prohibiting Employers from Questioning Union Representatives About Confidential Communications with Unit Employees
By Mastagni Law
On
March 19, 2025, Partner Attorney David E. Mastagni testified before the State Assembly
Public Employment and Retirement Committee in support of AB 340 on behalf of
the Peace Officers’ Research Association of California (PORAC). AB 340 would
prohibit a public agency employer from asking any employee or their union
representative about communications concerning…
Public Employment Relations Board Reinforces Peace Officer Confidentiality in Personnel Records and Applicability of Pitchess Procedures in Administrative Hearings
By Mastagni Law
On January 31, 2025, the Public
Employment Relations Board (“PERB”) issued a decision upholding the dismissal
of the California State University Employees Union’s (“CSUEU”) unfair practice
charge filed against the Trustees of the California State University –
Stanislaus (“CSU”) seeking the disclosure of peace officer personnel records
outside of the Pitchess process. On behalf of…
SCOTUS Update: Law Enforcement Groups Again File Brief in Support of Petition for Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court to Review Excessive CCW Carry Restrictions
By Mastagni Law
On February 18, 2025, the Peace Officers’ Research Association of California, the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, the California State Sheriffs’ Association and the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPPC) filed an amicus brief in support of a Petition for Certiorari to review the constitutionality of New York’s new concealed carry law, which severely restricts the…
Ninth Circuit Ruling Prompts Refusal to Respond to Mental Health Calls
By Mastagni Law
Because of a new ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, some firefighters and other first responders are finding themselves left without police backup as more and more departments are saying that they will no longer dispatch officers to certain 911 calls. The Sacramento County Sheriff announced Tuesday his deputies will no longer respond…
Chief of Police Forced Out After Sending Racially-Charged Private Messages: Ninth Circuit Finds No First Amendment Violation by the County as Chief’s Speech Not Protected by the First Amendment
By Mastagni Law
In September of
2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a public employee’s private
text messages were not protected under the First Amendment. A former California
Chief of Police appealed after the district court dismissed her First Amendment retaliation and derivative
conspiracy claims. Prior to becoming the Police Chief, , she engaged…
US Supreme Court Clarifies FLSA Evidentiary Standards
By Mastagni Law
On January 15, the United States Supreme Court issued its ruling in E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, No. 23-217, 2025 WL 96207 (U.S. Jan. 15, 2025) holing the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) exemptions do not call for heightened evidence standards.Plaintiffs, sales representatives for a distributor of international food products, brought an FLSA action for…
The Social Security Fairness Act Enacted
By Mastagni Law
On January 5, 2025, President Biden signed into law the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) which repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). In so doing, the Bill restores long-denied Social Security benefits to millions of firefighters, peace officers, and public employees across the nation. For over 40 years the…
Review Granted in Barnes v. Felix: CAHP and PORAC File Amici Curiae Brief Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to Reject Creation of a “Provocation Rule” under the "Totality of the Circumstances" Analysis
By Mastagni Law
The Supreme Court recently granted
review in Barnes v. Felix, 91 F.4th 393, 394 (5th Cir. 2024), cert.
granted, No. 23-1239, 2024 WL 4394125 (U.S. Oct. 4, 2024), a case which is
likely to clarify the amount of weight given to the pre-shooting conduct of the
officer and the suspect, as well as…
Stockton Voters Enact Interest Arbitration for Police and Fire Bargaining Units
By Mastagni Law
On November 5, 2024, the voters in Stockton enacted the first interest arbitration ballot initiative since 2008 in passing Measure N by 65.57%. Measure N amended the City Charter to establish interest arbitration as the procedure to resolve impasses in contract negotiations with the Stockton Police Officers and Firefighters.The impasse arbitration process is balanced and…
