This bill, sponsored by District Council 36 and authored by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), required that limited-term law clerks in Los Angeles County employed in the trial court for a period exceeding 180 calendar days become regular employees. 

The goal of this bill was to eliminate the repeated hiring and firing of professionals without due cause in order to avoid fully compensating them as regular, permanent employees. Los Angeles County’s law clerks are kept for longer than 180-days but receive only the benefits of temporary employees. AB 2868 would have improved the court’s ability to recruit and retain qualified employees, guarantee the provision of benefits to long-term employees of the court, and prevent courts from distorting the budget process by exporting expenses such as medical benefits to other government agencies, such as county welfare departments.

After making it through the Assembly, the bill was held by the Senate Judiciary Committee. AFSCME will continue to work with Council 36 to address issues of parity for law clerks within Los Angeles county.