The Alameda Superior Court judge who ruled against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in three union-backed furlough lawsuits said this morning that he will issue final decisions in those cases within one week.
Judge Frank Roesch made that commitment in his Oakland court room to attorneys representing Schwarzenegger, SEIU Local 1000, the Union of American Physicians and Dentists and California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment. The group convened to debate how to apply the judge's December decisions that some aspects of Schwarzenegger's furlough order violate the law. (Click here for more about those decisions.)
A fourth furlough case that Roesch ruled on involving members of California Correctional Peace Officers' Association, was not part of today's proceedings.
As is customary in these types of cases, the judge had asked the winning sides to draft judgments -- documents that lay out the logic of the decisions and their scope -- and then discuss them with the losing side in a court hearing. The judge will then take those documents and the arguments he heard this morning to issue a final judgment that will become the basis for a Schwarzenegger appeal.
According to sources at this morning's 9 a.m. hearing, the scope of Roesch's decisions emerged as a topic of prime contention: Should the decision apply only to union-covered workers in the agencies and departments specifically named in the lawsuits? Should the decisions apply only to the unions that brought the litigation or to all unionized employees? And what about non-union supervisors and managers? Does it make sense to exempt union employees from furloughs but have them show up for work on a Friday while their supervisors are at home?
Click this link to read about what will happen once Roesch issues his decisions. This link opens our all-encompassing Furlough Fights spreadsheet of all the state furlough litigation in California courts.
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