A union that represents California government attorneys and administrative judges is considering filing a lawsuit over delayed pay raises, according to a note from union leaders to members.

The California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges, and Hearing Officers in State Employment has been waiting on its raise since at least Sept. 13, when the Legislature approved the increase, according to the note. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation Oct. 13.

In the past, salary increases took an average of a month to process, the union’s board of directors said in the Nov. 26 note.

“The CASE Board of Directors is extremely unhappy with the delay and knows of no reason for the delays by CalHR,” they said in the note.

This year, the union representing 4,300 workers is one of four that will have to wait until after Christmas to receive raises they negotiated over the summer.

The attorneys’ union negotiated a one-year contract with a 2.75 percent raise and a $260-per-month health insurance stipend. Both the raise and the stipend will be paid retroactively to July 1, when the union’s last contract expired.

The note says the union is considering “all options, including litigation,” to resolve what it describes as a failure to honor contractual obligations in a timely manner.

The union says the state human resources department didn’t have to wait until Newsom signed the agreement in October to start processing the raises. Preparing sooner could have sped up the process to allow attorneys and judges to be paid in October or November, the union memo says.

This story was originally published December 2, 2019 at 12:28 PM.