Prof. Engineers in Cal. Government v. Brown CA1/3

Background Although the parties’ briefing recounts the history of the public employee furloughs and furlough litigation that arose out of California’s recent fiscal crisis, beginning with two-days-per-month furloughs imposed for the period from February 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, the issue in this case can be stated and analyzed quite simply, without belaboring the history of these events. In March 2011, PECG and the Department of Personnel Administration, now the California Department of Human Resources, agreed to the terms of a Unit 9 MOU for the period April 1, 2011, through July 1, 2013. The agreement was subsequently ratified by the members of PECG, approved by the Legislature in Senate Bill No. 151 (Stats. 2011, ch. 25), and signed into law by the Governor on May 16, 2011. Article 5.14 of the MOU provides for a “Personal Leave Program 2011” as follows: “Effective with the pay period following agreement and then continued for 12 months, full time bargaining unit employees shall be subject to a personal leave program (PLP 2011) eight (8) hours per month in the manner outlined below: [¶] 1. Effective with the pay period following agreement each full time employee’s monthly…