Mendocino County Employees Ass'n v. County of Mendocino

An employee organization representing certain classifications and units of employees of Mendocino County filed a petition for writ of mandate in an attempt to stop an increase in the amount deducted from wages for contributions to the employees’ retirement system. The trial court denied the petition, and we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Factual and Procedural Background

In December 1987, pursuant to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (Gov. Code, § 3500 et seq.; hereafter MMBA), 1 the Mendocino County Employees Association (hereafter Association) and the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors entered into a memorandum of understanding regarding the wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment for the period from August 9, 1987, through August 5, 1989. The memorandum incorporated by reference all previous memoranda of understanding between the parties. Although some of the past memoranda had mentioned contributions to the county retirement system, the 1987-1989 memorandum was silent on the issue.

*1476 The county employees’ retirement system is administered under the provisions of the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (§ 31450 et seq.; hereafter…