TRO HEARING UPDATE
As you all are aware the State Supreme Court has granted CSEA a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) prohibiting the implementation of the vaccine mandate for non-judicial Court employees.
Judiciary Local Presidents have been advised that as of 3:40 p.m. today all oral arguments from parties to the TRO case in front of the State Supreme Court have been made and the hearing has concluded. Judge Silverman has reserved decision at this time, which means for the time being the TRO continues to remain in effect. Should we receive further information regarding a determination by the Judge it will be shared with you immediately via these notices.
What does this mean?
The temporary restraining order (TRO) continues to be in place, therefore the Court System is prevented from moving forward with the vaccine mandate until at least next Friday. On Friday 10/15 we expect to have our second hearing, at which the Court will listen to additional arguments from all parties and decide whether or not the TRO will be converted into a preliminary injunction. If the court does convert the TRO into a preliminary injunction, we believe it will last for 60 days, during which the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), which enforces public sector labor laws, will be ordered to rule on the underlying Improper Practice Charge previously filed by CSEA.
CSEA’s Improper Practice Charge is based on the Court System’s unilateral imposition of a change in the terms and conditions of employment, without negotiating those changes with CSEA. A decision in our favor will require the Court System to negotiate the vaccine mandate with the Union.
To those who are unvaccinated, You do NOT need to be vaccinated if that is your choice, the deadline has been removed for now. Additionally the deadlines for proof of vaccination and submission of requests for exemptions do not apply to employees represented by CSEA. Please be aware that in the interim CSEA members that have not submitted proof of vaccination, continue to be governed by the weekly testing policy.