Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
A pay parity hearing is the Department's procedure for
addressing excluded employee or employee representative requests for salary
range adjustments under Government Code section
19826 and
the principle that "like salaries shall be paid for comparable duties and
responsibilities." A pay parity hearing is quasi-legislative in nature, and
shall be conducted as follows:
(a)
Requesting a Pay Parity Hearing
(1) A request
for pay parity hearing must be submitted in writing to the Director, and must
identify the classifications at issue.
(2) The Director shall respond to the request
within 30 days.
(3) If a request
for hearing is granted, the Director will designate a hearing officer to hear
the claim and a Department designee to participate in the
hearing.
(b) Hearing
Procedures
(1) The administrative
adjudication provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), set forth in
Chapters 4.5 and 5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code,
are not applicable to pay parity hearings.
(2) Formal rules of evidence shall not
apply.
(3) Prior to the hearing,
the hearing officer may require participants to identify witnesses, submit a
position statement, or provide any documentary evidence for inclusion in the
administrative record.
(4) The
hearing will be audio-recorded, and witnesses shall testify under
oath.
(5) The hearing officer
retains discretion to conduct the hearing in any manner necessary to address
the claim. The hearing officer may modify any aspect of the hearing process in
order to accommodate the needs of the case or the hearing
participants.
(c)
Post-Hearing Procedures
(1) The hearing
officer may allow the record to remain open for a period not to exceed 60 days
following conclusion of the hearing.
(2) The hearing officer retains discretion to
independently investigate any aspect of the claim and may request additional
information from any participant or witness.
(d) Decision
(1) The hearing officer will present a
written recommendation to the Director within 90 days of close of
record.
(2) Within 45 days of
receiving the written recommendation, the Director will review the proposed
recommendation and approve, modify, or reject the hearing officer's decision,
or direct that additional information be provided.
(3) With the exception of sections
599.907,
599.908 and
599.910, Article 25 of Chapter 3 of
Division 1 of Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations is not applicable
to pay parity hearings.
1. New
section filed 7-29-2016; operative 7-29-2016 pursuant to Government Code
section
3539.5.
Exempt from OAL review and approval pursuant to Government Code section
3539.5;
therefore, submitted to OAL for filing and printing only (Register 2016, No.
31).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
3539.5 and
19815.4,
Government Code. Reference: Sections
19815.4
and
19826,
Government Code; and Lowe v. California Resources Agency (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th
1140.
