Classified school and community college employees: disciplinary hearings: compensation.

Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to employ persons for positions not requiring certification qualifications and the governing board of a community college district to employ persons for positions that are not academic positions. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district or community college district to classify those employees and positions and requires that they be known as the classified service. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district or community college district to prescribe written rules and regulations governing the personnel management of the classified service whereby classified employees are designated as permanent employees after serving a prescribed period of probation. Existing law subjects a permanent classified employee to disciplinary action only for cause, as prescribed by rule or regulation of the governing board of the school district or community college district. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or community college district to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with an employee organization, as specified. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or community college district to delegate its authority to determine whether sufficient cause exists for disciplinary action against a classified employee to an impartial third-party hearing officer, pursuant to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, as provided. This bill would prohibit the suspension without pay, suspension or demotion with a reduction in pay, or dismissal of a permanent employee of a school district or community college district who timely requests a hearing on charges against the employee before a decision is rendered after the hearing, unless the governing board or impartial third-party hearing officer finds that at the time discipline was imposed at the conclusion of the initial review process, the employer demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that the employee engaged in criminal misconduct, misconduct that presents a risk of harm to pupils or students, staff, or property, or committed habitual violations of the district's policies or regulations. If a hearing on the charges will be conducted by an impartial third-party hearing officer pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement, the bill would authorize a school district or a community college district to stop paying a permanent employee before a decision is rendered after 30 calendar days from the date the hearing is requested. The bill would specify that, to the extent it conflicts with a collective bargaining agreement entered into before January 1, 2023, its terms would not apply to the school district or community college district that is subject to that agreement until the expiration or renewal of the agreement.