Union’s Suit Alleges County Is Using Temporary Staff Illegally

The union that represents more than 4,000 Ventura County government employees filed a lawsuit Friday against their employer, alleging the county has violated state law by filling hundreds of job positions with temporary staff.

Although the county’s own personnel rules state that “extra help” workers cannot be employed for more than 30 days, the lawsuit says the county has kept more than 900 workers in temporary positions in some cases for as long as 10 years.

The Service Employees International Union Local 998 is seeking a court injunction to prohibit the county from continuing the alleged hiring practice.

“We have been looking at this for quite a period of time,” said Ventura attorney James M. Farley, who represents the union. “The violations keep getting greater and greater.”

Most of the alleged violations stem from temporary hires at the Ventura County Medical Center and in the public works area, Farley said.

He said the lawsuit was filed after discussions between union leaders and county administrators broke down.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said, “but it is what you have to do.”

County Counsel James L. McBride said he has not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on its allegations.

But McBride said county administrators have recently reviewed the number of employees classified as extra help, and questioned whether a violation had occurred.

“I do know that we have looked at our extra help,” he said. “I am not aware of those problems. It is the first I have heard about it.”

The matter is set for a hearing in January.

According to the lawsuit, the county has violated both its own personnel rules and state law in its hiring of extra help workers.

Those practices, the suit states, have limited job opportunities for people looking for permanent work, deprived current employees the opportunity for job advancement and resulted in a loss of union dues.

The county is only supposed to hire extra help workers to cover peak or emergency workloads, or to provide vacation relief, according to the lawsuit. And even then, temporary hires may not fill a classified position for more than 30 days, the lawsuit says.

But the personnel director is allowed to extend extra help hiring “upon extenuating circumstances,” according to the lawsuit. The union calls that caveat vague and wants it also addressed by the court.

Beyond the county’s own personnel rules, the lawsuit states that the extra help hiring practices are in violation of state law, which says that the Board of Supervisors may contract with temporary help but not for a period longer than 90 days.