Charges in ‘Blue Flu’ Are Settled

The union representing hundreds of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who shut down courthouses this fall during an epidemic of “blue flu” agreed Monday to pay $100,000 to settle contempt of court allegations against its members.

As part of the settlement, officers of the Assn. for Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies promised to stop deputies from holding illegal sickouts for one year. The wildcat strikes had been geared to protest then-stalled labor negotiations with the county.

Union officials deny any involvement in the sickouts, which temporarily shut courthouses throughout the county in late September and early October. Still, they were taken to court when the county Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Lee Baca tried to force deputies back to work after weeks of disruption.

The compromise was reached as Orange County Superior Court Judge John M. Watson was set to consider sanctions of $1,000 and five days in jail for each of 10 deputies who violated his order to return to work.

The deputies, all assigned to the Beverly Hills courthouse, called in sick for work one day after Watson declared the strike illegal and issued a temporary restraining order against further sickouts.

Union President Roy Burns said Monday that the settlement “doesn’t touch us financially.” The payment, he said, represents just $1.25 per member a month, a small portion of the more than $50 a month deputies pay in membership dues.

“We unfortunately had to settle to protect our members,” Burns said. “There were deputies at risk of going to jail or being fined. It would have left a permanent mark on their records.”

Under terms of the agreement, union officials each face a $1,000 fine if blue flu strikes the county again within the next year. That’s less likely because labor negotiations have improved since then. The union ratified a fringe benefits package, and returns to the bargaining table on salary issues next week, Burns said.

Baca credited Watson’s firm hand with ending the strike.

“My reading is that the court order, once it became enforced by the Orange County judge, changed the attitude of those who were violating it,” the sheriff said. “There was a false sense of security in the minds of some of the deputies that nothing was going to happen. The court took strong action.”

Deputy County Counsel David Kelsey said the county’s goals were accomplished. “The main thing we were really looking for was to end blue flu in Los Angeles County,” he said.

Sheriff’s officials said more than 800 deputies, mostly those assigned to courthouses, were disciplined as a result of the sickouts. Most were docked at least one day’s pay, Burns said.

The Beverly Hills deputies agreed not to challenge the loss of pay for their one sick day, plus a second day when they appeared before Watson. In return, they will not be transferred.

Burns said, however, that the union continues to fight hundreds of other cases.

The sickouts affected the court system more than any other area of the Sheriff’s Department. Deputies, who are county employees, provide security by contract at local courthouses.

“We are grateful that this dispute has been resolved,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Dukes said in a statement. “From the beginning, the court’s objective has been to ensure that there are adequate security resources in all of our facilities.”