Report 2017-030 Recommendation 1 Responses

Report 2017-030: The State Bar of California: It Needs Additional Revisions to Its Expense Policies to Ensure That It Uses Funds Prudently (Release Date: June 2017)

Recommendation #1 To: Bar of California, State

To better align its compensation practices with those of comparable agencies, the State Bar should update and formalize its salaries and benefits policies by continuing its negotiations with the union to transition represented employees to an eight-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek, and to implement new salary and job classifications.

1-Year Agency Response

New salary and job classifications, as well as a 40-hour work week for represented employees, were implemented on February 4, 2018.

Completion Date: February 2018
Response Date: June 2018

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

As part of the negotiation with its employee union to implement the 40-hour work week for represented employees, the State Bar agreed to a number of compensation and benefit changes. These changes included at least a 3.6 percent increase in salary retroactive to January 1, 2018; offering post-retirement health care benefits; and a cost of living adjustment in 2019 based on the contingency of an increased unrestricted annual licensing fee of $20.

6-Month Agency Response

Labor negotiations are ongoing. While it is not clear when the negotiation process will conclude, the State Bar has proposed implementation of a new market-based classification and compensation structure, as well as a transition to a 40-hour work week, at the bargaining table.

Estimated Completion Date: Unclear
Response Date: December 2017

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

We look forward to the State Bar providing a more complete description of its actions to implement our recommendations, as well as evidence of those actions, at its one-year response in June 2018.