The county has agreed to settle with a union and pay it $10,000 after being challenged over a long-held policy banning the employees from posting political signs on their personal property.
San Benito County officials recently agreed to update the political activity policy for county employees and hand over a one-time payment of $10,000 to the Service Employees International Union Local 521 for legal fees in their brief court challenge.
Members of the union alleged the first amendment right to free speech for county employees was violated with a policy that they believe has been in place since the early 2000s.
A spokesperson for SEIU said the union became concerned last spring when the policy was circulated to employees as a reminder of the type of activities in which they can engage.
Union representatives said they were most concerned about wording in the policy that prohibited employees from displaying bumper stickers, pictures or posters on an automobile or in the window of their home.
With the agreement, several changes to the policy have been made to clarify county employees’ right to free speech. Among them, the line about not displaying bumper stickers, pictures or posters on an automobile or in windows of a home has been stricken. Employees are still prohibited from wearing campaign badges or buttons while on duty and in areas viewable to county customers.
The updated policy also clarifies that employees cannot express their opinions on political subjects and candidates; engage in partisan or nonpartisan political activities as an individual or as a member of a group; or initiate, sign or circulate partisan or nonpartisan nominating petitions, distribute campaign literature, badges, etc., while on duty.
But they can engage in activities while off duty, including break times and lunch time in non-work areas.
“Although the text that was stricken could have been a little more clear, the county, as indicated in the attached agreement signed by both parties, did not admit any wrongdoing or violation of any employee’s rights,” said Jacki Credico, a management analyst for the human resources division for the county, via email. “This settlement was entered into to avoid unnecessary court and attorneys fees if the matter had proceeded further.”
Credico said to her knowledge there have been no employees in the county who were “disciplined or threatened to be fired for violations of these guidelines.”
She said her office had not received any complaints from employees regarding memos about the policy.
“It is important to note that the county never restricted the employees from placing signs in their yards,” Credico said, in the email
Martha Booker, the San Benito County chapter president of SEIU, said that although no employees had been disciplined over the policy, she alleged some had been verbally counseled by supervisors about removing items from their homes or taking bumper stickers or items from their vehicles.
SEIU representatives said they first tried to contact county administrators to discuss a revision of the policy in June, and that in meetings with individual supervisors, some of the members broached the issue informally. The representatives said without a response from administrators either by phone or email, they moved forward with a lawsuit on Sept. 19, with plans to file an injunction. The day the union filed a lawsuit, it received a return phone call from county administrators asking to discuss a settlement.
The settlement agreement was signed Sept. 28 by Deborah Narvaez, director of SEIU Local 521 and, Rich Inman, the county administrative officer who recently announced his resignation. In it, the county agreed to pay $10,000 to SEIU for legal fees and costs associated with the lawsuit.
“This is a win for civil rights and freedom of speech,” Booker said, via email. “We are pleased with the outcome of the settlement and happy that we won back our right to free speech. It’s unfortunate we had to file a lawsuit to have the county respect our civil rights.”
Supervisor Margie Barrios said the settlement was reached outside the supervisors chambers as administrators have authority to sign a settlement for up to $20,000.
“It avoided the cost of future litigation and it is just reimbursing them the expenses for drafting a claim that didn’t go forward,” Barrios said. “Looking at (the changes), it was really to clarify some uncertainty.”
