We’ve received questions about whether employees are entitled to an additional rest break when working overtime. Here’s a clear breakdown:   Under California law, you are entitled to a paid rest break for every 4 hours worked, or major fraction of 4 hours (which is anything over 2 hours).   If you work a standard 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM shift with a one-hour unpaid lunch, you have worked 8 hours and are entitled to two rest breaks. If you then work overtime from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM,

Greetings, Union Brothers and Sisters, On April 10, your 008 board members met again with DHA management to discuss the questionable document validation process. Last time we met, DHA proposed that the follow-up groups at Greenhaven and East Commerce handle all returned documents from PID and proceed with those cases. At that time, we requested data on this group’s average call time, task time, and phone time to determine whether they have the capacity to absorb this additio

Your 008-bargaining team met with the department regarding their proposal to have OA’s site verify the identification of clients when they are unknown to Cal Saws or MEDS. The department stated that they wanted to avoid handoffs when ID needs to be submitted. UPE believes this is an out-of-class job duty meant for eligibility staff only. We were unable to come to any kind of agreement for a change in the duties of our Office Assistants. We demanded that the department retrac

Greetings union brothers, sisters, & friends, On April 7th, 2026, your bargaining team met with the department regarding the fallout of the 28th street closure and additional operational changes the County has made as a result. Specifically, minor consent applications will now be centralized department-wide instead of being handled by an individual specialized unit. The department agreed to provide training to all HSS staff as a reminder of how to treat these confidential ca

Greetings, UPE 005/008 brothers and sisters! On April 2, 2026, UPE met with the County to discuss the transition of the telework applications with regard to how they will now be submitted and stored. The department is asking all staff to input their current telework information, including their current telework schedule and insurance information, into WISE. UPE had minimal questions, such as: how long do employees have to enter their information into WISE, what happens if t

On April 7, 2026, your 005 board members met with DCSS management to discuss the financial team restructures that were initiated in 2023. We asked for all training materials, workflows, and training timelines. We were informed that training has officially concluded for those who transferred from Account Clerk to Office Specialist, so the 6-month hold harmless clause would begin for them as of April 13th. In these 6 months, no errors or omissions are to be used against them as

Greetings union brothers, sisters, and friends, Your 008 bargaining team met with the department regarding the re-implementation of the ABAWD requirements for Cal Fresh due to HR1. These changes will take place effective June 1st, 2026. The department stated that our members will be required to assess cases for ABAWD exemptions and that they have devised a training plan they will roll out over time in late April through May. Most but not all of the information will be relaye

On February 17, 2026, UPE met and conferred with representatives from Sacramento County and SCERS regarding updates to the County's policy regarding Retired Annuitants. Retired Annuitants are retired County employees who come back to work for the County on a part-time basis. Both State Law and SCERS rules tightly regulate the use of annuitants. State law was recently updated to allow SCERS to fine Departments $200 for failing to properly monitor and report on their use of ret

On February 18, 2026, UPE met and conferred with representatives from Sacramento County DPS regarding the OA/OS class study. The County agreed to a change proposed by UPE to the class specifications that maintains the current relationship between education and experience for determining whether an applicant meets MQs. UPE also proposed, and the County agreed to a change to the Lead OA and OS classifications that better makes clear they are not supervisors and should not be di

As you are well aware, on November 20, we held a ratification vote for the tentative agreement reached between the Place Superior Court and your Bargaining Unit, and the contract was ratified with a 55% margin . The terms of the new contract will go into effect on the December 19, 2025 , pay period. UPE would like to thank the bargaining team and its members for their support throughout the process. TOGETHER WE STAND STRONG!

UPE met and conferred with representatives from the Sacramento Court on November 18, 2025, regarding the planned implementation of an online portal for defendants to apply for Trial by Declaration (TBD). With the implementation of the portal, defendants will still be able to make written requests for TBD, but there will no longer be a de novo option, and defendants will no longer have to post bail. The process for handling written TBDs will not change. When someone uses the o

On November 6, 2025, UPE met with the County about expanding online reporting to now include the general public, in addition to mandated reporters. The department has stated they expect this to reduce the number of phone calls, but they do not expect this to change the overall workload. UPE asked if there is another County that has adopted this model and what their stats are, phone calls vs. online reports. This information was not readily available, and they wanted to know w