Greetings UPE sisters and brothers, Your UPE 008 team met again with DHA management on 5/1/26 regarding ABAWD/HR1 changes to the CF program. Department management agreed to several of UPE’s proposals to hopefully lessen the impact of the massive HR1 changes: Workers will be held harmless for 6 months for errors and omissions due to the newness of the program changes. Workers will be given discretion to decide which customers are “obviously unfit for employment” under the new

On April 17, 2026, UPE 005 representatives met with Sacramento County over four new proposed County-wide policies: Incompatible Activities, Nepotism, Pre-Employment Checks, and a County Code of Conduct. Incompatible Activities requires members to disclose any outside employment that may conflict with their County employment. The Pre-Employment Checks relate to what criminal history information DPS can and cannot disclose to hiring Departments while considering new candidates.

Greetings Union Brothers, Sisters, and Friends, Your 008 bargaining team met for the second time with the department regarding the re-implementation of ABAWD requirements for CalFresh, due to HR1. Management shared all training materials with us, and we took a deep dive into the content, training structure, and analyzed what would make this more effective for staff. Due to the diligence and extensive steps required for workers to handle ABAWD,

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

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 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

Greetings, Union Brothers & Sisters On November 6th, the 005/008 bargaining team met with the department for the second time regarding the closure of the 28th Street bureau. Previously, UPE proposed that all HSSs in the Yellow & Green groups be allowed to bid by location based on seniority. Today, the department officially accepted that proposal and agreed to allow CSRs to bid by location regardless of special skills. These are both victories for our 28th Street members. UPE

On October 17, 2025, UPE met with the department about the revised Permanency Social Worker Standards CPS (Adult Protective Services). The last time the standards were published was 2019. Throughout the policy, UPE had many suggestions for improvement that, surprisingly, the department considered and changed. These changes included making sure that the County provides chargers for all device types in order for Social Workers to "be available by cell phone during work hours…

Greetings, Union Brothers & Sisters 005/008 members met with the department regarding the federal government shutdown and Cal Fresh benefits not being administered effective November 1st, 2025. UPE’s primary concern is the safety and security of our members. The department stated that while the actual number of security staff has not been increased, the Sheriff’s Department has agreed to increase patrols by officers at all open lobbies. UPE expressed dissatisfaction with the

On October 17, 2025, UPE met with the County to discuss how AB135 will affect Behaviorally Based Case Plans. AB135 partners DHA and CPS to assist parents who are in need, to continue CalWorks cash benefits (if eligible) while the children are out of the home, and the parent/s case plan goal is family reunification (CWFR). The enactment of AB135 will primarily affect the Social Workers in Court Services and Permanency units. Since in the past, CPS Social Workers h

Greetings, union brothers and sisters. Your 008 & 005 bargaining unit met with the department today regarding the closure of 28th Street. The department stated that members will begin to move as early as January 2026 in small groups over time. The building will be turned over to the owners by June of 2026. The County’s intention is to allow some function groups to bid on their new location based on seniority & others would not and would therefore be forced to go to certain wo

On October 14, 2025, UPE met with the Department of Airports to discuss several Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Topics included Fire Call Handling, General Emergency Call Handling, Law Enforcement Call Handling, Trainer Responsibilities, Audio/Video Review and Release, Aviation Worker Screening, Airport Vacation Bidding, Communications Center environment, Overtime Selection and Assignment, and Scheduling and Leave Time. UPE is still in the process of meeting with the de

United Public Employees (UPE) met with Sacramento County on October 3, 2025, to discuss Senate Bill 525 (SB 525) the new state law that raises the minimum wage for health care workers. During the meeting, we talked about who qualifies as a “health care employee.” This includes County workers who spend more than half of their work time providing patient care, health care services, or supporting health care operations. Under SB 525, these employees must earn at least $21 per ho

As most are aware, DHA announced on October 6, 2025, that CTO would no longer be available for OT through the end of the 2026 fiscal...

On 9/30/25, your 008-bargaining team met with the department regarding their proposal for a new fraudulent document referral process for...