California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment v. California State Personnel Board

A California Superior Court denied a petition for writ of mandate filed by the collective bargaining representative of attorneys employed by the California Department of Justice in which the petitioner sought to set aside the State Personnel Board’s decision approving a contract retaining an outside law firm to assist in handling California’s case seeking to hold fossil fuel industry defendants liable for climate change harms. The court found that substantial evidence supported the determination that the contract was justified under a statutory provision that allows use of personal services contracts for state services in certain situations, including where “[t]he services contracted … are of such a highly specialized or technical nature that the necessary expert knowledge, experience, and ability are not available through the civil service system.”

A nonprofit that serves as the exclusive collective bargaining representative for 4,500 legal professionals employed by California State departments, agencies, boards, and commissions filed a petition for writ of mandate challenging the State Personnel Board’s approval of personal service contracts entered into by the Office of the Attorney General to employ a private law firm to assist in its <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/case/people-v-exxon-mobil-corp/">lawsuit</a> seeking to hold five major oil companies liable for climate change-related harms. The petitioner alleged that the Board’s decision irreparably harmed it and its members by authorizing the outsourcing of legal work that the petitioner members could and should have performed. The petition contended that the Board erred as a matter of law in determining that the contract was justified under California Government Code § 19130.