The 2025-26 Budget: Concession Bargaining

May 19, 2025 - In the end, all 21 bargaining units agreed to reductions in employee compensation through furloughs—under PLP 2020. The compensation reductions established under these agreements were in effect through 2020-21 and were restored through agreements in 2021-22.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5047

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 6 (Corrections)

Jun 23, 2025 - When CalHR did release a compensation study of Unit 6 compensation in 2023 (referred to as the 2022 compensation study because it relies on data from 2022), we were highly critical of the methodology adopted for the study.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5058

MOU Analysis: Unit 10 (Professional Scientific)

Jan 30, 2023 - The parties signed the first pages of the tentative agreement in 2020, with some relatively minor provisions of the agreement related to pay being signed during the summer of 2022 (including adjusting the pay range for specified classifications at CDCR, the educational pay differentials, and the industrial hygienist certification differentials); the final provisions were not si gned until mid-December 2022.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4665

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 18

Aug 12, 2022 - Through collective bargaining agreements, state employees ’ pay was reduced in exchange for leave credits in 2020-21 under PLP 2020. In the event that an employee separates from state service with accumulated PLP 2020, the proposed agreement would allow employees to cash out any unused PLP 2020 credits.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4617

The 2021-22 Budget: Labor Agreements Ending Personal Leave Program 2020

Jun 25, 2021 - Unit 6 (Corrections) PLP 2020 Side Letter. On June 18, 2020, the administration submitted to JLBC a side letter to implement cost reductions, including establishing PLP 2020. The side letter had a term of July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2022.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4446

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 10 (Professional Scientific)

Aug 14, 2024 - Parties Reached Agreement to Successor MOU in December 2022, but Union Membership Rejected Agreement and Relations Deteriorated. On December 22, 2022, our office received a proposed MOU between the state and Unit 10.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4918

The 2022-23 Budget: State Payments on the Federal Unemployment Insurance Loan

Feb 15, 2022 - Prior to the pandemic, at the start of 2020, the state ’s UI  trust fund held $3.3  billion in reserves. Despite these reserves, the state ’s UI trust fund became insolvent during the summer of 2020, a few months following the start of the pandemic and associated job losses.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4543

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 16 (Physicians, Dentists, and Podiatrists)

Jul 14, 2025 - Unit 16 was last subject to furloughs in 2020-21 when the state negotiated agreements with all 21 bargaining units to reduce employee compensation costs through PLP 2020 in anticipation of a budget problem in 2020-21 that did not materialize.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5064

Unit 2 (Attorneys) MOU Analysis

Aug 25, 2022 - Since 2019, CalHR released a new Unit 2 compensation study in 2022 that relies on data from 2020. In that study, CalHR found that the state’s compensation package for attorneys continues to lag local governments by 9 percent and the private sector by 25 percent.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4619

MOU Fiscal Analysis: Bargaining Unit 8 (Firefighters)

Aug 19, 2025 - Unit 8 was last subject to furloughs in 2020-21 when the state negotiated agreements with all 21 bargaining units to reduce employee compensation costs through PLP 2020 in anticipation of a budget problem in 2020-21 that did not materialize.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5066