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m e y e r s I n a v e riback silver & wilson professional law Corporation April 16, 2002 Dear Colleague: RECEIVED APR 2 2 2001 5 - r i I ., qV Arthur A. Hartinger Terry Roemer Attorney at Law 510.351.4300 Re: Request for Participation in Friends of the Court Brief Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, et al. v. Superior Court of California (Dewayne Cargill, at al, Real Parties in Interest) As many of you know, Meyers Nave is working with the League of California Cities to prepare a Supreme Court amicus curiae brief on behalf of California agencies that could be adversely impacted by the court of appeal's decision in Cargill v. Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Art Hartinger and Terry Roemer of the Meyers Nave - Labor and Employment Group are preparing the brief. Dozens of agencies have already authorized their name to appear on the brief. Meyers Nave is preparing the Cargill brief as a public service on behalf of its clients, other California agencies and the League of California Cities. Your agency will not incur attorneys' fees or other dosts by participating in this project. Unless overturned by the Supreme Court, the Cargill decision will require all CalPERS contracting agencies to enroll workers who meet the "common law employee" definition in CalPERS -- even if those workers are paid and employed by private companies. By a 7-0 vote, the California Supreme Court granted review on January 23, 2002. The court of appeal's underlying decision at issue could likely impose significant unexpected operational, financial and administrative burdens on local public agencies throughout the state. For example, • The ruling severely limits agencies' operational flexibility by limiting agencies' ability to use temporary labor for legitimate purposes such as capital improvement projects and various professional services. The ruling imposes significant unexpected financial burdens on local public agencies. Most agencies have not factored into their budgets the cost of providing CalPERS benefits to workers provided by private staffing and consulting firms. Because the court of appeal's ruling involved an issue of first impression, and CalPERS has never promulgated regulations defining eligible employees to include these types of workers, the requirement comes as an unexpected surprise, with an unbudgeted fiscal impact. North Bay Office Santa Rosa, California Central Valley Office East Bay Office 1 777 Davis Street, Suite 300 • San leondro, California 94577 • Telephone 510.351.4300 • Fax 510.351.4481 a www.meyersnove.com Stockton, California