Originally from ADR and the Law - 20th Edition

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The California Supreme Court held that a new statute mandating arbitration of labor disputes interfered with a county’s constitutional right to regulate the salary of its employees, and therefore was unconstitutional. County of Riverside v. Riverside Sheriff’s Association, 132 Cal Rptr. 2d 713 (Cal. 2003).
Riverside County and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Association reached an impasse in their negotiations over compensation for employees in the probation department. The Sheriff’s Association asked the county to arbitrate the dispute in accordance with a recently enacted statute (Senate Bill 402) that requires counties to arbitrate economic issues that arise during negotiations with unions representing firefighters or law enforcement officers. When the county refused, the Sheriff’s Association filed a lawsuit to compel arbitration. The court ruled that arbitration was necessary to prevent disruption of state concerns involving the availability of police and fire-fighting services. The court of appeals reversed, finding that the new law violated the California constitution.
The California Supreme Court affirmed. It held that “the California Constitution is a limitation or restriction on the powers of the Legislature.” Section 1(b) provides that the county shall “provide for the number, compensation, tenure, and appointment of employees.” Section 11(a) provides that the Legislature may not delegate to a private person the power to “make, control, appropriate, supervise, or interfere with county improvements, money, or perform municipal functions.”