COSTA MESA — The California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the City of Costa Mesa’s attempt to overturn an injunction blocking the City from laying off more than 100 City employees and outsourcing their jobs to the private sector.
The Court also denied a request to depublish the Appellate Court opinion upholding the preliminary injunction, thereby strengthening outsourcing protections for public workers across the State of California.
The decision comes on the heels of an announcement by the Costa Mesa City Council that they intend to cancel the layoffs of City employees.
“Costa Mesa’s dedicated employees are looking forward to what we hope is a new era of collaboration and cooperation in a City that has been a battleground for far too long,” said Nick Berardino, General Manager of the Orange County Employees Association. “We have some great ideas how to deliver the highest quality, most efficient services to the community. And we are looking forward to partnering with the City Council in these efforts. We can do so much more when we’re working together than when we’re at odds.”
The Costa Mesa City Council majority issued more than 200 pink slips in March 2011 to employees as part of a plan to privatize city services. Last July, Superior Court Judge Barbara Tam Nomoto Schumann issued a preliminary injunction blocking the City from outsourcing to the private sector.
The City appealed that decision, and in August, the Fourth District Court of Appeals rejected the City’s request in a lengthy opinion, which the Court subsequently certified for publication.
Click here to find a record of the California Supreme Court’s action.
Napoleon Righeimer owes us a couple million that was wasted on attorney’s fees for no good reason.