This month Sheriff Frank Rivero is changing the two groups' work schedules form 12-hour to eight-hour shifts, according to a report from Capt. James Bauman.
The statement issued by Rivero's office called the 12-hour work schedules “long and arduous,” and said the change would “improve efficiency in shift coverage, officer safety and fiscal responsibility,” and ultimately be in the best interests of the county.
However, the 65-member Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association had wanted to stay on the shifts, according to association President Gary Frace.
“Our feeling on it is, at least with twelves we get some time off,” said Frace, noting that association members were overwhelmingly against the change in a recent vote.
The sheriff's office statement acknowledged opposition from both the Lake County Deputy Sheriff's Association and the Lake County Correctional Officer's Association.
Mike Silva, president of the latter group, did not return a call seeking comment.
Frace said the 12-hour shifts were requested by the associations and former Sheriff Rod Mitchell – who both associations had endorsed in last year's heated election – approved the move.
Bauman said that Rivero has had concerns about the 12-hour shifts since he was hired as a deputy in 2007.
Rivero “believed that the length of the shifts was unreasonable and the daily rigors of stressful public safety work for 12 hours at a time compromised officer safety and the ability to make sound decisions at a moment’s notice,” Bauman said.
Rivero unseated Mitchell in last November's election, and since taking office in January his concerns grew over the difficulty that arose for covering the shifts during absences, Bauman said.
Another concern, according to Bauman, was that the overtime associated with 12-hour work schedules was costing thousands of tax payer dollars.
The 12-hour shift schedule for the jail alone had more than $134,000 worth of built-in overtime per year, which Bauman said did not even include expenses for covering absences, such as medical, vacation or military leave.
Bauman said Rivero determined that covering vacant eight-hour shifts in patrol and the jail would be approximately 50-percent less expensive than covering the same shifts on a 12-hour schedule.
Rivero directed his command staff to establish eight-hour work schedules for both the correctional and patrol divisions, Bauman said.
Sheriff’s deputies assigned to the patrol division began working an eight-hour shift schedule this past Sunday, May 1, and correctional officers are expected to change to an eight-hour schedule as soon as May 15 but no later than May 29, according to Bauman.
As for whether or not the unions have to approve the move, Bauman said the shift change is the sheriff's prerogative so long as the schedule is approved by the Board of Supervisors and the union members have been given sufficient notice of the schedule change.
“In this case, the sheriff did meet with the presidents of both units to inform them of his plans,” Bauman said.
In recent weeks the Board of Supervisors has discussed labor negotiations with the two associations in closed session, but it wasn't clear Monday if the board had yet given its approval to the schedule changes.
Frace said his association's memorandum of understanding allows the unilateral change, and doesn't grant the deputies negotiation rights.
“It was not open for discussion,” he said, adding that they were told the change would be made whether they liked it or not.
Frace said the longer shift gave deputies and correctional officers time away from their stressful work. Even on their days off deputies often are called to court to testify in cases.
He said that, as a result of the shift change, there are going to be weeks when many deputies won't have any days off. The association, he added, “is definitely not happy” about the move.
The shift change isn't the first act that Rivero has taken regarding employees that has raised their concerns.
In March the Lake County Correctional Officer's Association filed suit against Rivero and the county because the association alleged that Rivero stripped them of peace officer status granted to them by Mitchell through a change in state law, as Lake County News has reported.
Rivero's change to their status prevented them from, among other things, carrying guns while in uniform unless transporting prisoners. That suit is expected to go to trial this summer.
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