Cal. Teachers Assn. v. Governing Bd. of Salinas City Elementary School Dist.
This matter is before us for the second time, having been transferred by the California Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of United Teachers of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles Unified School District (2012) 54 Cal.4th 504 (United Teachers).
Plaintiffs California Teachers Association (CTA) and the Salinas Elementary Teachers Council (SETC) (collectively, the unions) appeal from a judgment of dismissal entered after the sustaining without leave to amend of a demurrer by defendants Governing Board of the Salinas City Elementary School District and the Salinas City Elementary School District (collectively, the District) to the unions’ verified petition for writ of mandate and complaint for declaratory relief (the complaint). The basis for the trial court’s ruling was lack of jurisdiction due to the unions’ failure to exhaust the administrative remedy specified in the parties’ collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
On appeal, the unions contend that “[t]he analysis required by [United Teachers] . . . dictates reversal of the trial court’s judgment.†Pointing out that claims to enforce mandatory Education Code provisions are not subject to internal exhaustion requirements, they insist that their complaint alleged “strictly statutory claims . . . for violations of the teacher pay uniformity requirements of Education Code [section] 45028.†Having reconsidered the matter in light of United Teachers, we conclude that to the extent the unions’ complaint alleges violations of the teacher pay uniformity requirements of Education Code section 45028[1] (as opposed to “misinterpretation[s], misapplication[s], or violation[s] of†the CBA), the unions may pursue those claims in court without exhausting their administrative remedies. Because the complaint as currently drafted does not permit us to determine whether the unions may pursue all or only some of their claims in court, we vacate our original decision, reverse the judgment, and remand the matter for further proceedings.
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