Members of the Renne Public Law Group (RPLG) and Renne Public Management Group (RPMG) team will present at the 2022 California Public Employers Labor Relations Association (CALPELRA) Annual Training Conference in Monterey this November.

CALPELRA provides training and professional development that helps California public sector labor and employment professionals better serve their communities. The Annual Conference delivers knowledge and insight through a variety of presentations designed to improve skills and tactics.

RPLG and RPMG team members have secured speaking spots encompassing three topics that showcase the group’s ability to provide practical, start-to-finish solutions for public agencies that address not only legal issues but also operational challenges.

Partner Jon Holtzman will team up with Janet Cory Sommer (CALPELRA), Peter J. Brown (Liebert Cassidy Whitmore), Timothy L. Davis (Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP) and Irma Rodriguez Moisa (Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo) to present “Counting Down the Year’s Top Hits.” The legal strategies session will analyze significant labor and employment decisions and legislation impacting public agencies to help public sector labor and employment professionals identify potential risks, avoid mistakes, and take action to implement new standards.

Jon also will present “Police Reform Is Human Resources,” with arbitrator Yuval Miller and investigator Hank Schreeder.

“Although some believe that pressure to address police reform has subsided as a result of COVID and spikes in crime,” said Jon, “continued allegations of excessive force likely will ensure that the topic of reform remains as a fixture in mainstream discussion.”

The session will address how human resources is responsible for meeting challenges to reform including achieving diverse hiring, reforming job descriptions to encompass mental health and substance abuse issues, changing the workplace culture and improving evaluation and discipline systems. Jon also will offer insight on bargaining obligations related to police reform efforts, including how recent Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) caselaw has expanded obligations in the context of police oversight.

Renne Public Management Group Executive Director Nelson Fialho, will present “COVID Reopening, Lockdown, Repeat: Are We Done Yet?” with municipal human resources professionals Ian Appleyard (City of Oakland) and Debra Gill (City of Pleasanton) and City Manager Kimbra McCarthy (Mountain View).

“As the COVID crisis has abated, cities’ rapid return to pre-pandemic norms has precipitated myriad challenges,” said Nelson. “RPLG and RPMG’s collaborative team of attorneys and public management experts can provide holistic and creative solutions for public agencies.”

Sharing real experiences with remote work models, the session will provide legal advice and best practices for work in the post-COVID world, addressing the impacts of a hybrid workplace on labor negotiations, equity, accessibility, new technologies and remote work policies.

“We are honored to be a part of the CALPELRA conference again this year,” said Jon. “Nelson and I look forward to providing participants with new insight and tools to strengthen and preserve public services and to further objectives while minimizing legal risks.”

RPLG practices throughout California, advising and advocating for public agencies, nonprofit entities, individuals and private entities in need of effective, responsive and creative legal solutions.