The State Personnel Board on Sept. 14 heard an appeal from AFSCME Local 2620 challenging California Correctional Health Care Services’ continued use of personal services contracts for prison pharmacy and allied health work.
According to the board’s meeting summary and entity record, the union argued that a prior board decision, PSC 19-0015B, required the department to stop contracting out those services by April 30, 2020. The union also said the state had spent more than $10 million on registry staff while vacancies remained unfilled.
CCHCS, represented by its Office of Legal Affairs, defended the contracts in the hearing, according to the meeting summary. The summary says the department pointed to recruitment efforts, a workforce unit, and outreach through CalCareers, LinkedIn and hiring fairs, and argued the contracts were still needed to help maintain prison medical care.
The board took the matter under submission and did not announce a decision at the hearing.
The Sept. 14 meeting also included other personnel and classification items, but the contracting-out appeal was one of two contested matters heard that day.
