Supreme Court Rules on Controversy Regarding Meet and Confer Requirements Pursuant to the MMBA
In 2002, the City of Claremont instituted a study designed at gathering information regarding the identity of individuals stopped by the City's police department. The purpose of the study was to determine whether individuals were being stopped based upon their race and/or ethnicity.
Pursuant to the study, police officers were required to fill out a form that gathered information about the officers' perception of the race and ethnicity of drivers prior to stopping their vehicles. Because the City did not meet and confer with the Police Association prior to implementing the requirement that officers fill out the forms, the Association filed a lawsuit alleging that the City violated the MMBA.
The Supreme Court held that the City was not required to meet and confer with the Association prior to implementing the study. The Supreme Court emphasized that it was not deciding whether a meet and confer duty would have existed if issues regarding officer discipline or privacy arose from the results of the study (because those questions were not before the Court). Based on this caveat, it is unclear what siginificance this ruling will have.
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