Union contends Madera County violated MOU by not paying standby pay to three fire‑shop employees

A three‑member grievance brought by SEIU Local 521 over unpaid standby pay for three former or current Madera County Fire Fleet employees was the subject of an administrative hearing before a county hearing panel. The union asked the panel to interpret a standby provision in the parties' memorandum of understanding (MOU) and to order back pay and prospective compliance for Ashley Diaz, Jeremy Whitten and Roy Minnick.

The union's attorney, Eileen Gonzales, said the MOU's standby clause required pay when the employer required employees to remain available and that the three employees were not paid for years of after‑hours availability. Gonzales said the standby pay rate in the contract was $4 per hour and argued the panel should order back pay and that the department comply going forward. "The grievance are entitled to standby pay," Gonzales said during opening remarks, asking the panel to award back pay for all hours the employees were required to be on standby.

County counsel James McCann told the panel the union bears the burden to prove entitlement by a preponderance of the evidence and that the hearing's scope is limited to the MOU's standby definition and whether the employees met it. McCann said the county had denied the grievance for both procedural defects and lack of merit:…