BY CRYSTAL LEWIS
The head of the union that represents agency lawyers applauded the city’s decision to officially lift residency requirements for city attorneys, but questioned why the attorney-at-law title was not included and called once again for a remote-work policy.
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Accomplishments and the Year Ahead for CSBA
By Saul Fishman
CSBA President
From Local 237 Newsline, Winter 2022
As 2022 gives way to 2023, we pause to reflect on where we have been, to acknowledge and give thanks for what we have accomplished, and to rededicate ourselves to achieving the important and often difficult tasks which remain on our agenda.
Let’s start with the positive. Our fight to abolish any residency requirement for our titles, the Agency Attorneys and Agency Attorney Interns, has finally been won! We refused to back down at the bargaining table, persisted in the media, and common-sense prevailed. No longer will we have to hear on the one hand that they are so desperate to bring in attorneys to do our work that they are reaching out for (a handful) of big law firm “pro bono” attorneys, and yet that we were somehow not a difficult to recruit title. So effective immediately, you can live anywhere, including New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, so long as you can get to work on time. A word of caution: We suggest that you fully explore the tax ramifications before moving to another jurisdiction.
Annexed is Saul’s testimony from Friday, September 9 before a hearing on maintaining the municipal workforce, conducted jointly by the NYC Council Committee on Oversight & Investigation, and the Council Committee on Civil Service & Labor. Saul’s testimony starts at approximately 2:09:25.
Video of President Fishman’s testimony is now online. The testimony can be found approximately 1 hour and nine minutes into the session.
Good morning Distinguished Judges, Jurists, concerned panelists on the Future of the Courts and the Pandemic Practices Working Group:
I thank you on behalf of the members of the Civil Service Bar Association, the nearly 900 non-managerial Agency Attorneys employed by the City of New York in approximately 40 city agencies, people who themselves have generally risen from working class families and are dedicated to giving back and helping less fortunate New Yorkers. It is an honor to speak with you about their collective needs and experiences. I’m Saul Fishman, their President, with the privilege of serving for the past decade.
It’s time to advance our campaign for the option to telework to the next level. We have upgraded our website to locate your Assemblymember and State Senator, so that you can readily contact them, either using the suggested default letter as is or customizing it as you see fit.
Please visit https://csbanyc.com/pass-the-nyc-teleworking-expansion-act-now/ to fill out the form.
COVID Testing is now available for City Employees
Attached is a listing of COVID-19 testing sites in each borough exclusively for city employees. Unfortunately, the city is currently not letting us go get tested on agency time, so it is recommended that appointments be made during lunch or before work.
Another way of getting yourself tested, and also your your family, is available to all via email request to the Federal government. Email either covidtests.gov or usps.com/covidtest .
Updated leave guidance
Annexed are three DCAS documents and one NYCHA document for your reference:
CSBA continues to advocate for the ability of our members to telecommute whenever possible. Even when the pandemic finally ends (and we’re most definitely not there yet), we want the option to work from home at least part-time. So much of what we do can be performed at least as effectively and efficiently away from the noise and distractions of the office, as demonstrated by the results over the past year.
Of the 231 responses, the vast majority of members who responded (212) were able to perform all their work remotely during the approximately 18 month period when it was allowed, whereas the remaining 19 individuals reported being able to perform most of their work remotely.
176 people felt that they were able to do their work better remotely than when in the office (with less distractions and less time wasted during the commute hence allowing for extra time being productive); 50 reported that they were able to accomplish about the same as from the office, and a mere 4 people thought that they could not perform everything as well.
The majority of respondents (134) want the ability to telework 2-3 days per week, whereas a sizable number of our colleagues (90) would like to be allowed to work remotely 4-5 days per week. Only 4 people felt that 1 day per week was ideal, and even fewer people (3) reported being OK with no telecommuting.
Finally, 215 respondents stated that if they are not provided with an option to telecommute, it would negatively impact their morale and/or desire to stay with their agency. By contrast, only 13 people stated that not being allowed to telework would have no negative effect on them.
Hopefully the incoming administration will take note of this valuable information, and provide options that attract and retain skilled professionals in today’s workforce. Thank you to the many members who took the time to participate in this anonymous survey. We hear you, loud and clear!
The vast majority of our members are vaccinated and want to be as safe as possible for themselves, their families and their co-workers. However, as there are some members who are seeking accommodations or exemptions for religious or medical reasons, we have arrived at the following very time-sensitive agreement.
Please note that we are still actively pursuing the Return-to-Office issue, for which we filed the Motion to Intervene in DC37’s Improper Practice Petition. We hope to be able to provide an update on that important issue shortly.
