In the latest example of the trend toward challenging the use of temporary workers by government and private employers, Ventura County’s largest labor union, the Service Employees International Union, has sued the county. The union charges that the county paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past year to temporary workers in clerical, maintenance and landscaping jobs that under state law should be filled by full-time civil service employees.
The county defended its use of temporary workers to fill job vacancies until a permanent employee is hired, to stand in for staffers who are out sick or on vacation, or to handle short-term jobs.