Arthur A. Hartinger

Hartinger, a founding partner of Renne Public Law Group, is a 33-year veteran of the labor and employment law field. He formerly chaired the labor and employment group at Meyers Nave Riback Silver & Wilson PLC and is a former deputy city attorney in San Francisco.

He and his colleagues moved quickly this spring when they noticed that other firms were cutting salaries and limiting their summer internship programs in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. "We launched a fellowship program in local government advocacy," Hartinger said. "We got some amazing candidates, refugees trimmed out of other firms' programs, and we hope to inspire many to go into our field."

The program, held remotely, was set to feature speakers including former San Francisco mayor and Assembly speaker Willie L. Brown, Corrine L. Manning, the general counsel of the League of California Cities and other experts in the field.

"It gave us a real injection of energy," Hartinger said.

In February 2020, CalPERS adopted the position Hartinger advocated for client Bay Area Rapid Transit over an independent contractor's job status. In the Matter of the Appeal of Membership Determination of Mark R. Dana, 2018-0432 (OAH, filed Jan. 27, 2019).

"We lined up all the factors in our favor," Hartinger said. "We were tenacious and tried to be clear, and they eventually agreed with us."

Last summer, he battled successfully in the state court of appeal to preserve San Francisco's "Transit-First Policy" favoring public transportation over reliance on private automobiles. After voters passed Proposition G in 2010, unions objected to its limits on the rights of transit operators and took an unfair practices claim to the Public Employment Relations Board. The board agreed that Proposition G contained provisions that constituted unreasonable local labor relations rules under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act and ordered that two new city charter provisions be stricken.

Hartinger applied to the 1st Appellate District for a writ of extraordinary relief, contending the PERB applied an incorrect standard of review, erred in its analysis of the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act and imposed a remedy that was excessive, overbroad and unreasonable. City and County of San Francisco v. Public Employment Relations Board, A152913 (1st DCA, opinion filed July 22, 2019).

The panel largely agreed. "It's rare to get a writ against the PERB," Hartinger said. "I argued that the board had taken an unreasonably expansive view of its ability to interpret labor relations statutes and that the court must not necessarily defer to the board."

The appellate panel overturned significant portions of the PERB's decision and awarded costs to Hartinger's client, the city.

-- John Roemer