Higher education: employees.

Existing law establishes the University of California, and provides for its administration by the Regents of the University of California. Existing law, known as the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act, contains provisions relating to employer-employee relations between the State of California and the employees of state institutions of higher education, including the various campuses of the University of California and the California State University, as well as the Hastings College of the Law. These provisions assign major responsibilities for implementation to the Public Employment Relations Board. Under the act, an "employee" or "higher education employee" is defined as any employee of the Regents of the University of California, the Directors of the Hastings College of the Law, or the Trustees of the California State University. The act further provides that the board may find student employees whose employment is contingent on their status as students are employees only if the services they provide are unrelated to their educational objectives, or that those educational objectives are subordinate to the services they perform and that coverage under this chapter would further the purposes of the act. This bill would provide that student employees whose employment is contingent upon their status as students are employees or higher education employees for purposes of the act. In so doing, the bill would also delete the condition that students are employees or higher education employees only if the services they provide are unrelated to their educational objectives, or that those educational objectives are subordinate to the services they perform and that coverage under this chapter would further the purposes of the act.