§ 71806 Court Interpreter Hiring Priority

(a) Trial courts in the region may employ certified and registered interpreters to perform spoken language interpretation for the trial courts in full-time, part-time, or intermittent, part-time interpreter positions created by the trial courts. (b) For purposes of hiring interpreters for full-time or part-time positions, unless otherwise provided in a memorandum of understanding or agreement with a recognized employee organization, trial courts shall consider applicants, who shall be eligible for full-time or part-time positions, in the following order of priority: (1) Intermittent, part-time interpreters in the same language who have performed work for that trial court for at least 150 court days or parts of court days during any calendar year, including time spent performing work for the trial court as an independent contractor. (2) Intermittent, part-time interpreters in the same language who have performed work for that trial court for at least 60 court days or parts of court days during any calendar year, including time spent performing work for the trial court as an independent contractor. (3) Other applicants. (c) A trial court may not reject an applicant in favor of an applicant with lower priority except for cause. (d) For purposes of this section, “for cause” means a fair and honest cause or reason regulated by good faith on the part of the party exercising the power. (e) Applicants may be required to provide sufficient documentation to establish that they are entitled to priority in hiring. Trial courts shall make their records of past assignments available to interpreters for the purpose of obtaining that documentation. (f) Unless the parties to a dispute agree upon other procedures after the dispute arises, or other procedures are provided in a memorandum of understanding or agreement with a recognized employee organization, disputes about whether this section has been violated shall be resolved by binding arbitration through the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service. (g) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2025. (Repealed (in Sec. 11) and added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 556, Sec. 12. (AB 1032) Effective January 1, 2024. Operative January 1, 2025, by its own provisions.)