Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Hello,
I am wondering about the legality of denying a retroactive COLA to older retiring employees in 2022 for work that they completed in 2021.
The details are that I was initially told by a union representative that our employer, a public institution, asked that the retroactive COLA not go to anyone receiving a workplace accommodation in return for a submitting letter of intent to retire in the future. That would be me. I received an accommodation of remote work for three months in 2022 due to surgery for a life-threatening condition. I was encouraged by the union to offer to retire in return for a remote workplace accommodation as my employer had decided in advance of HR interactive negotiations to not permit 100% remote workplace accommodations.
While I would be denied the retroactive COLA, which would have raised my lifetime pension, other retirees without accommodations would receive the money. I complained to my union; afterwards, it was negotiated so that all employees retiring before a certain date in 2022 were denied the retroactive COLA for work completed in 2021.
Do I (or the other retirees) have any legal standing here? If so, must I go through the union? A key union official texted me that I would only be represented until my retirement.

Asked on 10/12/22, 10:47 pm

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You have to go through the union. Union contracts and agreements supersede legal rules on compensation as long as minimum wage laws are followed.

Answered on 10/13/22, 8:52 am

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