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Santa Clara County – DEBS Global Settlement TA Notice

Last updated: December 15, 2025

It’s important you read this entire email, which includes the following: 

  • Background related to the County’s investigation 
  • A recap of the 3 member webinars and worksite meetings  
  • Global Settlement Tentative Agreement (TA): What a yes and no vote means 
  • Details of the TA ratification vote 

On November 14, 2025, our union was informed by the County that they have credible evidence of widespread timecard and overtime fraud among Eligibility Workers in DEBS. Since then, close to 80 workers have been notified of investigations and we were told more than 200 would be impacted.    

How did we get here? H.R.1 or the “Big Beautiful Bill”, enacted by President Trump and Congress, imposes the largest cuts to public benefit programs in our nation’s history, threatening access to healthcare and food for hundreds of thousands of Santa Clara County residents. The county signaled to us that because of these federal cuts, along with state-related actions, Santa Clara County is facing an immediate deficit of $500 million in 2026 and $1 billion each year after. The Medi-Cal needed to support the County’s health system is largely dependent on DEBS ability to efficiently enroll and maintain coverage for eligible community members. Social Services Agency (SSA) also needs to reduce their budget by $20 million by December 20, 2025. This is why the County began examining every aspect of DEBS to seek ways to improve performance, cut down on overtime (OT), and address the backlog.  Through this process two things happened: 

  1. The County found evidence of widespread timecard fraud related to OT and meal allowances. They announced that they intended to investigate hundreds of EWs. This is a serious issue for our members. It meant our members are at risk of being terminated, being required to pay back the money, and potentially facing criminal charges.  
  2. The County proposed modifying a narrow portion of the MOU (Appendix G) as it pertains to Eligibility Work in DEBS.  

After hundreds of conversations with workers and supervisors through our webinars and site visits, our union received overwhelming feedback to engage the county in a discussion to explore if we could reach a mutual agreement (subject to the approval of the affected members) in order to win the best possible outcomes for all workers and save as many jobs as possible. Our union, along with our chapter Vice Presidents and a committee of DEBS workers serving as subject matter experts, met with the County over 4 days and secured a  Global Settlement Tentative Agreement, that includes: a Global Settlement to save the jobs of all EWs under investigation, retains the 7.5% Intake Differential for those already receiving it, protects the mass elimination of telework as a result of the investigations, and a 13% raise for all EW IIs.   

Now it’s up to you – our coworkers – to ratify our Tentative Agreement. We are proudly recommending a YES vote to ratify this settlement because we know the alternative is grim. A NO vote means the County will implement their alternatives: 

  1. Countywide: Additional budget cuts and layoffs, especially in our Health & Hospital System  
  2. DEBS: EWII’s will continue at their current rate of pay; the county will do its best to improve productivity by removing telework and increasing micromanagement.  If Intake work declines as the County expects, employees laid off from Intake positions would bump into EWII positions in Continuing with pay reduced accordingly.  
  3. Investigations Move Forward: The County will resume the OT fraud investigations, which means hundreds of EWs would be at risk of losing their jobs, and may need to pay back money for unearned overtime wages and meal allowances they have already received. As part of the investigation process, it is expected that workers will also be required to report on coworkers.
DOWNLOAD COMPARISON

Materials Available for Download

2025 SCCO DEBS Global Settlement FAQDownload
Complete Global Settlement Signed TADownload

When, Where & How to Vote: 

Starts: Tuesday, December 16 at 8 am  
Ends:  Wednesday, December 17 at 5 pm  

METHOD OF VOTING  

The ratification vote will be held online via a secure third-party vendor, Election Buddy. Electronic ballots will be sent to your personal email or cell phone number on file with our union.  

WORKSITE VOTING SUPPORT 
Members in need of technical support or with questions about the TA are encouraged to visit a worksite voting location: 

Tuesday, December 16  

  • 11am to 1pm – North County: 1330 W Middlefield Rd, Mountain View – Break Room 
  • 11am to 1pm – South County: 379 Tomkins Ct, Gilroy – Upstairs Break room 
  • 2pm to 4pm – Virtual Election Support – Join session via TEAMS here.   

Wednesday, December 17  

  • 11am to 1pm – 1877 Senter Rd – Break Room 
  • 1pm to 3pm – 1867 Senter Rd – Cafeteria 
  • 3pm to 5pm – 1919 Senter Rd – Break Room 

ELIGIBILITY TO CAST VOTE  

Only full dues-paying members are eligible to vote on the TA ratification. If you are not a current member or are unsure, activate your membership here.

CAN’T LOCATE YOUR ELECTRONIC BALLOT? 

If you cannot locate your ballot on the day of the ratification vote, look into your personal email address spam folder, or search in your email inbox “SEIU” or “Election Buddy”. If you still cannot locate your online ballot, email communications@seiu521.org.