Category: California PERB Blog

Fresno County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority (2015) PERB Decision No. 2418-M (Issued on 03/30/15)

This case involves bargaining that occurred during the recession in 2009 and 2010. Like many employers during that time period, the employer in this case proposed concessions.  The union refused to agree to them.  The employer then declared impasse and imposed its last, best, and final offer (LBFO). The union then filed an unfair practice charge alleging that: 1) the employer engaged in bad faith bargaining leading up to impasse; and 2) the employer unlawful imposed a no-strike provision as part of its LBFO. After a hearing, the administrative law judge (ALJ) issued a proposed decision dismissing the charge in its entirety. The union then filed exceptions with the Board.

I’m often asked what I think are today’s “hot” issues involving PERB and public sector labor relations.  I think one of the hottest issues today involves email.  Specifically, whether a union has a statutory right to send union communications to its members via an employer’s email system.  Under current PERB precedent, the answer is no, there is no statutory right although an employer cannot discriminate against union communications if it allows other non-business communications to be distributed via its email system.  However, there could be challenges to this rule in the near future.

County of Riverside v. PERB (SEIU Local 721) (Riverside County Superior Court Case No. RIC 1305661) The scope of factfinding under the MMBA has been hotly contested since AB 646 took effect on January 1, 2012.  Employers have asserted that factfinding should only apply to disputes arising from contract negotiations, and not, for example, to disputes over effects bargaining.  PERB, on the other hand, has consistently taken the position that factfinding is not limited to contract negotiations but applies to all disputes arising from mandatory bargaining.  One of the first challenges to PERB’s position was by the San Diego Housing…

The Labor and Employment Relations Association of Northern California (LERANC), formerly called the Industrial Relations Association of Northern California (IRANC), will be holding a luncheon on "What Advocates Need to Know About the Arbitrator’s Code of Ethics" on August 27, 2013. Speaking on the panel will be three top-notch labor law practitioners: Catherine Harris, Esq., Arbitrator/Mediator Jason Jasmine, Carroll, Burdick & McDonough Bruce Sarchet, Littler Mendelson. Here are the details: Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 Time: 11:30 A.M. Registration & Networking; Noon – Lunch & Speaker; 1:00 P.M. Adjourn Location: Firehouse Restaurant, Golden Eagle Room, 1112 Second Street, Old Sacramento, CA 95814…

AB 1655—titled the "Public Employees Bill of Rights Act"—was introduced by Assemblymember Dickinson on February 14, 2012. The bill purports to change from three years to one year the statute of limitation to take disciplinary action against a state employee. The bill also provides state employees a variety of other protections such as priority over outside contractors and non-union state workers to fill permanent, overtime and on-call positions. The bill is sponsored by SEIU Local 1000 and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. AB 1655 immediately received a lot of press as an example of overreaching by public employees…