Category: California PERB Blog

Trustees of the California State University (San Marcos) (2009) PERB Dec. No. 2070-H (Issued on 10/15/09) This case involved an appeal from a dismissal. The unfair practice charge alleged that the California State University (San Marcos) (“CSU”) violated the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act (HEERA) by: (1) unilaterally transferring bargaining unit work to non-unit employees; and (2) retaliating against an employee for using union representation in a dispute over his work assignments. The Board agent dismissed both allegations for failure to state a prima facie case. The Board affirmed the dismissal of the allegation that CSU unlawfully transferred bargaining unit…

On September 23, 2009, PERB sought and received a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the superior court prohibiting certain health and safety employees in the City of Palo Alto from engaging in a strike called by SEIU Local 521. That TRO applied to public safety dispatchers, water quality control operators, mechanics, and electrical workers, among other employee classifications. On October 15, 2009, the court issued a preliminary injunction, extending the injunction set forth in the TRO indefinitely. In the preliminary injunction, the court specifically found that:“1. Plaintiff has established the probable validity of its claims and the probability that there…

Last week the Governor signed over two hundred bills and vetoed at least that many. Over the next few weeks, I’m sure we will all be receiving various bulletins describing the major new labor and employment laws in California.  So instead of duplicating that effort, I decided to highlight 10 obscure new laws that affect public sector employment in California.  Have fun reading.1.  AB 32 (D-Lieu) - Public officials: Personal Information.Allows an elected or appointed official, or his or her employer, to obtain an injunction against any person or entity that publicly posts on the Internet the home address or telephone number…

Back in May, I wrote about SB 656 (DeSaulnier) which sought to remove from PERB’s jurisdiction any bargaining unit comprised of a majority of peace officers as defined by Penal Code section 830.1. (830.1 officers.).  I was partly ambivalent on the bill but opposed to it on the principle that it’s bad public policy to have certain employees covered by PERB and not others.  I’m pleased to report that the Governor has vetoed SB 656 for the same reasons. Here is the Governor’s veto message:“To the Members of the California State Senate:I am returning Senate Bill 656 without my signature.While…

San Bernardino County Public Defender (2009) PERB Decision No. 2058-M (Issued on 9/03/09)This was a fairly typical Weingarten case. In order to establish a violation of the right to union representation, the charging party must demonstrate that: 1) the employee requested representation; 2) for an investigatory meeting; 3) which the employee reasonably believed might result in disciplinary action; and (4) the employer denied the request. Here, the employee alleged that she was forced to attend an investigatory interview where she was denied union representation. The employer’s main defense was that the meeting was not investigatory in nature.In the proposed decision,…