Category: News

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Governor to Sign SB 358 – California Fair Pay Act

SB 358, titled the California Fair Pay Act (CFPA), was introduced by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) on February 25, 2015.  The bill strengthens an existing law that prohibits paying women less than men for performing the same job. The Los Angeles Times called the CFPA "the nation's most aggressive attempt yet to close the salary gap between men and women." The bill was amended several times as it went through the Legislature. After some amendments to address the concerns of employers, even the California Chamber of Commerce dropped its opposition to the bill. On August 31, 2015, SB 358 passed the California Senate unanimously, a…

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“Right to Work” Battle May Be Coming to California

  • News

There was an interesting article in the Sacramento Bee last week about Wisconsin becoming the 25th state to enact “right to work” legislation prohibiting mandatory “agency” or “fair share” fees for employees who choose not to join a union. The reality is that such legislation has no chance of being enacted in California any time soon. However, that doesn’t mean the “right to work” battle is a non-issue in California; to the contrary, I think it will be a significant issue in the coming years because of challenges spawned by the Harris v. Quinn decision.

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PERB Advisory Committee Meeting on March 5, 2015

The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) has announced a meeting of its Advisory Committee for March 5, 2015 at 11 am.  The location will be at the PERB headquarters in Sacramento at 1031 18th Street, First Floor, Room 103, Sacramento, CA. According to the meeting agenda, the Advisory Committee meeting is "an opportunity for the Board, its staff, its constituents and the public to openly discuss the topics outlined below, as well as other topics not listed, relating to PERB’s mission in the administration of the seven collective bargaining statutes over which PERB has jurisdiction."  There is no formal "membership" for the Advisory…

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Take the PERB Constituent Survey

PERB has recently placed on its website a survey for stakeholders. Click here to get to the survey. The survey period runs from February 19 to April 6, 2015.  The survey seeks input on what functions are most important to stakeholders. Among the few specific questions is this one: Would you like to see PERB staff travel to conduct informal settlement conferences and formal hearings at facilities in closer proximity to the parties? Would your opinion change if the time spent by staff traveling reduced the overall time available for processing and investigating charges, drafting warning/dismissal letters and proposed decisions, and lengthen the time…

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Governor Appoints PERB Board Members and General Counsel

Governor Brown has re-appointed Eric Banks to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).  (Click here for the news release)  The Governor has also appointed Mark Gregersen to fill the final seat on the five-member PERB.  In addition, the Governor appointed Felix De La Torre as PERB’s new General Counsel.  Here are the bios of the appointees from the Governor’s new release:

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