SB 270 was introduced by Senator Durazo on January 28, 2021. Senator Durazo introduced a nearly identical bill, SB 1173, in the last legislative session. SB 1173 initially passed the Senate, and then passed the Assembly with amendments. However, the Senate was unable to concur in the Assembly amendments before the legislative session ended. The language of SB 1173 is now in SB 270.
AB 237 was introduced on January 13, 2021, by Assembly Member Gray. This bill would create a new chapter in the Government Code, the “Public Employee Health Protection Act.” AB 237 would require an employer to continue paying its portion of an employee’s health insurance premium during the pendency of any strike. According to the language of the bill, “It is a matter of statewide concern that access to health and other medical care continue and that employers not suspend coverage or their contributions towards premiums for workers or their dependent family members during a strike.”
The Office of Administrative Law has approved PERB’s proposed regulations that will allow for the electronic filing and service of case-related documents and to allow for the electronic signature of union authorization cards. The new regulations become effective on February 15, 2021, and the text of the regulations can be found here.
According to PERB, notable changes in the regulations include:
On January 22, 2021, Governor Newsom reappointed Member Ari Krantz to the Board of PERB. Member Krantz' term had expired at the end of 2020. Presumably, Member Krantz was reappointed for a full 5-year term. Member Krantz' reappointment will require Senate confirmation. In addition, Governor Newsom also designated Member Eric Banks as the new Chair of PERB. PERB has not had an official Chair since Mark Gregersen left the Board in June 2018. The Chair position is designated by the Governor and does not require Senate Confirmation. [Note: A prior version of this post incorrectly stated that PERB has not…
PERB has released its annual report for fiscal year 2019-2020. (The report is available here.) Here is my annual summary of the statistics in the report:
Unfair Practice Charges
547 unfair practice charges (UPCs) were filed in fiscal year 2019-20. This is a 20.8% decrease from the 691 UPCs filed in fiscal year 2018-19. In terms of the break-down by Act, the MMBA decreased from 289 to 223 UPCs. EERA decreased from 279 to 192 UPCs. The Dills Act increased from 31 to 43 UPCs. HEERA decreased 73 to 68 UPCs. The Trial Court Act increased from 1 to 8 UPCs. The Trial Court Interpreter Act also increased from 1 to 8 UPCs. There was 1 UPC filed under the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Employer-Employee Relations Act, and 3 UPCS designated non-jurisdictional.