Category: PERB News

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PERB Issues 2018-19 Annual Report

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PERB has released its annual report for fiscal year 2018-2019. (The report is available here.)  Here is my annual summary of the statistics in the report:

Unfair Practice Charges

691 unfair practice charges (UPCs) were filed in fiscal year 2018-19. This is almost identical to the 690 UPCs filed in fiscal year 2017-18, and below the 20-year annual average of 754 UPCs.

Interestingly, the number of UPCs under each act was also remarkably similar. The MMBA saw a slight decrease from 296 to 289 UPCs. EERA went from 277 to 279 UPCs. The Dills Act went from 32 to 31 UPCs. HEERA stayed the same at 73 UPCs. The Trial Court Act saw the largest change going from 9 UPCs in 2017-28 to 1 in 2018-19. The Trial Court Interpreter Act stayed the same at 1 UPC. Finally, the Public Employee Communications Chapter went from 2 UPCs to 1 this past fiscal year.

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PERB Moves Forward on Regulatory Packages

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Update on Regulatory Packages

At its meeting on December 12, 2019, PERB’s Board instructed staff to move forward with its EFile regulations. The Board had previously instructed staff to move forward with proposed regulations on the State Mediation and Conciliation Service, continuances, and recusals. Once staff have prepared these regulatory packages they will be sent to the Office of Administrative Law to begin the formal process under the Administrative Procedure Act.

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NLRB Overrules Purple Communications; No Change Expected by PERB

On December 17, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overruled its prior decision in Purple Communications, Inc., 361 NLRB 1050 (2014). In Caesars Entertainment d/b/a/ Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino, 368 NLRB No. 143, the NLRB, according to its press release, "reestablished the right of an employer to restrict employee use of its email system if it does so on a nondiscriminatory basis." Before, under Purple Communications, employees with access to their employer’s email system for work-related purposes had a presumptive right to use that system, on nonworking time, for communications protected by Section 7 of the National Labor…

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PERB Invites Comments on Revised EFile Regulations

PERB has invited public comments on its revised EFile regulations to be considered at its December 12, 2019 meeting. The draft regulatory package can be found here. PERB is asking that stakeholders provide comments in person at its meeting on December 12, 2019, or preferably in writing before that date.

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Governor Signs AB 355: Adds OCTA to PERB Jurisdiction

The Governor has signed AB 355 which adds the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) to PERB's jurisdiction. Last year Governor Brown vetoed AB 2886 which would have added the OCTA and the San Joaquin Regional Transit District to PERB's jurisdiction. In his veto message, Governor Brown noted that PERB's jurisdiction has steadily increased over the years while its funding has not. According to Governor Brown, until PERB is able to handle its workload its jurisdiction should not be further expanded. Now that Governor Newsom has signed AB 355 it will be interesting to see whether other transit agencies will also…

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