Court and Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) decisions, commentary on California public sector labor relations

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Taking the Battle to the Courts of Appeal

It's no secret that employers are finding themselves on the losing end of more and more cases at PERB. So it shouldn't be a surprise that there are a record number of PERB cases being challenged in the Courts of Appeal. As of today, there are 17 cases in the Courts of Appeal. I have to believe that this is far and away the most cases PERB has ever had challenged at one time. Historically, a party trying to overturn a PERB decision faces long odds as the Courts of Appeal give PERB a lot of deference as an expert…

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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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PERB To Consider New Forms of “Proof of Support”

PERB has published revised draft regulatory packages in three areas: 1) e-filing, including proof of support; 2) continuances; and 3) the recusal of PERB Board members and staff. The draft regulatory packages can be found here. PERB is requesting that stakeholders provide comments at its meeting on October 10, 2019, or preferably provide comments in advance of the meeting. Of particular interest to stakeholders are the proposed modifications to PERB Regulation 32700 regarding proof of support. Based on the initial draft regulation and the public comments made in response to that draft, it was widely anticipated that PERB would open the door…

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PERB Gains Jurisdiction Over Some Child Care Workers

Governor Newsom has signed AB 378, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, which allows child care workers who care for families that receive child care subsidies from the state to unionize. In a Sacramento Bee article, supporters of AB 378 claim that over 40,000 child care workers will be covered by this new law. AB 378 represents the first expansion of PERB's jurisdiction beyond public employees. Many "perbs" in other states already cover both public employees and some private sector employees excluded by the National Labor Relations Act. PERB now joins these other states. Notably, AB 378 appears designed…

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PERB’s End of Fiscal Year Numbers for 2018-19

Overview: PERB issued 92 decisions PERB’s annual report for fiscal year 2018-19 is not due until October 15, 2019. But for the first time in my memory, PERB has provided a “PERB Fiscal Year in Review 2018-19” on its website. It’s worth a read. However, based on my tracking of PERB cases I have some addition numbers that might be of interest to practitioners. PERB issued a total of 92 decisions this past fiscal year. The prior year PERB issued 61 decisions. That’s an increase of over 50%. In addition, according to PERB’s news release there are only 45 cases pending…

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