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

<!-- Decorative image -->

Weingarten Rights: Not Just For Interviews Anymore

Shutterstock 565490518 State of California (Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation) (2018) PERB Decision No. 2598-S (Issued on 11/26/18); San Bernardino Community College District (2018) PERB Decision No. 2599-E (Issued on 12/5/18); County of San Joaquin (Sheriff’s Department) (2018) PERB Decision No. 2619-M (Issued on 12/28/18)

In a trio of decisions, PERB has continued to expand the areas in which an employee is entitled to a union (Weingarten) representative. 

Read More
<!-- Decorative image -->

PERB Addresses “Public Hearing” Requirement Under MMBA

City of Yuba City (2018) PERB Decision No. 2603-M (Issued on 12/12/18)Shutterstock 254582680

Under the MMBA, an employer must hold a “public hearing” regarding the impasse between the parties before it may implement its last, best, and final offer (LBFO). (Gov. Code § 3505.7) In this case the union argued that the employer failed to comply with this requirement because the city council agenda item was listed as “Local 1 Imposition”  rather than as a public hearing regarding the impasse between the parties. The Board rejected the union’s arguments.

Read More
<!-- Decorative image -->
<!-- Decorative image -->

Cal Fire Oral Argument Highlights

Shutterstock 254582680 Cal Fire Local 2881 et al. v. California Public Employees’ Retirement System et al. (State of California), S239958

The California Supreme Court held oral arguments in the Cal Fire case this morning.  Cal Fire is an “anti-spiking” pension case. The specific issue is whether the State properly eliminated the option to purchase “air-time” as part of PEPRA. Here is an initial quick summary:

Read More
<!-- Decorative image -->

PERB Issues 2017-18 Annual Report

Perb Annual Report Cover 2017 18 PERB has released its annual report for fiscal year 2017-2018. (The report is available here.)  Here is my annual summary of the statistics in the report:

Unfair Practice Charges
690 unfair practice charges (UPCs) were filed in fiscal year 2017-18. In fiscal year 2016-2017, there were 672 UPCs. This means fiscal year 2017-18 saw a 2.7% increase in UPCs compared to the prior year. The change in the number of UPCs varied by statute. The MMBA saw a 13.4% increase (from 261 to 296). The Dills Act saw a 46.7% decrease (from 60 to 32). EERA saw a 15.4% increase (from 240 to 277).  HEERA saw a 9.9% decrease (from 81 to 73). The Trial Court Act saw a decrease from 15 UPCs the prior year to 9, while the Interpreter Act remained the same at 1 UPC. Finally, there were 2 UPCs filed under the new Public Employee Communications Chapter.

Read More