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

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Will PERB Gain Jurisdiction Over Uber?

Are Uber drivers employees or independent contractors? And if they are independent contractors, how can they be organized to improve their working conditions? As the economy begins to rely more and more on “gig” workers, unions and employee advocates have been grappling with how to protect these workers and advance their working conditions. Last late year there were several articles discussing the “California 1099 Self-Organizing Act” which would bypass unions altogether and allow independent contractors to “negotiate” directly with companies like Uber. Only recently has the actual bill been introduced in the Legislature.

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PERB: DFR is Quid Pro Quo for Exclusive Representation

Service Employees International Union Local 721 (Oliver) (2015) PERB Decision No. 2462-C (Issued on 11/24/15) This decision was issued back in November but still worth noting. The decision involved an unfair practice charge alleging a violation of the duty of fair representation. Normally, this decision would have been designated non-precedential. However, the Board designated this case precedential because it was the first one recognizing a duty of fair representation under the Trial Court Act. Although nothing in the Trial Court Act imposes a duty of fair representation on the exclusive representative, PERB noted that under the MMBA, such a duty…

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Friedrichs v. CTA: Justice Scalia’s Passing Changes Everything

  • News

By now you've heard that Justice Antonin Scalia passed away on Saturday, February 13. His passing and the vacancy it creates will have a huge impact on American politics, but will have particular impact on the Friedrichs v CTA case pending before the Court. After oral argument on January 11, legal commentators universally predicted that the plaintiffs would prevail and that a majority of the Court would overturn its prior decision in Abood v Detroit Board of Education. However, with the passing of Justice Scalia there is no longer an apparent majority to overturn Abood. Instead, the Court appears likely to…

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NLRB Walmart Decision: A Look at Extraordinary Remedies

In 2014, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) brought a complaint against Walmart for disciplining employees who participated in a set of strikes referred to as the “Ride for Respect.” Walmart asserted that the discipline was lawful because the employees were engaged in “intermittent work stoppages” that are not protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). On January 21, 2016, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who heard the case issued his decision finding that the work stoppages were in fact protected by the NLRA. (Click here for the case docket.) Because the work stoppages were protected, the ALJ found that Walmart violated the NLRA when it disciplined employees for participating in the strikes.

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Orange County Court: Bargaining Records Subject to Public Records Act

There was an interesting court case last week in Orange County (County) on the issue of whether the County’s bargaining records are subject to a California Public Records Act (CPRA) request. Jon Fleischman, publisher of the widely read FlashReport, had requested that the County release all documents regarding its ongoing negotiations with the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (Union).  The request asked for all formal and informal offers and counteroffers, including “supposals,” between the County and the Union.

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