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

The Governor signed AB 1181 on September 9, 2013.  AB 1181 amends the MMBA to require employers to give paid time-off to a reasonable number of employees for the following: Formally meeting and conferring with representatives of the public agency on matters within the scope of representation. Testifying or appearing as the designated representative of the employee organization in conferences, hearings, or other proceedings before the board, or an agent thereof, in matters relating to a charge filed by the employee organization against the public agency or by the public agency against the employee organization. Testifying or appearing as the designated representative…

The last day for the Legislature to pass bills this year is September 13.  So it's going to be a busy week.  Here's an update on bills affecting public sector labor relations: AB 537:  Makes various changes to the MMBA, including: a) prohibiting ground rules that limit the ability of union negotiators to communicate directly with the employer’s governing body; b) requiring tentative agreement to be approved by the governing body within 30 days of presentation; and c) makes contractual arbitration subject to the California Arbitration Act.  Still in the Senate. AB 616:  Amends MMBA to require PERB to certify that an impasse exists…

AB 537 was placed on the Appropriations Committee's suspense file on August 19, 2013.  However, on the last day to pass Appropriations, AB 537 made it out of committee with amendments designed to eliminate its fiscal impact.  Specifically, the following provisions were removed from AB 537: The requirement for mandatory mediation; The requirement that local rules be adopted only after “meeting and conferring” as opposed to “consultation.” However, the following significant changes to the MMBA remain in AB 537: Employers are prohibited from proposing a negotiating ground rule that limits the ability of union negotiators to communicate directly with the employer’s…