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

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“Sunshine” Notice Sufficient to Trigger Statute of Limitations

Standard School District (2012) PERB Decision No. 2273-E (Issued on 6/22/12) This case involves a challenge to the sufficiency of a sunshine notice.  Pursuant to EERA Section 3547, the school district (district) sunshined its bargaining proposals on September 14, 2010.  No public comments were received.  The district and union then began bargaining which eventually broke down in July 2011.  Also in July 2011, numerous community members filed the present unfair practice charge alleging that the sunshine notice in September 2010 was defective. The Board agent dismissed the charge as untimely and the Board affirmed.  In its decision, the Board noted…

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Trying to Define a Technical Refusal to Bargain

County of Ventura (2012) PERB Decision No. 2272-M (Issued on 6/14/12) This case involves a highly convoluted set of facts.  But here are the key ones for our purposes.  The Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD) filed a petition to represent physicians working at outpatient clinics operating under contract with the County of Ventura (County).  The County refused to process the petition on the ground that it was not the employer of the physicians; rather, the County asserted the physicians were employed by the clinic operators.  That spawned an unfair practice charge by UAPD which resulted in County of…

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PERB: Can’t Bargain to Dock Pay to Recover Overpayments

Berkeley Unified School District (2012) PERB Decision No. 2268-E (Issued on 5/29/12) This case involves a proposal by a school district to recoup erroneous overpayments in salary by withholding from an employee’s wages the amount of the overpayment over the same period of time the error occurred. The union refused to bargain over the proposal as a non-mandatory subject of bargaining. The district insisted and eventually declared impasse. The union then brought this unfair practice charge alleging that the district committed an unfair practice by insisting to impasse on a non-mandatory subject of bargaining. The ALJ ruled in favor of the union.  In…

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Supreme Court Questions Legality of Agency Shop Provisions

Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 (U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 10-1121) (Issued on 6/21/12) This is a fascinating case from the U.S. Supreme Court.  It begins in 2005 when Governor Schwarzenegger called for a special election to consider Propositions 75 and 76.  Prop 75 would have required unions to obtain employees’ affirmative consent before charging them fees to be used for political purposes.  Prop 76 would have given the Governor unilateral authority to reduce appropriations, including appropriations for employee compensation, after a declaration of a fiscal emergency. Not surprisingly, unions throughout California banded together to fight these…

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Court Allows Challenge of San Diego Pension Measure to Proceed Before PERB

San Diego Municipal Employees Association v. Superior Court (Court of Appeal Case No. D061724) (Issued 6/19/12) On June 5, voters in the City of San Diego (City) overwhelmingly approved Proposition B, a citizen-initiated pension reform measure.  Proposition B will place most new city employees into a 401(k) program instead of a traditional defined benefit plan.  Among other changes, the measure also provides for a five-year freeze on the amount of salary used for pension calculations. Not surprisingly, employee unions vehemently opposed Proposition B.  Led by the San Diego Municipal Employees Association (MEA), the unions launched a pre-election challenge to the…

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