An ambitious state law designed to step in when the US labour watchdog stalls has been swiftly challenged by the Trump administration, setting up a high-stakes clash over federal supremacy in workplace regulation.
California’s attempt to give itself a greater hand in regulating private-sector workplaces has been thrown into legal uncertainty after the Trump administration moved to block a new state law that would allow state officials to step into territory long dominated by federal labour regulators. The dispute, which has been unfolding since autumn 2025, centres on whether a state can lawfully intervene when a federal agency is unable to act – or whether such efforts trespass impermissibly on Congress’s chosen regulatory scheme.
The controversy stems from Assembly Bill 288, which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on 30 September 2025. The legislation was explicitly framed as a response to dysfunction at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal body charged with enforcing workers’ rights to organise and bargain collectively. At the time, the NLRB was struggling to operate after losing the quorum of members required to decide cases, leaving union elections and unfair labour practice complaints unresolved for months.
AB 288 sought to address that impasse by expanding the powers of the California Public Employment Relations Board, or PERB. Traditionally responsible for public-sector labour disputes, PERB would, under the new law, be permitted to...
Senior Counsel Anthony Astaphan is supporting Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s decision to pursue legal action against a US-based law firm, opposition members, and several media outlets. Earlier thi...