AB 288, enacted by the California Legislature in September (which CDF reported on in September and October of this year), mirrors a similar New York law and authorizes California’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to enforce provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in the private sector when the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declines or is unable to act.
More specifically, AB 288 encourages and empowers private-sector unions and employees to take their disputes to PERB if the NLRB fails to act within statutory timeframes. Under AB 288, when the NLRB does not have a quorum or is otherwise not functioning, workers could petition PERB to:
In short, the bill attempts to create a parallel state enforcement process for rights already guaranteed under the federal NLRA.
Shortly after enactment of AB 288, the NLRB filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of California seeking to enjoin enforcement of the statute on the grounds that it is preempted by the NLRA pursuant to the Garmon preemption doctrine. On Friday, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District, Judge Troy L. Nunley, ruled...
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