A federal judge just temporarily blocked California from extending its labor board’s authority into private-sector labor disputes traditionally handled by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The December 26 decision blocks key portions of a 2025 California law designed to allow state intervention when the federal labor agency is stalled or inactive. For employers operating in California, especially those facing organizing activity or unfair labor practice (ULP) exposure, the ruling provides clear notice that the NLRB continues to control private-sector labor relations within California (and by extension, other states) in the vast majority of circumstances. How will this ruling reverberate across the country into other states vying to insert themselves into the labor law scene? Read on for a summary and a practical gameplan to approach the coming months.
What Happened?
California lawmakers enacted AB 288in response to an extended power vacuum at the NLRB, including a lack of quorum (that has since been resolved). The law sought to give power to the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) (historically limited to public-sector disputes) to take jurisdiction over private-sector labor disputes if the NLRB:
On December 26, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California largely granted the NLRB’s request for a preliminary injunction...
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