On January 31, 2025, the California Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB” or “Board”) held in Trustees of the California State University (Stanislaus) (2025) PERB Dec. No. 2940-H that recognized unions cannot obtain confidential peace officer personnel records through a traditional request for information (“RFI”), but instead only through the Pitchess process.[1] PERB’s ruling signals a rare limitation on the otherwise-broad right of unions to obtain information from employers pursuant to their statutory representational duties. While the Board has found statutory labor law to apply unconstrained by the parallel provisions in other sources of state law (such as the CPRA), the clear and “unique” Pitchess statutory scheme required the Board to place limits on union’s RFI rights.
In this case, a police dispatcher filed a complaint against a university police officer, alleging harassment, disparate treatment, and hostile work environment. The dispatcher was notified that the allegations were not sustained. The dispatcher’s union requested a copy of the investigation, asserting it had a right to access the materials to represent its member. The University refused to produce the report or otherwise discuss potential redactions, citing the confidentiality provisions set forth Penal Code section 832.7. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the University.
PERB began by citing the general standard applicable to disputes involving labor requests for...
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