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December 9, 2025
On September 30, 2025, the Governor of California signed Assembly Bill 288 into law, expanding the power of its Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to cover private-sector employees currently under the exclusive jurisdiction of its federal counterpart, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Pursuant to AB 288, PERB can, among other things: conduct union elections, process unfair labor practice charges, seek injunctions and penalties, and order employers to bargain with unions representing employees who previously were only subject to the NLRB’s jurisdiction. The law aims to protect workers’ rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining as provided by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), when the NLRB is unable to or declines to act. The law expressly states that it must “be liberally construed to ensure that all workers in California can effectively vindicate their fundamental rights.”
AB 288 is scheduled to be phased in through January 1, 2027. New York recently enacted a similar law. Stay tuned, however, because the NLRB has filed legal actions seeking to enjoin the new laws in California and New York claiming that they “unlawfully usurp[] the NLRB’s authority by attempting to regulate areas explicitly reserved for federal oversight, creating a parallel regulatory framework that conflicts with the NLRA.” Notably, the NLRB has been without a quorum to issue decisions since January 2025 and is facing multiple legal challenges questioning whether its structure is constitutional.
Employers in California should be ready for the potential that PERB will be involved in matters historically handled by the NLRB, and that may create uncertainty with situations of competing state and federal challenges.
The author of this article, Andrew DeLucia, is a member of the Bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.
