As reported here, Governor Newsom signed AB 113 into law, revising labor union election and appellate bonding provisions enacted by AB 2183. It replaces the labor peace compact and non-labor peace election provisions with a majority support petition process, allowing certain labor organizations to become certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of an employer’s agricultural employees upon submission of petition signatures or authorization cards demonstrating majority support (i.e., card check). Additionally, AB 113 amends the appeal bond requirement, mandating that agricultural employers seeking judicial review of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board’s (ALRB) decision in unfair labor practice cases must post an appeal bond in the amount of the monetary remedy ordered by the Board.  

Draft regulations for implementing these changes have now been published. The draft proposed regulation would create new Labor Code section 20391 for implementing the card check process outlined in AB 113. This process allows certain labor organizations to become certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of an employer’s agricultural employees upon submission of petition signatures or authorization cards demonstrating support from a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit. The proposed regulation purportedly follows the procedures set forth in the statute and incorporates language modeled on the Board’s existing regulations governing the investigation and processing of representation petitions.  

The draft proposed regulations would also restructure the Board’s compliance regulations (current §§ 20290-20293) to implement amendments concerning the specification of a monetary remedy in unfair labor practice proceedings as per AB 113. The subcommittee proposes to repeal and replace these regulations, but is modeled on and borrows from the existing regulatory language.  

The subcommittee will host a public workshop meeting on Friday, June 23, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. to receive input from interested parties, stakeholders, and members of the public regarding the proposed regulations.