{"id":4408,"date":"2025-10-14T18:59:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T18:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/4408\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T18:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T18:59:07","slug":"new-california-law-aims-to-fill-void-in-worker-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/4408\/","title":{"rendered":"New California law aims to fill void in worker protections"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article<\/a> was produced by Capital & Main. It is published here with permission.<\/p>\n

California appears poised\u00a0to become one of the first states in the nation to take over the job of protecting its workers \u2014 a role the Trump administration has essentially abdicated. But the Golden State\u2019s lawyers will probably have to win in court before that process actually begins.<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s signing of\u00a0Assembly Bill 288<\/a>\u00a0in September effectively preempts federal law, allowing California workers and organizers to bring workplace complaints or charges directly to a state-run agency and sidestep the dysfunctional National Labor Relations Board.<\/p>\n

The measure would throw a lifeline to unions and workers currently stymied by what amounts to the dismantling of the NLRB \u2014 but only if it survives a fierce legal challenge, like the one currently playing out in New York over a similar law. Newsom signed the bill knowing that it\u2019s likely to quickly be tied up in court, a reality the bill\u2019s author also freely acknowledges.<\/p>\n

So why bother?<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we in California have decided that we are at least going to try,\u201d said State Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood. \u201cWe will not sit idly by while our workers are being exploited.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKinnor\u2019s measure represents the latest pushback against the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to undermine organized labor and weaken its influence. Put simply, it says that if the National Labor Relations Board isn\u2019t meeting, then California-related labor issues \u2014 including the right to organize or join a union in the first place \u2014 may be brought before a state agency.<\/p>\n

The bill is a direct response to Trump\u2019s\u00a0firing<\/a>\u00a0of one member of the NLRB and his refusal to fill that position; he has designated nominees for the two other vacancies on the five-person board, but the Republican-controlled Senate has not acted. The result is a lack of the three-member quorum necessary to adjudicate even the most routine labor issues.<\/p>\n

The board is thus unable to hear workplace complaints or requests. This seems to suit Trump\u2019s efforts \u2014 despite his\u00a0wooing of unions<\/a>\u00a0in the run-up to the 2024 election \u2014 to shift the power dynamic further in favor of employers, who already hold considerable sway under federal law and past court rulings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the NLRB lacks a quorum, it transforms federal supremacy into federal silence,\u201d McKinnor said in an interview. \u201cThe administration effectively prevented any worker, public or private, from being able to join a union in the foreseeable future. That\u2019s totally un-American.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is totally American\u00a0is the court system, and that\u2019s where McKinnor\u2019s bill is almost certainly headed. After a similar measure passed the New York Legislature, the NLRB\u00a0sued that state<\/a>\u00a0in federal court, claiming that the law \u201cunlawfully usurps\u201d the board\u2019s authority and is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act. McKinnor said she had not read the New York law, but noted that state and California are often national standard-bearers for pro-labor legislation.<\/p>\n

The notion of preemption lies at the heart of all this. The California law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, would permit the state\u2019s Public Employment Relations Board to hear a case when the National Labor Relations Board \u201chas expressly or impliedly ceded jurisdiction.\u201d The measure defines that as occurring if a regional arm of the federal board hasn\u2019t acted on a complaint or election certification for more than six months, or when the NLRB lacks quorum \u2014 as it does right now.<\/p>\n

In other words, if the feds can\u2019t do their jobs, the state will step in. But while the intent of the bill is simple, the law around it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The California measure \u201craises serious constitutional questions,\u201d said Tashayla Billington, a partner at CDF Labor Law, a firm that represents employers on labor and employment issues. The attorney said that the state law ventures into territory that is traditionally reserved for federal oversight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen federal law covers a particular area, it overrides or preempts state law in that same area,\u201d Billington told Capital & Main. \u201cStates generally can\u2019t pass or enforce laws that conflict with federal statutes or intrude into areas Congress intended to regulate exclusively \u2014 like private sector labor relations under the NLRA,\u201d the National Labor Relations Act.<\/p>\n

The powerful California Chamber of Commerce agrees. \u201cWhile we understand (the) uncertainty that is occurring as a result of the current federal administration, AB 288 is plainly preempted by federal law,\u201d Ashley Hoffman, the pro-business group\u2019s senior policy advocate,\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0in the Chamber\u2019s letter opposing the measure. \u201cEven if it were upheld, the consequence would be two different entities interpreting federal law with (California) having the explicit right to disregard NLRB precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, the National Labor Relations Board isn\u2019t doing anything right now, and it hasn\u2019t since Trump\u2019s unprecedented January firing of board member Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat, without citing a cause. Wilcox sued; the case is still in court, with the U.S. Supreme Court having\u00a0allowed Trump\u2019s action<\/a>\u00a0to stand in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Although the new California\u00a0law is designed to give workers and unions a boost, it attracted bipartisan support in the State Assembly, where two of the bill\u2019s co-sponsors were Republicans and it went to the Senate on a 68-2 vote. The Senate tally broke down along party lines in the overwhelmingly Democrat-controlled chamber.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the federal government not only asleep at the wheel but driving into oncoming traffic, it is more important than ever that states stand up to protect workers,\u201d Gov. Newsom said in a\u00a0news release<\/a>\u00a0announcing his signing in late September. \u201cCalifornia is a proud labor state \u2014 and we will continue standing up for the workers that keep our state running and our economy booming.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, the ultimate fate of AB 288 likely will rest with the courts, just as the New York measure does, and that could take months \u2014 or years, depending upon appeals \u2014 to resolve. In the NLRB\u2019s federal lawsuit, the agency argues that the New York law is preempted by federal statute under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. California\u2019s new law is walking that same line.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf upheld, AB 288 could fundamentally reshape the balance of labor-management power in California,\u201d Billington said. \u201cUnions could get a faster and potentially more favorable forum for pursuing unfair labor practice charges or organizing disputes. In practical terms, AB 288 could make California one of the most union-friendly jurisdictions in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the idea, McKinnor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is still a union state,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re still a Democratic state. And we\u2019re holding on strong and fighting for our people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Capital & Main<\/a> is an award-winning nonprofit publication that reports from California on the most pressing economic, environmental and social issues of our time, including economic inequality, climate change, health care, threats to democracy, hate and extremism and immigration.\u200b<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 Capital & Main<\/p>\n

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