The Board staff consists of approximately 75 employees. PERB is headquartered in Sacramento and maintains regional offices in Glendale and Oakland. The major organizational elements of PERB, in addition to the Board itself, are the Office of the General Counsel, the Division of Administrative Law, State Mediation & Conciliation Service, and the Division of Administration.
The Office of the General Counsel includes PERB’s chief legal officer and regional attorneys. The office is responsible for managing the processing of unfair practice charges, and for providing legal representation to PERB in all court proceedings.
The Division of Administrative Law houses PERB’s Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), who serve as impartial judges of the labor disputes which fall under PERB’s jurisdiction. PERB ALJs conduct informal conferences with the parties to unfair practice cases in an effort to settle disputes before proceeding to formal hearing. If no settlement is reached, PERB ALJs conduct adjudicative proceedings complete with the presentation of evidence and examination of witnesses under oath. The ALJs then issue proposed decisions consisting of written findings of fact and legal conclusions.
The State Mediation and Conciliation Service was established in 1947 to promote harmonious labor/management relations in California and became a Division of PERB on July 1, 2012. Skilled, impartial SMCS staff mediate labor disputes between employers and employee organizations and conduct consent elections free of charge. In addition, SMCS provides lists of arbitrators, workplace conflict resolution mediation, and Interest-Based Bargaining training/facilitation services, as well as conducting certain kinds of elections on a cost reimbursement basis.
The Division of Administration provides administrative and support services to PERB, such as facilitating and managing the budget, human resources management, business services, procurement and contracting, fiscal accountability, information technology infrastructure, and travel accounts and reimbursements. This section also maintains liaison with the Legislature, the Department of Finance and other agencies within State government.