EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; DEFENSES – Business Necessity; Emergency Exception

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“[N]either exigent circumstances nor a business necessity completely absolves an employer of its duty to notify and bargain.” (Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers’ Assn. v. County of Santa Clara (2014) 224 Cal.App.4th 1016, 1032.) In a bona fide emergency, the employer need not await impasse before taking steps urgently needed to mitigate the emergency, but then the employer must continue bargaining to the extent practicable. Because an emergency is not a static event, changes taken in good faith reliance on a necessity defense should be limited to the timeframe that the emergency requires, and there remains an obligation to bargain in good faith as time allows. (p. 56.)