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

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An employer endeavoring to avail itself of the MMBA’s emergency defense in section 3504.5, subdivision (b) must meet a high bar: it must not only prove the existence of an actual financial or other emergency, it must also show that the emergency left the employer with no alternative to the action taken and allowed insufficient time for meaningful negotiations before taking action. In emergencies where immediate adoption of a resolution without meeting and conferring is necessary, the statute further requires the employer to provide the exclusive representative “notice and opportunity to meet at the earliest practicable time following the adoption.” (§ 3504.5, subd. (b).) (pp. 41-42.)