The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act is the California statute that governs labor relations between local public agencies and their employees. Enacted in 1968 and codified at Government Code sections 3500 through 3511, it gives city, county, and special district workers the right to form and join employee organizations, and it requires their employers to meet and confer in good faith over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 3500-3511 – Local Public Employee Organizations The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) enforces it.
Who the Act Covers
The MMBA reaches broadly into local government. Section 3501 defines “public agency” to include every governmental subdivision, district, public and quasi-public corporation, town, city, county, and municipal corporation in California, whether incorporated or chartered.2California Legislative Information. California Government Code 3501 – Local Public Employee Organizations Special districts and public service corporations are pulled in alongside the more obvious city and county governments.
Three groups of public workers are not covered. State employees fall under the Ralph C. Dills Act. K-12 school district employees and community college employees fall under the Educational Employment Relations Act.3Public Employment Relations Board. Laws – California Public Employment Relations Board Section 3501 also expressly excludes school districts, county boards of education, and county superintendents of schools from the MMBA’s definition of “public agency.”2California Legislative Information. California Government Code 3501 – Local Public Employee Organizations
Unlike federal labor law, the MMBA does not automatically exclude supervisors or managers. Local agencies often place them in separate bargaining units, but they retain rights under the Act. The only categorical exclusions are elected officials and gubernatorial appointees. A “confidential” designation, which does affect coverage, requires actual access to non-public labor relations information such as bargaining strategy or grievance processing; handling sensitive financial or personnel data alone is not enough.4California Public Employment Relations Board. 200.02000 – Managerial and Confidential
Peace officers get their own rule. Under section 3508, a local agency’s governing body may, after a public hearing, restrict certain law enforcement employees from organizing if it finds the restriction serves the public interest. It cannot, however, bar full-time peace officers from joining an employee organization that is made up solely of peace officers, is focused only on wages, hours, working conditions, and professional development, and is not controlled by any outside organization.
What Rights Employees Have
Every covered employee has the right to form, join, and participate in employee organizations of their own choosing for representation on employment matters.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 3500-3511 – Local Public Employee Organizations They also have the right to refuse. No one can be forced into membership or punished for declining it.
Employees may represent themselves individually in dealings with the agency. You do not have to go through a union to raise a workplace concern, though what you can negotiate on your own is narrower than what a recognized organization can bargain for the whole unit.
The Act protects those who serve as union representatives from retaliation. No public employee can face discipline, denial of promotion, or threats for acting as an elected, appointed, or recognized representative of a bargaining unit.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 3500-3511 – Local Public Employee Organizations
The Duty to Meet and Confer in Good Faith
Once an employee organization is recognized, the agency’s governing body, or its designated representatives, must meet and confer in good faith with that organization about wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.5California Legislative Information. California Government Code 3505 – Local Public Employee Organizations Good faith means meeting promptly when either side asks, continuing to talk for a reasonable period, freely exchanging information and proposals, and genuinely trying to reach agreement. Going through the motions is not enough. The agency must also fully consider the organization’s presentations before setting policy.
The scope of bargaining covers matters relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations. Health benefits, work schedules, and safety policies all sit inside it.6California Public Employment Relations Board. 1000.01000 – In General; Test for Subjects Not Specifically Enumerated The scope does not include the merits, necessity, or organization of any service or activity the agency provides by law or executive order. An agency can decide on its own to launch a new program or restructure a department. But when that decision changes employee hours, workload, or safety conditions, the agency must bargain over those effects. The line between the decision and its impact drives many disputes.
When the two sides reach agreement, they prepare a written Memorandum of Understanding. The MOU does not bind anyone the moment negotiators sign it. It takes effect only when the agency’s governing body, usually a city council or board of supervisors, formally approves it. Until then it is a recommendation, which is how elected officials keep the final say over committing public funds.
When Bargaining Stalls
Not every negotiation ends in a deal. When the parties genuinely deadlock, the MMBA provides two steps.
Mediation
Either side can ask the State Mediation and Conciliation Service, which operates under PERB, to assign a mediator.7California Public Employment Relations Board. Mediation The request identifies both parties and the type of mediation needed. The parties can also agree together to request a specific mediator. A mediator facilitates but cannot impose a settlement.
Fact-Finding
If mediation does not resolve the impasse, an employee organization can ask PERB to appoint a fact-finding panel. The request must be filed no sooner than 30 days and no more than 45 days after impasse is declared.8California Public Employment Relations Board. 900.04000 – During Impasse The panel investigates, holds hearings, and issues advisory findings and recommendations. Those findings are not binding, but they are public, and that visibility often pressures both sides toward a resolution.
The Right to Strike
California courts recognize a limited right to strike for employees covered by the MMBA. In its 1985 County Sanitation District No. 2 decision, the California Supreme Court held that a public sector strike is not illegal unless it poses a substantial and imminent threat to public health and safety. PERB has since treated the right to strike as protected activity under the MMBA.
The practical consequences follow from that. An employer cannot lawfully discipline employees for participating in a lawful strike, and organizing and preparation activities are also protected. PERB has held that an employer cannot impose a no-strike clause on employees, even after bargaining to a genuine impasse; if the employer makes a last, best, and final offer, any no-strike provision has to come out. A union’s decision to support a strike does not by itself breach the duty to bargain in good faith, as long as the conduct is otherwise lawful.
Unfair Practices
The MMBA sets rules against unfair practices by both sides, and PERB enforces them.
Under Government Code section 3506.5, a public agency cannot interfere with employees exercising the right to organize. That includes threatening workers for union activity, discriminating based on membership or participation, and refusing to meet and confer in good faith.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 3500-3511 – Local Public Employee Organizations PERB has found violations where employers demanded that employees reveal who called a union meeting, removed employees from their positions for refusing to disclose union strategy, or issued cease-and-desist orders against employees conducting union investigations.9Public Employment Relations Board. 402.03000 – Union Activities or Membership
Employee organizations have their own obligations. They must fairly represent every worker in the bargaining unit, not just dues-paying members. Refusing to process a grievance because an employee criticized union leadership or declined to join violates the duty of fair representation. Organizations also cannot walk away from the meet-and-confer process once it has been properly initiated, or coerce employees into joining.
Filing an Unfair Practice Charge With PERB
If you believe an employer or an employee organization committed an unfair practice, you file a charge with PERB. The deadline is strict: six months from the conduct you are challenging.10California Public Employment Relations Board. The Unfair Practice Charge Process – An Overview Miss it and PERB will not consider the charge, no matter how strong the underlying facts.
The charge form is available on PERB’s website.11California Public Employment Relations Board. How to File an Unfair Practice Charge It has to include:
- Full legal name, address, and telephone number for both the charging party and the party accused of the violation.
- The specific sections of the MMBA or PERB regulations you believe were violated.
- A clear factual account of the conduct, with dates, names, and places, rather than legal conclusions.
Attach supporting evidence, such as emails, meeting minutes, or written correspondence, and organize it to back each factual claim.12Public Employment Relations Board. Unfair Practice Charge Form
Filing goes through PERB’s electronic portal, ePERB. Individuals who are not represented by an attorney may also file in person, by U.S. mail, or through a delivery service. PERB no longer accepts filings by fax or email. You are responsible for serving the other party, which you can do by U.S. mail, delivery service, or personal delivery. Email service is allowed only if the other party has consented to it.13California Public Employment Relations Board. Updated Filing Regulations – Q&A Improper service can get your charge dismissed.