When Agency Heads Must Speak Up: PERB’s New Video Notice Remedy

 

If you’re a public safety employee in California, you know your job comes with high stakes and unique workplace challenges. You also have rights under state labor laws, enforced by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). In two recent cases involving school districts, PERB ordered an unusual remedy: the districts’ top officials must read a notice out loud, record it on video, and share it with employees. While these cases involve schools, they set a precedent that also applies under the MMBA, Dills Act, etc. This post explains why PERB ordered this extraordinary remedy, and what it means for your workplace rights.

Background

In these cases, PERB found that two school districts violated the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA), a law that protects public employees’ rights to organize and speak out.

• Clovis Unified School District (PERB Decision No. 2904, October 2024): Clovis Unified illegally propped up an employee group called the Clovis Unified Faculty Senate, giving it money, special access, and preferential treatment over a competing union, the Association of Clovis Educators (ACE). This created a “company union” that wasn’t truly independent, undermining employees’ freedom to choose their representation.
• Hacienda La Puente Unified School District (PERB Decision No. 2930, November 2024): The district retaliated against Margarita Caldera, a union leader who spoke out about workplace safety and contract issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. They investigated her, accused her of breaking their “civility policy,” and ordered her to stay quiet, scaring her so much she stepped down as union president.

These violations aren’t unique to schools. Peace officers, firefighters, and public attorneys often face similar issues: management favoring one union, punishing union leaders for speaking out, or interfering with your right to organize. PERB’s new remedy of a spoken notice read aloud and recorded sends a strong message to management.

What’s a Spoken Notice, and Why Video?

Normally, PERB orders employers to post a written notice, like on a break room bulletin board, promising to follow labor laws. But in these cases, PERB upped the ante:

• Clovis Unified: The superintendent must read PERB’s notice aloud on video, and the video must be shown at staff meetings across all 50+ schools during the school year, ensuring everyone hears it.
• Hacienda La Puente: The superintendent must read the notice aloud at meetings with employees in Caldera’s bargaining unit, designed to reach as many workers as possible. A union representative can attend to ensure it’s done properly. While not explicitly requiring a video, the formal reading is meant to maximize impact.

Why did PERB order the top boss to read it aloud and record it? A written notice can be ignored in a busy workplace like a police station, firehouse, or the courthouse. Hearing your agency’s leader admit they broke the law, in their own voice, is harder to miss. This remedy:

• Shows Accountability: When the head of your agency reads the notice, it proves they’re taking the violation seriously and committing to change.
• Reaches Everyone: Your work is often spread across precincts, stations, or offices. Videos or live readings ensure the message gets to you, whether you’re on shift or in a meeting.
• Restores Confidence: If you’ve felt pressured to avoid a union or silenced for raising concerns, this public act reassures you that your rights are protected.

Why These Cases Matter to You

The violations in these cases hit close to home for public safety employees. In Clovis, the district controlled the Faculty Senate with money and influence, making it hard for employees to pick a union that truly represented them. Imagine your agency retaliating against your representatives for demanding better safety gear, less mandatory overtime, or fair disciplinary investigations. In Hacienda La Puente, Caldera was punished for raising safety issues, which scared others from speaking up. If you’re calling out unsafe equipment, unfair promotions, or contract violations, your agency can’t retaliate to silence you.

PERB ordered spoken notices because these violations were serious and widespread. Clovis Unified has a history of favoring one group, going back to 1984. Hacienda La Puente’s actions chilled free speech across the workplace. This remedy signals that PERB won’t let agencies undermine your rights to engage in concerted action, whether it’s understaffing, excessive overtime, or budget cuts.

What’s Next?

In Clovis, the district must record the superintendent reading the notice within 60 days of the decision being final (no more appeals) and show the video at staff meetings. In Hacienda La Puente, the superintendent must read the notice at employee meetings within 60 days or at the semester’s start, if the union prefers. Both districts also have to post written notices and take other steps, like stopping illegal actions and clearing Caldera’s disciplinary records.

These spoken notices are a wake-up call and a reminder that PERB has your back. When labor organization file unfair practice charges, they should consider requesting recorded readings of the notice. PERB can’t award remedies that the union does not request.