Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority: employee relations.

The California Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement has put forward legislation establishing new judicial review procedures for labor disputes involving the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). The measure creates pathways for parties to challenge decisions by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in unfair practice cases through the courts.

Under the proposed framework, charging parties, respondents, or intervenors may petition for extraordinary relief from PERB rulings in the district court of appeal where the VTA operates, provided they file within 30 days of the final decision. The courts would have authority to grant temporary relief, issue restraining orders, and modify or set aside PERB determinations, while treating the board's factual findings as conclusive when supported by substantial evidence. For cases where the petition period expires without challenge, PERB could pursue enforcement through the courts and must respond within 10 days to inquiries about non-enforcement.

The bill's findings cite the VTA's unique circumstances in adjudicating labor complaints as justification for these specialized procedures. The measure maintains PERB's primary role in addressing unfair practice charges while adding defined parameters for judicial oversight and enforcement mechanisms. Courts reviewing enforcement actions would examine procedural compliance rather than revisiting the substantive merits of PERB's original determinations.