California’s state labor board can’t assert authority for now over private-sector union disputes that traditionally fall under federal jurisdiction, a court ruled in blocking enforcement of a new state law.
Key parts of the measure (AB 288) are likely preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, the US District Court for the Eastern District of California found Dec. 26 in largely granting an injunction to the federal labor board.
California lawmakers, like their counterparts in New York, enacted a statute to claim broader state jurisdiction in response to a lack of a quorum at the National Labor Relations Board that they said weakened the board’s effectiveness. The NLRB is on the verge of restoring quorum after the US Senate confirmed two members on Dec. 18.
The NLRB sued to challenge each state’s law in separate cases, while Amazon.com Services also separately challenged the New York law. Amazon won an injunction to pause enforcement of New York’s law in November.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters won court approval to intervene in defense of the California law. The Teamsters-affiliated Amazon Labor Union also is stepping in to defend the New York law.
The California Public Employment Relations Board historically has adjudicated labor disputes involving state and local government employees, while the NLRB handles any private-sector disputes involving employers that conduct interstate commerce.
The new California law attempts to give the state board jurisdiction over those private-sector matters in certain instances where the NLRB fails to respond or delays action.
Judge Troy Nunley wrote in his Dec. 26 opinion that he acknowledges “the harm to workers from being unable to assert their labor rights and access the NLRA’s protections is significant.” But on balance he said he “cannot justify the risk of conflicting jurisdiction” that emerged with the NLRA in many, though not all, of AB 288’s provisions.
The case is Nat’l Labor Relations Bd. v. State of Calif., E.D. Cal., No. 2:25-cv-02979, preliminary injunction 12/26/25
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