Public Employment Relations Board details startup history, early caseload and role handling unfair labor practices

Jess Anna King, executive director and general counsel for the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), presented an overview of the board’s statutory role, history and current operations to the Senate Labor Committee. King described the agency’s origin, early funding and the caseload it has handled since beginning operations with staff and funding in July 2023.

Nut graf: PERB was created to provide a specialized, administrative forum for the investigation and resolution of public-sector unfair labor practices under the Public Employment Labor Relations Act (PELRA, chapter 179 a) and has docketed a significant number of charges since jurisdiction and funding became stable in 2023.

King told the committee that the PERB was first created by statute in 2014 with initial start-up funding and that the agency began receiving charges on July 1, 2020 with limited staffing and support; jurisdiction was later paused and resumed, and the board had jurisdiction and start-up funding as of July 1, 2023. With the full complement of staff operating, King said the agency docketed 63 charges in fiscal year 2024 and had 46 charges to date in fiscal year 2025. King described complainants and respondents as unions, employers and individual employees across Minnesota — firefighters, nurses, educators and other public employees in both large and small units — and listed examples of alleged violations under statute 179 a 13, including refusal to bargain, interference with organizing, discipline for union activity, and refusals to comply with grievance procedures.

King walked through PERB’s investigatory process: the board must review each filed charge to determine whether there is a “reasonable basis in law or fact.” If not, the board votes to dismiss and issues a dismissal order; if there is a reasonable basis, the board issues a complaint, conducts an evidentiary hearing with a hearing officer and then the board issues a decision after reviewing the hearing officer’s recommended decision. King stressed that, unlike some federal models, PERB remains neutral throughout and does not act as a prosecutor; parties bear their own burdens of proof. She noted that many charges resolve during the investigative phase through withdrawal, mediation with PERB staff, or other settlements, reducing the number that go to full hearing and decision.

King described the board composition as a three-member panel with three alternates chosen to ensure neutrality: the governor appoints employee/union and employer/management members and those members select neutral board members. She framed PERB as a specialist, lower-cost pathway than district court for resolving disputes that involve ongoing public-employer relationships. The board also works under a six-month statute of limitations for unfair labor-practice charges under PELRA.

Ending: King said the agency’s work is ongoing and increasing with staffing, and that PERB’s function is to provide specialized and cost-efficient resolution of public-sector labor disputes. She and board member Meg Luger Nikolai stood for questions following the overview.