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Agricultural Labor Relations Board requests 7 positions, $1.9 million to implement AB 113
Summary
The Agricultural Labor Relations Board requested seven new positions and roughly $1.9 million from the Labor and Workforce Development Fund to implement changes under Assembly Bill 113 (2023); lawmakers expressed both support for farmworkers' rights and concern about the new program costs and practical challenges for undocumented workers.
Julia Montgomery, general counsel for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB), told the Senate subcommittee that AB 113, the 2023 law revising agricultural labor elections and adding appellate-bond and civil penalty provisions, creates substantial new, time-sensitive duties for the board and requires additional staff and reclassifications.
Montgomery described AB 113's operational requirements: the ALRB must investigate unfair labor practices and objections and determine majority-support petitions within five calendar days; hold hearings on majority-support petition challenges within 14 calendar days of filing; calculate appellate-bond amounts employers must post before appealing certain orders; and calculate and enforce civil penalties, a new authority under the law. To meet those timelines the ALRB asked for seven new positions and the reclassification of three attorney positions, and requested approximately $1.9 million from the Labor and Workforce Development Fund.
Rasha Salama (chief administrative services division) and Julia Montgomery said most of the requested positions would sit in the general counsel's office (investigations and elections) and the board office that supports the five appointed board members.
Chaz Alamo of the Legislative Analyst's Office said his office had "no concerns with this proposal." Several senators expressed support for ensuring the board had the capacity to implement the law; one asked explicitly whether the seven positions would be enough for what she described as a temporary (sunsetted) program. Montgomery said the request was based on current observed workloads and that the board hoped it would be sufficient but could not predict future case volume with certainty.
A series of policy comments came from committee members during the discussion: one senator said the measure effectively implements a form of "card check" and criticized the fiscal cost; another defended the change, saying farmworkers need access to collective bargaining and that board resources are the right investment to enable those rights. A senator also raised concerns about the interaction between AB 113 implementation and heightened immigration anxieties among farmworkers, asking whether fear of deportation could suppress use of the new processes; Montgomery acknowledged that this fear is an additional implementation challenge.
The ALRB offered to provide the subcommittee with any further details the committee wanted; the LAO did not oppose funding the request. The ALRB noted AB 113 includes a sunset for the majority-support petition provision of January 1, 2028, which the board must respect in planning implementation.
