WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 26, 2025) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case National Labor Relations Board v. State of California and the Public Employment Relations Board at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The case considers whether a California law that increases a state agency’s authority over private-sector labor relations violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by usurping authority over labor relations from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). NFIB filed the amicus brief with several key business groups.

“Between our outstanding unemployment insurance debt, the ongoing shortage of qualified workers, and rising costs all around, California’s small businesses do not need more regulatory complexity muddling the already challenging labor situation they are facing,” said John Kabateck, NFIB’s California State Director. “This law will have perilous consequences for small businesses in the Golden State and for labor relations across the country.”

“California is not the first state to attempt to expand its own power over private labor relations in response to the NLRB’s current lack of a statutory quorum,” said Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “Like in New York, allowing California to undermine the NLRA threatens the stability of labor relations across the country. It would set a dangerous precedent for every other state to follow, resulting in chaos and destroying the uniform, nationwide system that Congress intended.”

NFIB’s brief argues two main points: 1) The NLRA is exclusive even when the NLRB cannot or will not exercise jurisdiction – meaning federal law is clear that the NLRB is the only entity with its unique role and authority, and 2) AB 288 will undermine the stability provided by a national, uniform system and will sow chaos in national labor markets. The brief was filed with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors; The California Employment Law Council; and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

NFIB recently filed amicus briefs in the cases Amazon v. N.Y. PERB and NLRB v. N.Y. PERB challenging a similar law in New York. Those cases are still ongoing.

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.