Public employment relations boards (PERBs) by state: a guide for public-sector unions

A public employment relations board, often called a PERB, is the state agency that enforces the labor law for public-sector workers: state and local government staff, teachers, transit workers and others who work for a public employer. It plays the role for them that the National Labor Relations Board plays for the private sector.

The names vary. Some states have a PERB, others a PERC (Public Employment Relations Commission), a SERB (State Employment Relations Board), a labor relations board, or an employment relations commission. Whatever yours is called, its own statute and rules decide what you can file and when.

Each board enforces its own state’s law, with its own rules, forms and deadlines, so check yours before relying on anything here. This is a general guide, not legal advice.

What is a PERB?

A PERB is a neutral state agency set up by a state’s public-sector bargaining law. Most have a small board of appointed members, plus staff such as hearing officers and mediators. Their decisions are published and often serve as precedent, much as NLRB decisions do in the private sector.

What PERBs do

Most state boards handle some or all of these:

• Representation: deciding which jobs belong in a bargaining unit, and running elections when workers want to form, change or remove a union.
• Unfair labor practice charges: hearing charges that an employer or a union broke the state’s labor law. Some states call them unfair practice or improper practice charges. See our guide to unfair labor practices.
• Impasse procedures: providing mediation, fact-finding or interest arbitration when contract talks stall, since many public-sector workers can’t legally strike.
• Grievance arbitration: some boards keep lists of arbitrators or provide arbitration services. See labor arbitration hearings.

Which labor board handles your case?

Which labor board covers your union depends on who the employer is.

• Private sector: the National Labor Relations Board.
• Railroads and airlines: the National Mediation Board, under the Railway Labor Act.
• Federal government: the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Recent executive orders have also removed bargaining rights at many federal agencies, and the court cases are still going, so federal locals should check their current status with their national union.
• State and local government: your state’s board, if your state has a public-sector bargaining law. A few large cities and counties have their own boards, like New York City’s Office of Collective Bargaining.

Some states have separate boards for different groups, like one for teachers and another for other public workers, so check which one covers your unit.

Public employment relations boards by state

These are the main state boards listed by the Association of Labor Relations Agencies, the professional group for neutral labor boards. We checked each link.

State	Board
Alaska	Alaska Labor Relations Agency
California	Public Employment Relations Board
Connecticut	State Board of Labor Relations
Delaware	Public Employment Relations Board
District of Columbia	Public Employee Relations Board
Florida	Public Employees Relations Commission
Hawaii	Hawaii Labor Relations Board
Illinois	Illinois Labor Relations Board and, for schools and colleges, the Educational Labor Relations Board
Indiana	Indiana Education Employment Relations Board (education)
Iowa	Employment Appeal Board, which took over the Public Employment Relations Board’s duties in 2024
Kansas	Public Employee Relations Board, in the Department of Labor
Maine	Maine Labor Relations Board
Maryland	Public Employee Relations Board
Massachusetts	Department of Labor Relations
Michigan	Michigan Employment Relations Commission
Minnesota	Bureau of Mediation Services (elections, mediation) and Public Employment Relations Board (unfair labor practice charges)
Missouri	State Board of Mediation
Montana	Board of Personnel Appeals
Nebraska	Commission of Industrial Relations
Nevada	Government Employee-Management Relations Board
New Hampshire	Public Employee Labor Relations Board
New Jersey	Public Employment Relations Commission
New Mexico	Public Employee Labor Relations Board
New York	Public Employment Relations Board, plus the Office of Collective Bargaining for New York City
Ohio	State Employment Relations Board
Oregon	Employment Relations Board
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board
Rhode Island	State Labor Relations Board, in the Department of Labor and Training
Vermont	Vermont Labor Relations Board
Washington	Public Employment Relations Commission
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission

If your state isn’t listed, it may have no general public-sector bargaining law, or it may handle public-sector labor relations through another agency, a civil service board, or local ordinances. Start with your state’s labor department and your union’s national or state organization.

Filing with a state board

• Deadlines vary by state, and some are much shorter than the NLRB’s six months. Check yours the day a problem starts, before the charge can go stale.
• Use the board’s own forms and rules. Most post them online, and many accept filings electronically.
• Read the board’s decisions. They show how the board has applied the law to cases like yours.
• Ask about mediation. Many boards offer mediators who can help settle a charge or a bargaining dispute before a hearing.
• Date every letter and information request, keep copies of what goes out and what comes back, and write your notes the same day. The board will ask for them.

Know your state’s rules

Public-sector rights differ a lot from state to state: whether workers can bargain at all, what topics are covered, whether strikes are allowed, and what happens at impasse. Before your next filing, look up your board’s deadline and save its forms.

LaborWise keeps each case’s notes, filings, letters and deadlines together, with reminders before each one is due. See how cases work.