Agricultural labor relations.

(1) The Alatorre-Zenovich-Dunlap-Berman Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 regulates employer-employee relations in agriculture. The act, among other things, prohibits agricultural employers and employees from engaging in unfair labor practices, as defined, and empowers the Agricultural Labor Relations Board to prevent any person from engaging in those practices. The act provides for a general counsel of the board and grants the general counsel final authority with respect to the investigation of charges and the issuance and prosecution of complaints regarding unfair labor practices. This bill would require the board to process to final board order all decisions concerning make-whole awards, backpay, and other monetary awards to employees within one year or any board order finding liability for an award. The bill would also make related technical, nonsubstantive changes. (2) The act grants employees the right to engage in collective bargaining with respect to wages, terms of employment, and other employment conditions, and authorizes employees to elect exclusive bargaining representatives for these purposes. The act, if certain conditions are met, requires the employer and exclusive bargaining representative to engage in mandatory mediation and conciliation of their issues, and authorizes both parties to appeal orders of the board based on this mandatory mediation and conciliation, as specified. This bill would require an employer who appeals or petitions for a writ of review of any order of the board under the act involving make-whole, backpay, or other monetary awards to employees to post a bond in the amount of the entire economic value of the order, as specified, and would provide for the bond to be forfeited under specified conditions.