Service Employees International Union, Local 99 v. Options—A Child Care & Human Services Agency

**Union Wins Right to Enforce Public Meeting Requirements** This case involved a dispute between Service Employees International Union Local 99 and Options—A Child Care & Human Services Agency. The union argued that Options, which had a contract with a public agency, violated the Brown Act—a California law requiring government meetings to be open to the public. When Options failed to follow these open meeting requirements, the union sued for breach of contract, claiming the company had violated its contractual duty to comply with all applicable laws. The appellate court sided with the union, overturning a lower court's decision that had dismissed the case. The court ruled that union members have the right to enforce the contractor's promise to follow the Brown Act, even though they weren't directly part of the original contract. The court found that union members were "intended third-party beneficiaries" of this contractual obligation and sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings. This decision matters for workers because it establishes that unions can hold private contractors accountable when they fail to follow public transparency laws. It strengthens workers' ability to ensure that companies receiving public contracts operate with the same openness required of government agencies.