The Board was established by Article VII, section 2 of the California Constitution, as amended on June 8, 1976.

[2] The board sets and enforces rules for state civil service appointments and exams, and maintains a staff of administrative law judges to resolve various human resources issues, such as whistleblower complaints, disability and medical condition discrimination complaints including reasonable accommodation denials and appeals from unfavorable human resources decisions (e.g. reprimand, salary reduction, suspension without pay, demotion or dismissal).

With the exception of board hearing procedures relating to disciplinary and merit matters, disability and medical discrimination complaints, public testimony or participation, drug testing and grounds for employee discipline, the Board is exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act.

[4] However, even when subject to the Act, it is exempt from a variety of the Act's most onerous requirements, such as performing an adverse economic impact analysis.

[5] The Board has faced controversy for some of its decisions, such as its order reinstating a nurse's aide who removed money from an elderly man's drawer in a police sting prompted by thousands of dollars in thefts from the veteran's home in which she worked, as well as favorable decisions in the cases of doctors who peers considered unsafe around patients, and a psychiatric technician who hit a patient with his shoes.