EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; UNILATERAL CHANGE (FOR NEGOT OF SPECIFIC SUBJECTS, SEE SEC 1000, SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION) – Change in Past Practice
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602.06000 – Change in Past Practice
A side letter is an agreement between an employer and union that typically: (1) modifies, clarifies or interprets an existing provision in an MOU; or (2) addresses issues of interest to the parties that are not otherwise covered by the MOU. At its most basic, a side letter is a contract between the parties. As such, the duration of such an agreement is dictated by the provisions of the side letter itself (either express or implied) or by the subsequent conduct of the parties. Consequently, absent a provision in an MOU, an agreement between the parties or other evidence demonstrating the parties intended it to expire, a side letter does not automatically expire upon the ratification of a subsequently negotiated MOU.