IMPASSE PROCEDURES; IN GENERAL; DUTY TO PARTICIPATE IN GOOD FAITH – In General

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A party evinces bad faith when it rushes to impasse, or if its impasse declaration is “premature, unfounded, or insincere” (City of San Ramon (2018) PERB Decision No. 2571-M, p. 10), as such action “demonstrate[s] an intent to subvert the negotiating process.” (County of Riverside (2014) PERB Decision No. 2360-M, p. 12.) An employer may impose new terms after impasse only if it bargained in good faith throughout negotiations, from “inception through exhaustion of statutory or other applicable impasse resolution procedures.” (City of San Ramon, supra, PERB Decision No. 2571-M, p. 6.) Thus, an employer is not privileged to impose concessions absent a bona fide impasse and doing so constitutes an illegal unilateral change. The Board considers the totality of circumstances to determine whether a bona fide impasse existed, including the number and length of negotiating sessions between parties, the time period over which the negotiations occurred, and the extent to which the parties have made and discussed counterproposals to each other. (pp. 23-24.)