EMPLOYER ADOPTION/ENFORCEMENT OF UNREASONABLE RULE – In General

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750.00000 – EMPLOYER ADOPTION/ENFORCEMENT OF UNREASONABLE RULE
750.01000 – In General

To prevail in a facial challenge, a charging party must at a minimum show that a local rule conflicts with the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) “in the generality or great majority of cases.” Toward that end, IBEW argued that the City’s Employee Relations Ordinance was unreasonable because it appointed the City Manager, an “agent of the City compelled to act in the interest of the City,” to make unit determinations. IBEW’s argument missed the mark. MMBA section 3507, subdivision (a) authorizes public agencies to “adopt reasonable rules and regulations after consultation in good faith with representatives of a recognized employee organization or organizations for the administration of employer-employee relations.” (Ibid.) The rules and regulations may include provisions for, among other things, recognition of employee organizations. (Id., subd. (a)(3).) Unit determinations must be handled and processed in accordance with rules adopted by a local public agency. (Id., § 3507.1, subd. (a).) Contrary to IBEW’s bare claim, nothing in the MMBA’s statutory language expressly or impliedly prohibits agency employers from making unit determinations. (p. 20.)