PERB: OPERATION, JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY; APPLICABILITY OF AND CONFLICTS WITH OTHER STATUTES – In General

Single Topic for Decision 2822E

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To avoid acting in excess of its authority, PERB has an obligation to determine whether it has jurisdiction over a dispute, regardless of whether the parties themselves have raised the issue. The Legislature has granted and the courts have consistently upheld PERB’s primary and exclusive jurisdiction over alleged unfair practices. PERB rejected the argument that because the Education Code grants the Office of Administrative Hearings jurisdiction over teacher dismissal proceedings, including pre-hearing discovery, it deprives PERB of jurisdiction over the inquiry into whether the District’s questioning of a union president during a deposition interfered with EERA-protected rights. The allegations in the complaint that the District interfered with employee and union rights under EERA by extensively questioning the union president regarding protected communications with a bargaining unit member, other unit members, and a California Teachers Association staff member, are squarely within PERB’s jurisdiction.