Headnote for 2915aH, 606.16000 – Failure to Seek Clarification of Proposal - California Public Employment Relations Board

EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; NEGOTIATIONS; INDICIA OF SURFACE OR BAD FAITH BARGAINING; TOTALITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES – Failure to Seek Clarification of Proposal

Single Topic for Decision 2915Ha

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606.00000 – EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; NEGOTIATIONS; INDICIA OF SURFACE OR BAD FAITH BARGAINING; TOTALITY OF CIRCUMSTANCES
606.16000 – Failure to Seek Clarification of Proposal

When an employer, having reached a decision that falls outside the scope of bargaining, believes in good faith that its decision has no reasonably foreseeable effects on terms and conditions of employment, “before refusing to negotiate, [the] employer must attempt to clarify through discussions with the union any uncertainty as to what is proposed for bargaining and whether it falls within the scope of representation.” (Trustees of the California State University v. Public Employment Relations Bd. (2026) 118 Cal.App.5th 90. 112 [citations and internal quotation marks omitted].) Indeed, “[r]efusing an effects bargaining demand without first attempting to clarify ambiguities and[/]or whether matters proposed for bargaining fall within the scope of representation, violates the duty to bargain in good faith.” (Ibid. [citations and internal quotation marks omitted].) (pp. 26-28 & fn. 11.)