EMPLOYER ADOPTION/ENFORCEMENT OF UNREASONABLE RULE – In General

Single Topic for Decision 2975M

View all topics for Decision 2975M

Full Decision Text (click on the link to view): Full Text

A charging party has the burden of proof to the extent it claims that an MMBA employer’s unit determination violated the employer’s local rules or was unreasonable, and PERB does not substitute its judgment for that of the employer if reasonable minds could differ as to how applicable standards apply to the record. (County of Monterey (2022) PERB Decision No. 2821-M, p. 9.) The amount of deference PERB affords an MMBA employer’s unit determination varies. For instance, if the MMBA employer provides a sufficient explanation of its unit determination, PERB applies a rebuttable presumption that the determination is reasonable. (Id. at p. 10.) In contrast, if the employer merely states the applicable standard and then provides “a conclusion without also including the analytical process in its decision,” the presumption of reasonableness falls away. (Ibid.) The County’s failure to draft a written decision to sufficiently explain the decisionmaker’s analysis opened the decision to a greater degree of scrutiny. (pp. 19-20.)