IMPASSE PROCEDURES; IN GENERAL; DUTY TO PARTICIPATE IN GOOD FAITH – Declaration/Determination of Impasse

Single Topic for Decision A418M


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900.00000 – IMPASSE PROCEDURES; IN GENERAL; DUTY TO PARTICIPATE IN GOOD FAITH
900.02000 – Declaration/Determination of Impasse

PERB’s role in reviewing a factfinding request is limited. MMBA section 3505.4 and PERB Regulation 32802, read together, posit as sufficient conditions for factfinding under MMBA, the following: either participation in mediation or absent mediation a declaration of impasse by one of the parties, plus a request by the exclusive representative for factfinding, accompanied by a statement that the parties have been unable to effect a settlement. In reviewing a factfinding request PERB relies on the parties’ representations concerning the status of their bargaining and or mediation discussions and does not assess an employer’s defenses to its duty to bargain. Nor does PERB determine whether the party seeking factfinding has articulated with sufficient clarity its position on the issue. These are matters properly left to clarifying discussions between the parties and for resolution in an unfair practice proceeding if either party files a charge. To inject such issues into a factfinding investigation would encourage both delay and gamesmanship, thus defeating the principal purpose of factfinding, namely, through intervention of a neutral to assist the parties in reaching a voluntary and prompt resolution of their differences and thereby promote “full communication between public employers and their employees by providing a reasonable method of resolving disputes regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment between public employers and public employee organizations.”