CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES; LIMITATION PERIOD FOR FILING CHARGE – Parties; Service

Single Topic for Decision A432H

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The Board denied a higher education employer’s request to refuse to consider an opposing party’s appeal for defective service where there was no evidence that the employer had been prejudiced by the failure to properly serve the appeal. Unlike PERB’s regulations and decisional law governing whether to excuse a late filing, no showing of “good cause” is required to excuse defective service; rather, the service requirement may be excused if opposing parties have actual notice of the issues and would not be unfairly surprised or unduly prejudiced. Because the employer was in receipt of opposing party’s appeal almost two weeks before the deadline for filing an opposition to the appeal, it had actual notice of the issues and was not prejudiced by the fact that the appeal was not served in complete conformity with PERB Regulation 32140, subdivision (a).