CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES; GOOD CAUSE FOR LATE FILING – In General; Standards

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Generally, “good cause to excuse a late filing exists where the delay is of short duration and based on circumstances that were either unanticipated or beyond the party’s control.” (City and County of San Francisco (2021) PERB Decision No. 2757-M, p. 9, citing Regents of the University of California (2018) PERB Decision No. 2601-H, p. 15; see, e.g., Trustees of the California State University (2016) PERB Order No. Ad-432-H, p. 8; State of California (Department of Corrections) (2006) PERB Decision No. 1806-S, p. 7; United Teachers of Los Angeles (Kestin) (2003) PERB Order No. Ad-325, p. 4.) A late filing will generally be excused when it has resulted in a short and non-prejudicial delay, and it was the result of either “circumstances beyond the control of the filing party or from excusable misinformation, where the filing party’s explanation was credible on its face or was corroborated by other facts or testimony.” (Bellflower Unified School District (2017) PERB Order No. Ad-447, p. 4 (Bellflower).) Regardless of the particular reason(s) given, the party must provide sufficient factual detail to establish a “reasonable and credible” explanation for its untimely filing or show that it at least made a conscientious effort to comply with the filing deadline. (Trustees of the California State University, supra, PERB Order No. Ad-432-H, p. 8; Newport-Mesa Unified School District (2008) PERB Order No. Ad-373, p. 3.)