GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION – General Principles

Single Topic for Decision A500E

View all topics for Decision A500E

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

A cardinal rule of statutory construction is that we must give “meaning to every word of the statute, if possible, [to] avoid a construction that makes any word surplusage.” (Santa Clara Valley Water District (2013) PERB Decision No. 2349-M, p. 16.) PERB’s regulations must be read as a whole so that every part is harmonized. (County of Santa Clara (2015) PERB Decision No. 2431-M, p. 16.) PERB cannot interpret a regulation in a manner that defeats its apparent purpose. (Region 2 Court Interpreter Employment Relations Committee & California Superior Courts Region 2 (2020) PERB Decision No. 2701-I, p. 36.) (pp. 10-11.)