REPRESENTATION ISSUES; JUDICIAL REVIEW, REPRESENTATION, DECISIONS – In General

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The Board has applied a strict standard in reviewing requests for judicial review and evaluating whether cases are "of special importance" because the fundamental rights of employee organizations (HEERA sec. 3565) could be jeopardized if PERB's unit determinations were routinely subject to legal challenges; p. 3. Where a request for judicial review has been granted, the issue was found to be of special importance because: (1) it was a novel issue; (2) primarily involving construction of a unique statutory provision; and (3) was likely to arise frequently; p. 4. Frequency with which an issue may be raised is one element of the judicial review standard, but frequency alone does not indicate special importance especially when it results from the same party raising the issue in numerous cases; p. 5. A representational issue which arises frequently may be the subject of numerous Board and/or court decisions, a circumstance which would tend to diminish the special importance of a subsequent case which raises that issue for judicial review; p. 5. The interpretation of HEERA section 3562(f) regarding the status of student academic employees is not a novel issue; p. 4. The fact that other requests for recognition petitions pending at PERB may involve the issue of the status under HEERA of the University's student academic employees is insufficient to establish the special importance of the instant case; p. 6. PERB joining in a request for judicial review in all cases would likely result in the more expeditious of the two means of obtaining judicial review described in HEERA section 3564(a), that fact fails to demonstrate the special importance of this case; p. 6.