All notes for Subtopic 1303.09000 – Stay of
| Decision | Description | PERC Vol. | PERC Index | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A504M | Consolidated Irrigation District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of The District’s alleged refusal to negotiate pending the resolution of decertification proceedings independently supports staying the election. “[A]n election may properly be blocked where there has been a failure to bargain in good faith, since that conduct by its very nature undercuts support for an individual union or unions in general, and renders a fair election impossible.” (Grenada Elementary School District (1984) PERB Decision No. 387, p. 9; accord Clovis Unified School District (1984) PERB Decision No. 389, p. 25 [an employer, by “obstructing negotiations with the exclusive representative,” had “interfere[d] with employees[’] right to select an exclusive representative to meet and negotiate with the employer on their behalf”].) (p. 11.) more or view all topics or full text. | 08/14/23 | ||
| A504M | Consolidated Irrigation District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of While the PEDD protects a narrow set of employee prerogatives, because conduct that violates the PEDD specifically tends to influence employee free choice, such conduct is especially likely to impact an election and thus necessitates a stay. (p. 10.) more or view all topics or full text. | 08/14/23 | ||
| A504M | Consolidated Irrigation District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of In determining whether an election stay is warranted, PERB “does not resolve factual disputes” and “assumes that the essential facts alleged in the charge are true.” (Children of Promise Preparatory Academy (2015) PERB Order No. Ad-428, p. 9.) If the Board agent’s investigation reveals conflicting issues of material fact, the conflict must be resolved at the formal hearing; the Board agent may not resolve the conflict at the investigation stage. (Id. at p. 10.) (pp. 5-6.) more or view all topics or full text. | 08/14/23 | ||
| A504M | Consolidated Irrigation District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of The grounds to challenge an administrative determination staying an election do not include a dispute about the facts. A determination to stay an election is not intended to involve adjudication of the unfair practice charge itself. (Children of Promise Preparatory Academy (2015) PERB Order No. Ad-428, adopting administrative determination at p. 15.) “It is neither the Board agent’s obligation nor function to resolve disputed facts or venture into a pre-judgment of the merits of the unfair practice complaint.” (Grenada Elementary School District (1984) PERB Decision No. 387, p. 13, quoting Pleasant Valley Elementary School District (1984) PERB Decision No. 380, p. 7.) Nor shall the Board agent resolve defenses and answers on the merits of the complaint, because those matters must be addressed in the unfair practice hearing. (Gompers Preparatory Academy (2020) PERB Order No. Ad-481, adopting administrative determination at p. 15.) The District’s arguments that the union cannot prove its blocking charge allegations are thus immaterial to OGC’s assessment of the stay request, and do not provide a reason to overturn OGC’s determination granting the stay. (pp. 7-8.) more or view all topics or full text. | 08/14/23 | ||
| A502E | Pasadena Area Community College District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of An appeal from an administrative determination does not automatically stay further proceedings. (PERB Reg. 32370.) However, the parties’ agreement to hold the decertification election in the fall mooted any need to formally stay the election pending the Board’s decision. The Board noted that while it is sometimes feasible to hold an election even though there are disputes over voter eligibility, as parties can challenge disputed ballots, which can then be impounded and sealed, with challenges resolved after the fact only if they are potentially dispositive in number, such a path would have been ill advised here because a large portion of the eligibility list was in dispute. Large-scale confusion over global issues (including voter eligibility or unit configuration) will tend to impair employee free choice. (City of Bellflower (2020) PERB Order No. Ad-480-M, p. 12, fn. 12.) In such circumstances, it is typically better to resolve the global issue(s) before holding an election. (Ibid.) (p. 3 & fn. 4.) more or view all topics or full text. | 48 | 19 | 06/28/23 |
| A480M | City of Bellflower 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of In Children of Promise, the Board articulated the standard to apply in interpreting PERB Regulation 32752: “The question presented is whether the alleged unfair practices by the Academy, if true, are likely to affect the vote of the employees, and thus, the outcome of the election. In other words, would the alleged unlawful conduct described in the blocking charge, if true, ‘so affect the election process as to prevent the employees from exercising free choice.’ . . . [T]he question is resolved by applying the blocking charge rule to the facts alleged in the blocking charge and not by a mechanical or rote application of the rule.” (Children of Promise (2018) PERB Order No. Ad-428, adopting administrative determination at p.18, [internal citations omitted].) This standard also applies to a request for stay evaluated under PERB Regulation 33002, irrespective of whether the underlying blocking charge relates to an employer’s local rules or relates to other allegedly unlawful conduct. One of the primary purposes of the MMBA is “to promote the improvement of personnel management and employer-employee relations . . . by providing a uniform basis for recognizing the right of public employees to join organizations of their own choice and be represented by those organizations in their employment relationships with public agencies.” (MMBA, § 3500, subd. (a).) In service of this purpose, the MMBA authorizes local agencies to adopt reasonable rules and regulations for the administration of employer-employee relations, including procedures for recognizing employee representatives as the exclusive bargaining agent for units of employees, as well as for decertifying an exclusive representative organization. (MMBA, § 3507; City of Fremont (2013) PERB Order No. IR-57-M, p. 18.) Local rules requiring proof of support and processes for representation petitions exist for the purpose of consistently protecting the rights granted by the MMBA, such as employee free choice. To the extent an employer violates its rules and initiates an SMCS-conducted election, the central question is whether that conduct will prevent employees from exercising free choice. more or view all topics or full text. | 45 | 42 | 09/23/20 |
| A481E | Gompers Preparatory Academy 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of In considering whether to stay an election, PERB must determine whether the facts alleged in the blocking charge, if true, would be likely to affect the vote of the employees and, thus, the outcome of the election. When a union argues that a decertification election should be stayed because the employer’s alleged unfair practices eroded employee support for the union, a stay is warranted when the conduct alleged in the charge is of such character and seriousness that, if it were proven to have occurred, it would be reasonable to infer that it would contribute to employee dissatisfaction and hence prevent a fair election. (pp. 3-4.)Each stay request is to be investigated and evaluated on its merits based upon the factual context in which it arises. (p. 4.) The proper inquiry in a blocking charge situation is not the employees’ motivation for filing the decertification petition but whether the employer’s alleged unlawful conduct would prevent bargaining unit employees from exercising free choice in an election. (p. 11.) By taking a holistic, case-specific approach PERB is able to sufficiently determine whether the charge allegations justify staying an election under the particular circumstances presented. (p. 13.)The Board found that the employer’s alleged conduct of bargaining in bad faith over a first contract, retaliating against a union bargaining team member, and issuing communications to employees that interfered with protected rights was of such character and seriousness that, if proven to have occurred, it would likely prevent employees from exercising free choice in a decertification election. (p. 7-8.) The Board rejected the decertification petitioners’ argument that PERB should require a charging party to prove the allegations in the blocking charge as a prerequisite to staying a decertification election. (pp. 9-13.) more or view all topics or full text. | 45 | 54 | 10/22/20 |
| A470E | Children of Promise Preparatory Academy 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of The Board may stay a decertification election to decide a party’s pending blocking charge, i.e. whether the employee’s dissatisfaction with their representative is in all likelihood attributable to the employer’s unfair practices rather than the representative’s failure to respond to and serve the needs of the employees it represents. (pp. 2-3, fn. 2.) more or view all topics or full text. | 43 | 82 | 11/29/18 |
| A470E | Children of Promise Preparatory Academy 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of In determining whether to grant a stay of a representation election, OGC looks to “whether the facts alleged in the unfair practice charge, if true, would likely affect the vote of employees, and, thus, the outcome of the election.” (p. 5.) more or view all topics or full text. | 43 | 82 | 11/29/18 |
| J027E | California Virtual Academies 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of (Representation matters generally should not be subject to unwarranted delay through pursuit of judicial review. If an election is not to be stayed pending judicial review, a fortiori, a unit determination and certification of exclusive representative is not to be stayed pending a party’s pursuit of judicial review.) more or view all topics or full text. | 41 | 74 | 09/30/16 |
| A466E | Grossmont Union High School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of When exceptions to a proposed decision are filed, the proposed decision is effectively stayed pending a decision by the Board itself. (p. 6) In contrast to a proposed decision, an administrative decision is considered final and effective upon issuance unless the appealing party files a request for stay pursuant to PERB Regulation 32370. (p. 6) more or view all topics or full text. | 43 | 15 | 06/20/18 |
| A428E | Children of Promise Preparatory Academy 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of PERB Regulation 32752 allows the Board to stay a representation election pending the resolution of an unfair practice charge and a finding that the alleged unlawful conduct could prevent the employees from exercising free choice. PERB has adopted the “blocking charge rule” used by the National Labor Relations Board in the private sector. PERB does not apply the blocking charge rule mechanically, but rather determines on a case-by-case basis whether applying the rule will serve the purposes of the statutes enforced by PERB. Each stay is to be investigated and evaluated on its merits rather than being disposed of by rote application of a blocking charge rule. Pleasant Valley Elementary School District (1984) PERB Decision No. 380 interpreted PERB Regulation 32752 such that the ‘Board agent’s obligation is to determine whether the facts alleged in the unfair practice complaint, if true, would be likely to affect the vote of employees, and, thus, the outcome of the election.” The Board agent is obligated to presume that the allegations in the blocking charge are true: The District’s defense and answer on the merits of the complaint allegations are matters to be addressed in the unfair practice hearing. It is neither the Board agent’s obligation nor function to resolve disputed facts or venture into pre-judgment of the merits of the unfair practice complaint. It appears that the neutral conditions required for a fair election were tainted by the Academy’s alleged conduct. The employees’ dissatisfaction with the Association in this case may likely be attributed to the Academy’s refusal to provide contact information, rather than to the Association’s failure to respond to and serve the needs of the employees it represents. It is therefore appropriate for PERB to delay the decertification election. The Academy’s alleged refusal to provide information relevant to bargaining would impede the Association’s ability to effectively negotiate with the Academy and could have the effect of making the Association appear weak and ineffective in the eyes of bargaining unit members. If it is true the Academy engaged in bad faith bargaining, such conduct would affect the exercise for free choice and an election may properly be blocked where there has been a failure to bargain in good faith since that conduct by its very nature undercuts support for an individual union or unions in general, and renders a fair election impossible. In Regents of the University of California (1984) PERB Decision No. 381-H, the Board found that the motivation of the petitioner in seeking a decertification election is not determinative, because the relevant question is not the reasons the petition was filed, but whether the alleged unlawful conduct would so affect the election process as to prevent the employees from exercising free choice. The petitioner’s motives are not determinative and the only question to be answered is whether the alleged unlawful conduct by the Academy, if true, would so affect the election process as to prevent the employees from exercising free choice. more or view all topics or full text. | 40 | 23 | 06/29/15 |
| A431E | Imagine Schools at Imperial Valley 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of PERB Regulation 32752 authorizes the Board to stay a representation election pending the resolution of an unfair practice charge alleging unlawful conduct which could prevent the employees from exercising free choice. PERB may delay decertification elections “in circumstances in which the employees’ dissatisfaction with their representative is in all likelihood attributable to the employer’s unfair practices rather than to the exclusive representative’s failure to respond to and serve the needs of the employees it represents.” (Jefferson School District (1979) PERB Order No. Ad-66.) This determination is to be based on “the judgment and discretion of the [OGC] as applied to the facts ascertained in the investigation.” (Jefferson, supra, PERB Order No. Ad-82, p. 6.) The stay procedure “serves to insulate an election from unfair practices that may influence its outcome.” (Jefferson, supra, PERB Decision No. Ad-82.) “In considering the stay of an election, the [OGC’s] obligation is to determine whether the facts alleged in the unfair practice complaint, if true, would be likely to affect the vote of the employees and, thus, the outcome of the election.” (Pleasant Valley, supra, PERB Decision No. 380, p. 5.); see also Grenada, supra, PERB Decision No. 387, p. 14 [for purposes of evaluating whether an election should be blocked, the OGC must presume that the allegations in the complaint are true]. “It is neither the [OGC’s] obligation nor function to resolve disputed facts or venture into a pre-judgment of the merits of the unfair practice complaint.” (Pleasant Valley, supra, PERB Decision No. 380, p. 7.) In Statewide University Police Association (1984) PERB Decision No. 381-H, p. 6, the Board noted that the regional director “did not purport to prejudge the merits of the charge . . . . Rather, she correctly analyzed whether such conduct is of such character and seriousness that, if it were proven to have occurred, it would be reasonable to infer that it would contribute to employee dissatisfaction and hence prevent a fair election.” PERB’s investigation is “a limited one which involves primarily an investigation and analysis of the charges filed.” (Grenada, supra, PERB Decision No. 387, p. 15.) It is therefore improper “to reach beyond the subject matter of the complaint in making its decision whether or not to block.” (Id. at pp. 15-16 [responding to union’s argument that events outside the six-month statute of limitations should be considered]. The OGC properly assumed the truth of alleged speech of Imagine Schools’ agents, including Jiminez. The OGC surveyed prior stay decisions and concluded there were none in which a stay was granted or denied solely because of an employer’s anti-union speech. She then looked for guidance to PERB decisions setting aside election results based on employer speech. Many of those cases involved employer speech and other conduct. However, the OGC identified one decision in which employer speech was deemed sufficient to have impacted employee free choice. (Kern County Superintendent, supra, PERB Decision No. 533.) She relied on that decision and authorities cited therein, along with other Board decisions in election stay cases, to “inform” her application of the standard applicable under PERB Regulation 32752 to a request for stay of election. We conclude that in so doing the OGC did not abuse her discretion. more or view all topics or full text. | 40 | 120 | 01/13/16 |
| J018H | Regents of the University of California and Association of Student Employees, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, et al. 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Withdrawal of an election order under HEERA would constitute a circumvention of section 3564(a) and the Board denies the employer's request for withdrawal. more or view all topics or full text. | 22 | 29152 | 09/01/98 |
| A279E | Alum Rock Union Elementary School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Board will grant a stay of decertification election in the interest of administrative economy pending review of appeal when the holding of an election would be unnecessary if the Board were to overrule the Board agent. (Pittsburg Unified School District (1978) PERB Order No. Ad-34 and Gilroy Unified School District (1991) PERB Order No. Ad-224.); p. 2. more or view all topics or full text. | 20 | 27124 | 07/17/96 |
| A254E | Capistrano Unified School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of After consideration of the issue and the positions of the parties, the Board denied the request for stay of the election. The Board ordered the election to proceed, thereafter impounding the ballots pending the Board's decision on the merits of the appeal before the Board; p. 2. more or view all topics or full text. | 18 | 25077 | 05/13/94 |
| A224E | Gilroy Unified School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Board grants stay of new election ordered in administrative determination pending ruling on the merits of the appeal. more or view all topics or full text. | 15 | 22176 | 11/14/91 |
| A220S | State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (California State Employees Association) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Without ruling on any issue, including but not limited to jurisdiction, the Board stayed the ballot count pending its review of the appeal. more or view all topics or full text. | 15 | 22100 | 06/03/91 |
| A171E | Oakland Unified School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of As counting of ballots could prejudice the rights of affected employees, the Board, on its own motion, ordered the ballots impounded and the election stayed; p. 2. more or view all topics or full text. | 12 | 19117 | 06/29/88 |
| A165H | University of California, Los Angeles (Oandasan) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Board denied request that hearing be stayed or abated; p. 1. more or view all topics or full text. | 11 | 18132 | 07/14/87 |
| A160S | State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (Crowley, et al.) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of By its own motion, Board stayed hearing pending the Board's decision in a related case before the Board on appeal from a regional attorney's dismissal; p. 1. more or view all topics or full text. | 11 | 18000 | 11/10/86 |
| A160Sa | State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (Crowley, et al.) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Board lifted stay and consolidated two related cases; p. 1. more or view all topics or full text. | 11 | 18036 | 01/12/87 |
| A156S | State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (Communications Workers of America) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of As the conduct by DPA, alleged in an unfair practice charge, preceded the signing of the election agreement, Board refused to suspend election pending the resolution of the charge; p. 7. more or view all topics or full text. | 10 | 17129 | 06/27/86 |
| A146S | State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (Communications Workers of America and California Association of Psychiatric Technicians) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Pendency of a unit modification petition does not justify stay of election. Party to election can challenge the votes of persons who could be affected by the unit modification. Decertification election cannot be stayed so incumbent exclusive representative can complete negotiations with employer. Timelines set out in PERB regulations are deliberately drawn so that a decertification effort can occur where a collective agreement is about to expire. more or view all topics or full text. | 9 | 16149 | 06/14/85 |
| A151S | State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (Communication Workers of America, Psych Techs, Local 11555 and California Association of Psychiatric Technicians) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of The Board will apply an "abuse of discretion" standard in reviewing a Board agent's decision regarding the stay of an election. The Board will defer to the agent if the agent's conclusions are supported by facts developed in a properly conducted investigation. more or view all topics or full text. | 10 | 17012 | 12/13/85 |
| A142E | San Francisco Unified School District (Brown, et al.) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Decertification election is stayed by Board itself pending Board review of appeal of regional director's decision on unit composition and contract bar. more or view all topics or full text. | 8 | 15145 | 08/16/84 |
| A096E | Hayward Unified School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Appeal of order directing decertification election denied where, during the term of an existing contract, the parties execute a new contract which contains an expiration date later than that of the first contract; new contract is premature and will not act as a bar to a decertification election; p. 4, dismissal letter. Stay of decertification election denied where, during the term of an existing contract, the parties executed a new contract which contains an expiration date later than that of the first contract, and all unit members were not aware of the ramifications of the change in the window period; p. 3, dismissal letter. more or view all topics or full text. | 4 | 11140 | 06/10/80 |
| A034E | Pittsburg Unified School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Stay of election granted where a union challenges the standing of a rival union to appear on a decertification election ballot. The issue is central to the election and must be resolved before the election can be held. more or view all topics or full text. | 2 | 2112 | 05/26/78 |
| A006E | Santa Clara Unified School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Regional director's decision to stay election until unfair practice charges resolved is sustained, unless waivers of right to file objections are received by all parties; p. 1. more or view all topics or full text. | 1 | 67 | 03/08/77 |
| A345E | California School Employees Association and Its Chapter 56 and Turlock Classified American Federation of Teachers 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Request for stay of election not proper when based solely on desire to allow internal union procedures to proceed. Regulation addressing stay of election only involves stays in light of pending unfair practice charges. (PERB Reg. 32752.) more or view all topics or full text. | 29 | 61 | 01/26/05 |
| 0387E | Grenada Elementary School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Affirming the regional director's order staying the decertification process, the Board rejected petitioners' argument that they were not motivated to file the decertification petition by the University's unfair labor practices. The Board further held that the motive of the individual petitioners was not determinative: the inquiry must be as to the potential impact of the alleged conduct on all of the employees in the unit. more or view all topics or full text. | 8 | 15115 | 06/29/84 |
| 0380E | Pleasant Valley Elementary School District 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Board stayed election to rescind service fee arrangement, pending outcome of unfair practice case, finding that the District's actions were likely to influence outcome. more or view all topics or full text. | 8 | 15051 | 02/28/84 |
| 0381H | Regents of the University of California (Statewide University Police Association) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Affirming the regional director's order staying the decertification process, the Board rejected petitioners' argument that they were not motivated to file the decertification petition by the University's unfair labor practices. The Board further held that the motive of the individual petitioners was not determinative: the inquiry limited to the potential impact of the alleged conduct on all of the employees in the unit. more or view all topics or full text. | 8 | 15076 | 04/17/84 |
| 0159S | State of California (Department of Transportation) (State Trial Attorneys Association) 1303.09000: REPRESENTATION ISSUES; ELECTIONS; Stay of Petition to stay election because of pending unfair practice case is denied without comment. more or view all topics or full text. | 5 | 12034 | 03/17/81 |