All notes for Subtopic 1404.02000 – Board’s Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts
| Decision | Description | PERC Vol. | PERC Index | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2818I | Orange County Superior Court and Region 4 Court Interpreter Employment Relations Committee 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although PERB does not resolve contract disputes, PERB may interpret contractual provisions as necessary to resolve unfair practice allegations. (County of San Joaquin (2021) PERB Decision No. 2775-M, pp. 39-40; Modoc County Office of Education (2019) PERB Decision No. 2684, p. 15.) more or view all topics or full text. | 46 | 167 | 05/05/22 |
| 2775M | County of San Joaquin 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts While PERB lacks the authority to enforce contracts, it may interpret them when necessary to resolve an unfair practice allegation. (pp. 39-40.) more or view all topics or full text. | 46 | 20 | 06/30/21 |
| 2701I | Region 2 Court Interpreter Employment Relations Committee 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although PERB lacks the authority to enforce contracts, it may interpret them when necessary to resolve an unfair practice allegation. In such cases, traditional rules of contract law guide the Board’s interpretation. Where the contractual language is clear and unambiguous, it is unnecessary to go beyond the plain language of the contract itself to ascertain its meaning. However, where the contract language is silent or ambiguous, PERB may examine past practice or bargaining history. (p. 38.) Under the plain language of the parties’ contract, the regional committee was contractually obligated to bargain over the impacts of changes to employee pension contributions by the local trial courts. (p. 39.) more or view all topics or full text. | 44 | 150 | 03/16/20 |
| 2684E | Modoc County Office of Education 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although the Board does not have authority to resolve purely contractual disputes, it may interpret contracts when necessary to resolve an alleged unfair practice. (p. 15.) more or view all topics or full text. | 44 | 104 | 11/27/19 |
| 2609I | San Francisco County Superior Court and Region 2 Court Interpreter Employment Relations Committee 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although PERB lacks authority to enforce contracts, it may interpret contracts when necessary to resolve an alleged unfair practice. more or view all topics or full text. | 43 | 99 | 12/18/18 |
| 2544E | Bellflower Unified School District 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although the Board interpreted EERA section 3540.1, subdivision (h), as making a collective bargaining agreement with a duration of more than three years contrary to public policy, it expressed no opinion whether such an agreement is void in its entirety, terminable at will by either party. (p. 8.) more or view all topics or full text. | 42 | 70 | 12/15/17 |
| 2544E | Bellflower Unified School District 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts In the absence of any explanation or briefing from a school district who argued that the management rights clause remained in effect after 2010, or a request for reconsideration showing both extraordinary circumstances and that the Board’s determination in a prior decision that the parties’ agreement had expired in 2010 contained prejudicial error of fact, the Board had no grounds to consider the district’s waiver defense, which was based on the management rights language, in this case. (p. 7.) The interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement is not simply a factual finding of the sort which the Board or its agents are free to disregard in a subsequent case involving the same language. Because of its significance for governing the parties’ ongoing relationship, a Board finding as to the meaning of a contract term is more akin to a question of law, particularly where, as here, the question is whether the contract itself is illegal or void for public policy, as declared by the three-year limit for collective bargaining agreements set forth in EERA section 3540.1, subdivision (h). (pp. 6-7.) more or view all topics or full text. | 42 | 70 | 12/15/17 |
| 2544E | Bellflower Unified School District 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Because the uncontradicted, unimpeached testimony of three union witnesses and one management witness was that the parties’ collective bargaining agreement had expired in 2010, the Board denied a school district’s exception arguing that the agreement’s management rights clause had remained in effect and served as a waiver of the union’s right to bargain over subcontracting of the district’s bus services. (p. 5.) Uncontradicted, unimpeached testimony at hearing is sufficient to carry the burden of proof in an unfair practice case. (PERB Reg. 32178.) more or view all topics or full text. | 42 | 70 | 12/15/17 |
| 2544E | Bellflower Unified School District 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts The Board rejected a school district’s exception that it had no notice that the ALJ considered the duration language of the parties’ agreement ambiguous or that the meaning of the duration language would be dispositive in the case by determining whether the management rights clause remained in effect. (p. 5-6.) A PERB hearing officer has the power and the duty to “[i]nquire fully into all issues and obtain a complete record upon which the decision can be rendered” and to “[r]ender and serve the proposed decision on each party.” (PERB Reg. 32170.) A hearing officer is not required to advise the parties of which factual disputes or legal issues may determine the outcome of the case, nor to make preliminary factual findings at the hearing itself so that the parties may object or offer additional evidence or argument on the issue. (Ibid.) more or view all topics or full text. | 42 | 70 | 12/15/17 |
| 2494M | City of Davis 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Where the parties simply dispute the meaning of contract language and there has been no repudiation of any prior mutual understanding or assertion that the union waived its right to negotiate a change in terms and conditions of employment, the dispute is more accurately characterized as an isolated breach of an agreement that is not also a violation of MMBA. more or view all topics or full text. | 41 | 33 | 06/30/16 |
| 2427M | County of San Luis Obispo 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although PERB is without jurisdiction to enforce collective bargaining agreements, it may interpret contractual provisions when necessary to decide an allegation or defense in an unfair practice case. Because unilateral change allegation turned on unions’ defense that pension plan guaranteed employees vested right to permanent employee pension contribution formula, PERB examined the language of the pension plan to determine whether it provided the rights asserted by the unions. more or view all topics or full text. | 39 | 176 | 06/03/15 |
| 2242M | County of Sonoma 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although PERB does not have jurisdiction to resolve pure contract disputes, it may interpret contract language if necessary to do so to decide an unfair practice charge case. more or view all topics or full text. | 36 | 131 | 02/29/12 |
| 2173M | County of Sonoma 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although PERB does not have jurisdiction to resolve pure contract disputes, it may interpret contract language if necessary to do so to decide an unfair practice charge case. more or view all topics or full text. | 35 | 61 | 03/01/11 |
| 2101H | Regents of the University of California (Davis) 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Although PERB does not have jurisdiction to resolve pure contract disputes pursuant to HEERA section 3563.2(b), it may interpret contract language if doing so is necessary in deciding an unfair practice charge case. In such cases, traditional rules of contract law guide the Board’s interpretation of collective bargaining agreements. more or view all topics or full text. | 34 | 55 | 03/01/10 |
| 0876E | Glendora Unified School District 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts Board agent is free to examine the contract and, by reference to its terms only, determine its meaning; p. 9. more or view all topics or full text. | 15 | 22082 | 05/16/91 |
| 0869H | California State University, Hayward (Dees) 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts The Board has no authority to enforce collective bargaining agreements; however, the Board has the authority to interpret a contract to determine if an unfair practice has been committed; p. 30; proposed dec. more or view all topics or full text. | 15 | 22051 | 02/25/91 |
| 0849H | Regents of the University of California (Irvin) 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts PERB has no authority to interpret contracts unless unfair practice has been demonstrated. more or view all topics or full text. | 14 | 21207 | 10/30/90 |
| 0915E | Compton Community College District 1404.02000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; Board's Jurisdiction To Interpret Contracts PERB does not have jurisdiction to resolve pure contract disputes; p. 7. Failure to follow ground rule or procedures for ratification are a mere breach of contract and not a unilateral change. more or view all topics or full text. | 16 | 23012 | 12/20/91 |