Decision 2409C – Sonoma County Superior Court

The Trial Court Act contains provisions that mirror the sections in EERA that are the source of employee and employee organization rights. Thus, it is appropriate to look to EERA in interpreting the Trial Court Act.

The right to representation in all matters of employer-employee relations includes the right to have a union representative present at an interactive process meeting upon the employee’s request. There is a right to represent and be represented at grievance-type meetings, regardless of whether the circumstances are “highly unusual,” because of the rights guaranteed by EERA sections 3540, 3543(a) and 3543.1(a). EERA and other statutes PERB administers have as their purpose the improvement of employer-employee relations and communication between employees and public agency management through representation by employee organizations on all matters of employee-employer relations. Such purpose cannot be achieved unless employees have a right to summon their employee organization representatives to represent them in meetings convened to discuss enforcement of the CBA. The FEHA regulations governing reasonable accommodation and the interactive process provide numerous protections for the employee. The interactive process therefore presents opportunities for a representative to assist the employee in the process of obtaining an accommodation. The representative can also serve an important function in explaining to the employee the employer’s rights and the possible consequences of refusing offered accommodations. The union’s right to represent in the interactive process attaches only if the employee requests union representation.

EERA includes the right of employee organizations to represent their members in a formal grievance proceeding. There is a right to represent and be represented at grievance-type meetings, regardless of whether the circumstances are “highly unusual,” because of the rights guaranteed by EERA sections 3540, 3543(a) and 3543.1(a). EERA and other statutes PERB administers have as their purpose the improvement of employer-employee relations and communication between employees and public agency management through representation by employee organizations on all matters of employee-employer relations. Such purpose cannot be achieved unless employees have a right to summon their employee organization representatives to represent them in meetings convened to discuss enforcement of the CBA.

The right to representation in all matters of employer-employee relations includes the right to have a union representative present at an interactive process meeting upon the employee’s request. An employee has a right to union representation at an interview that is initiated by the employer, attended by more than one higher level administrator, and imbued with a sense of “appellate” formality that distinguished it from a “shop floor” conversation. An employee had a right to a union representative at a meeting called by her supervisor to discuss the employee’s request for job audit forms. There is a right to represent and be represented at grievance-type meetings, regardless of whether the circumstances are “highly unusual,” because of the rights guaranteed by EERA sections 3540, 3543(a) and 3543.1(a). EERA and other statutes PERB administers have as their purpose the improvement of employer-employee relations and communication between employees and public agency management through representation by employee organizations on all matters of employee-employer relations. Such purpose cannot be achieved unless employees have a right to summon their employee organization representatives to represent them in meetings convened to discuss enforcement of the CBA. The FEHA regulations governing reasonable accommodation and the interactive process provide numerous protections for the employee. The interactive process therefore presents opportunities for a representative to assist the employee in the process of obtaining an accommodation. The representative can also serve an important function in explaining to the employee the employer’s rights and the possible consequences of refusing offered accommodations. The union’s right to represent in the interactive process attaches only if the employee requests union representation.

The right to representation in all matters of employer-employee relations includes the right to have a union representative present at an interactive process meeting upon the employee’s request. There is a right to represent and be represented at grievance-type meetings, regardless of whether the circumstances are “highly unusual,” because of the rights guaranteed by EERA sections 3540, 3543(a) and 3543.1(a). EERA and other statutes PERB administers have as their purpose the improvement of employer-employee relations and communication between employees and public agency management through representation by employee organizations on all matters of employee-employer relations. Such purpose cannot be achieved unless employees have a right to summon their employee organization representatives to represent them in meetings convened to discuss enforcement of the CBA. The FEHA regulations governing reasonable accommodation and the interactive process provide numerous protections for the employee. The interactive process therefore presents opportunities for a representative to assist the employee in the process of obtaining an accommodation. The representative can also serve an important function in explaining to the employee the employer’s rights and the possible consequences of refusing offered accommodations. The union’s right to represent in the interactive process attaches only if the employee requests union representation.