Decision 2619M – County of San Joaquin (Sheriff's Department)
SA-CE-897-M
Decision Date: December 28, 2018
Decision Type: PERB Decision
Description: Union excepted to a proposed decision finding County’s refusal to allow an employee to consult a union representative before submitting a written statement did not violate employee rights, employer’s discipline of employee was justified for other reasons.
Disposition: The Board reversed the ALJ’s proposed decision and held the County violated employee’s right to be represented and union’s right to represent him even though the employee did not ultimately submit the written statement and that discipline was not justified where employee’s request for a representative triggered the disciplinary process even though employee was disciplined in part for other conduct.
Perc Vol: 43
Perc Index: 114
Decision Headnotes
408.03000 – Investigatory Interviews
PERB will find a violation of the right to representation when (a) the employee or the union representative requested representation before (b) responding to a request to provide written information, (c) which the employee reasonably believed could result in disciplinary action, and (d) the employer denied the request. PERB found a violation even though the employee did not ultimately submit the written statement.
1201.01000 – In General
A purge order with make whole relief was the appropriate remedy for a violation of an employee’s right to representation where employee’s request for a representative triggered the disciplinary process even though employee was disciplined in part for other conduct.
1205.03000 – Notices; Posting, Reading, and Mailing
Notice reading, also known as spoken notice, may be warranted in appropriate circumstances.