Decision A191S – State of California (Department of Personnel Administration) (California Union of Safety Employees and California State Peace Officers Association)

Oral contract extension of indefinite duration did not act as a contract bar where PERB sets up test that it must be evinced by a writing, signed and contain substantial terms and conditions of employment, and be for a definite duration; pp. 6-9. A successor agreement which had not yet been ratified also was insufficient to constitute a contract bar because the MOU required ratification by union membership prior to its effectiveness; pp. 9-10.

40260(b), under PERB Regulation 40260(b), there must be a valid and binding MOU currently in effect between the employer and the union representing the unit in question at the time that the petition is filed in order to effectively bar the filing of a severance petition; p. 5.

Appropriate to look to NLRB precedent for guidance where the federal rule has been the prototype for California labor legislation, and particularly regarding contract bar rule: p. 6; PERB has followed much of NLRB's contract bar doctrine, but has declined to follow it in toto; p. 7, fn. 4.