Decision A390M – City of Inglewood
LA-SV-166-M
Decision Date: September 28, 2011
Decision Type: Administrative Appeal
Description: The Inglewood Police Civilian Association filed a severance petition seeking to sever 13 classifications from the City of Inglewood’s General Employees Bargaining Unit.
Disposition: The Board upheld the Board agent’s dismissal of the petition, concluding that the Board lacked jurisdiction given that severance can be achieved under local rules.
Perc Vol: 36
Perc Index: 53
Decision Headnotes
1308.01000 – In General
PERB has authority to conduct representation proceedings for parties subject to the MMBA in such cases where a public agency has not adopted local rules under which severance could be achieved without placing an undue burden on petitioner; Board dismissed a severance petition for lack of jurisdiction where notwithstanding fact that local rules did not provide for a “severance” proceeding, severance could be, and has been, achieved under local rules for establishing a recognized employee organization of an appropriate bargaining unit; under PERB procedures, severance and certification processes have similar requirements and purposes in that both processes are designed to allow an employee organization to become the recognized employee organization of an appropriate bargaining unit, and only difference is that the certification process is used to create a new bargaining unit of unrepresented employees whereas the severance process is used to create a bargaining unit of employees already members of an existing bargaining unit; where public agency’s local rules for establishing a recognized employee organization makes no distinction between whether the employees in the proposed unit are unrepresented or whether they are part of an existing barraging unit, local rule is one under which severance could be achieved and PERB has no jurisdiction to entertain the petition.
1311.02000 – Procedural Issues
PERB has authority to conduct representation proceedings for parties subject to the MMBA in such cases where a public agency has not adopted local rules under which severance could be achieved without placing an undue burden on petitioner; Board dismissed a severance petition for lack of jurisdiction where notwithstanding fact that local rules did not provide for a “severance” proceeding, severance could be, and has been, achieved under local rules for establishing a recognized employee organization of an appropriate bargaining unit; under PERB procedures, severance and certification processes have similar requirements and purposes in that both processes are designed to allow an employee organization to become the recognized employee organization of an appropriate bargaining unit, and only difference is that the certification process is used to create a new bargaining unit of unrepresented employees whereas the severance process is used to create a bargaining unit of employees already members of an existing bargaining unit; where public agency’s local rules for establishing a recognized employee organization makes no distinction between whether the employees in the proposed unit are unrepresented or whether they are part of an existing barraging unit, local rule is one under which severance could be achieved and PERB has no jurisdiction to entertain the petition.