Keyword Search by Headnotes - California Public Employment Relations Board

Decision	Description	PERC Vol.	PERC Index	Date
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1201.03000: REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; REINSTATEMENT; BACKPAY BENEFITS; Back Pay; Interest EERA section 3541.5(c) grants PERB “broad remedial powers to effectuate the purposes of the EERA,” including an award of monetary damages when such relief is necessary to place the injured party in the position it would have been in had the wrongful conduct not occurred, i.e., to make the injured party “whole.” But PERB does not presume damages on the part of employees, even where the representative has failed to adequately represent them. (p. 7.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1201.01000: REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; REINSTATEMENT; BACKPAY BENEFITS; In General When a union fails to fairly represent an employee in grievance processing, the employee is not entitled to make whole relief unless he or she would have prevailed had the union properly processed the grievance. (p. 8.) In such case, the typical remedy is an order that the union process the grievance or make whole relief if that process is not available or would be ineffectual. The latter remedy requires the employee prove in compliance proceedings that he or she would have prevailed on a properly process grievance. (p. 8, fn. 5.) Charging Party is bound by the ALJ’s conclusion that her requested grievance lacked merit because she did not except to it. With no basis for the Board to conclude that she would have prevailed on her requested grievance, she is not allowed monetary relief. (p. 8) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1201.08000: REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; REINSTATEMENT; BACKPAY BENEFITS; Other EERA section 3541.5(c) grants PERB “broad remedial powers to effectuate the purposes of the EERA,” including an award of monetary damages when such relief is necessary to place the injured party in the position it would have been in had the wrongful conduct not occurred, i.e., to make the injured party “whole.” But PERB does not presume damages on the part of employees, even where the representative has failed to adequately represent them. (p. 7.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1201.08000: REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; REINSTATEMENT; BACKPAY BENEFITS; Other When a union fails to fairly represent an employee in grievance processing, the employee is not entitled to make whole relief unless he or she would have prevailed had the union properly processed the grievance. (p. 8.) In such case, the typical remedy is an order that the union process the grievance or make whole relief if that process is not available or would be ineffectual. The latter remedy requires the employee prove in compliance proceedings that he or she would have prevailed on a properly process grievance. (p. 8, fn. 5.) Charging Party was bound by the ALJ’s conclusion that her requested grievance lacked merit because she did not except to it. With no basis for the Board to conclude that she would have prevailed on her requested grievance, she was not allowed monetary relief. (p. 8) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1202.01000: REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; FACTORS LIMITING OR TERMINATING LIABILITY; In General EERA section 3541.5(c) grants PERB “broad remedial powers to effectuate the purposes of the EERA,” including an award of monetary damages when such relief is necessary to place the injured party in the position it would have been in had the wrongful conduct not occurred, i.e., to make the injured party “whole.” But PERB does not presume damages on the part of employees, even where the representative has failed to adequately represent them. (p. 7.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1204.01000: REMEDIES FOR UNFAIR PRACTICES; REMEDIES AGAINST UNION; In General When a union fails to fairly represent an employee in grievance processing, the employee is not entitled to make whole relief unless he or she would have prevailed had the union properly processed the grievance. (p. 8.) In such case, the typical remedy is an order that the union process the grievance or make whole relief if that process is not available or would be ineffectual. The latter remedy requires the employee prove in compliance proceedings that he or she would have prevailed on a properly process grievance. (p. 8, fn. 5.) Charging Party was bound by the ALJ’s conclusion that her requested grievance lacked merit because she did not except to it. With no basis for the Board to conclude that she would have prevailed on her requested grievance, she was not allowed monetary relief. (p. 8) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1503.01000: MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES; REGULATIONS; In General When neither party excepts to the merits of a proposed decision, the merits are not before the Board and are thus final and binding only on the parties to that proposed decision. (PERB Regulations 32300(c), 32305(a).) (p. 2, fn. 2.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2643E	California School Employees Association (Williams) 1503.03000: MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES; REGULATIONS; Regulations Considered (By Number) (Continued) When neither party excepts to the merits of a proposed decision, the merits are not before the Board and are thus final and binding only on the parties to that proposed decision. (PERB Regulations 32300(c), 32305(a).) (p. 2, fn. 2.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	185	05/17/19
2658M	Inland Empire Utilities Agency 602.05000: EMPLOYER REFUSAL TO BARGAIN IN GOOD FAITH; UNILATERAL CHANGE (FOR NEGOT OF SPECIFIC SUBJECTS, SEE SEC 1000, SCOPE OF REPRESENTATION); New Policy or Application or Enforcement of Existing Policy in New Way Narrowing the scope of an MOU’s grievance procedures is an unlawful unilateral change. more or view all topics or full text.	44	35	07/24/19
2658M	Inland Empire Utilities Agency 1402.03000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; WAIVER; By Contract/Zipper Clauses/Management Rights Clauses To be effective, an alleged waiver of statutory bargaining rights must be specific, clear, and unmistakable. more or view all topics or full text.	44	35	07/24/19
2658M	Inland Empire Utilities Agency 1404.03000: GENERAL LEGAL PRINCIPLES; CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT/ INTERPRETATION; General Principles of Contract Interpretation If the plain meaning of a MOU is clear, little to no weight should be given to contextual evidence, including bargaining history or the language of extrinsic policies. more or view all topics or full text.	44	35	07/24/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 101.01000: PERB: OPERATION, JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY; APPLICABILITY OF AND CONFLICTS WITH OTHER STATUTES; In General The Legislature’s failure to address successorship in the MMBA does not mean it intended to prohibit application of the successorship doctrine to local public agencies. Legislative silence is not the equivalent of positive legislation. (p. 18.) Because the NLRA and MMBA similarly protect employees’ rights to bargain collectively through an employee representative of their own choosing and bar employers from refusing to negotiate with their employees’ chosen representative, there is no statutory reason to preclude application of the successorship doctrine in California’s public sector. (pp. 18-19.) However, differences between private and public sector employment require a more flexible accretion policy in the public sector to ensure that bargaining units are appropriately and rationally structured. (p. 19.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 101.01000: PERB: OPERATION, JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY; APPLICABILITY OF AND CONFLICTS WITH OTHER STATUTES; In General The federal presumption in favor of single facility bargaining units in the healthcare industry is incompatible with PERB’s preference for broad bargaining units in the public sector. (p. 27, fn. 24.) PERB seeks to avoid both unit fragmentation and proliferation to protect employee representation rights and to balance those rights with public employers’ interest in maintaining operational efficiency. (p. 27.) The final question in successorship analysis is therefore whether accreting the new employees to the successor’s existing units is appropriate. (Ibid.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 1101.01000: CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES; LIMITATION PERIOD FOR FILING CHARGE; In General 101.01000: PERB: OPERATION, JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY; APPLICABILITY OF AND CONFLICTS WITH OTHER STATUTES; In General Though PERB may look to analogous federal precedent for guidance in construing California’s public sector labor relations statutes, it is not controlling authority. Thus, when federal law and the PERB-administered statutes serve dissimilar purposes, we are not constrained to follow federal precedent. (p. 28.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 101.03000: PERB: OPERATION, JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY; APPLICABILITY OF AND CONFLICTS WITH OTHER STATUTES; NLRA/LMRDA Precedent The Legislature’s failure to address successorship in the MMBA does not mean it intended to prohibit application of the successorship doctrine to local public agencies. Legislative silence is not the equivalent of positive legislation. (p. 18.) Because the NLRA and MMBA similarly protect employees’ rights to bargain collectively through an employee representative of their own choosing and bar employers from refusing to negotiate with their employees’ chosen representative, there is no statutory reason to preclude application of the successorship doctrine in California’s public sector. (pp. 18-19.) However, differences between private and public sector employment require a more flexible accretion policy in the public sector to ensure that bargaining units are appropriately and rationally structured. (p. 19.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 101.03000: PERB: OPERATION, JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY; APPLICABILITY OF AND CONFLICTS WITH OTHER STATUTES; NLRA/LMRDA Precedent The federal presumption in favor of single facility bargaining units in the healthcare industry is incompatible with PERB’s preference for broad bargaining units in the public sector. (p. 27, fn. 24.) PERB seeks to avoid both unit fragmentation and proliferation to protect employee representation rights and to balance those rights with public employers’ interest in maintaining operational efficiency. (p. 27.) The final question in successorship analysis is therefore whether accreting the new employees to the successor’s existing units is appropriate. (Ibid.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 101.03000: PERB: OPERATION, JURISDICTION, AUTHORITY; APPLICABILITY OF AND CONFLICTS WITH OTHER STATUTES; NLRA/LMRDA Precedent Though PERB may look to analogous federal precedent for guidance in construing California’s public sector labor relations statutes, it is not controlling authority. Thus, when federal law and the PERB-administered statutes serve dissimilar purposes, we are not constrained to follow federal precedent. (p. 28.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 201.03000: PARTIES; DEFINITIONS; WHO IS AN EMPLOYER?; Successorship Doctrine Under the successorship doctrine, a successor determination creates a presumption that the union which represented its predecessor’s employees continues to enjoy majority status with the successor’s employees, thus requiring the successor employer to recognize and bargain with that union. (p. 14-15.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2670M	County of Santa Clara 201.03000: PARTIES; DEFINITIONS; WHO IS AN EMPLOYER?; Successorship Doctrine Under the successorship doctrine, an employer generally succeeds to the collective-bargaining obligation of a predecessor if a majority of its employees, consisting of a “substantial and representative complement,” in an appropriate bargaining unit are former employees of the predecessor and if the similarities between the two operations manifest a “‘substantial continuity’ between the enterprises. (p. 15.) more or view all topics or full text.	44	67	09/20/19
2622E	Cabrillo Community College District 1100.05000: CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES; CHARGE; Dismissal of Charge; Appeal Following Board review of a dismissal, the Board remanded the case to the Office of the General Counsel for issuance of a complaint. (p. 2, citing Cabrillo Community College District (2015) PERB Decision No. 2453.) Following a formal hearing, the ALJ dismissed the complaint. (p. 1.) Charging party’s exception that the ALJ improperly departed from the Board’s prior decision is misplaced. The Board made no conclusive factual findings in its earlier decision directing OGC to issue a complaint. (pp. 4-5.) Once OGC issued the complaint, it was incumbent upon charging party to prove the complaint allegations during the hearing. (p. 5.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	126	02/04/19
2622E	Cabrillo Community College District 1100.08000: CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES; CHARGE; Pleading Requirements At the charge investigation stage, the charging party’s burden is not to produce evidence, but merely to allege facts that, if proven true in a subsequent hearing, would state a prima facie violation. (p. 4.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	126	02/04/19
2622E	Cabrillo Community College District 1103.02000: CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES; COMPLAINT; Issuance of Complaint Following Board review of a dismissal, the Board remanded the case to the Office of the General Counsel for issuance of a complaint. (p. 2, citing Cabrillo Community College District (2015) PERB Decision No. 2453.) Following a formal hearing, the ALJ dismissed the complaint. (p. 1.) Charging party’s exception that the ALJ improperly departed from the Board’s prior decision is misplaced. The Board made no conclusive factual findings in its earlier decision directing OGC to issue a complaint. (pp. 4-5.) Once OGC issued the complaint, it was incumbent upon charging party to prove the complaint allegations during the hearing. (p. 5.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	126	02/04/19
2622E	Cabrillo Community College District 1105.03000: CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES; EVIDENCE; Burden of Proof; Weight of Evidence; Presumptions and Inferences; Affirmative Defenses Following Board review of a dismissal, the Board remanded the case to the Office of the General Counsel for issuance of a complaint. (p. 2, citing Cabrillo Community College District (2015) PERB Decision No. 2453.) Following a formal hearing, the ALJ dismissed the complaint. (p. 1.) Charging party’s exception that the ALJ improperly departed from the Board’s prior decision is misplaced. The Board made no conclusive factual findings in its earlier decision directing OGC to issue a complaint. (pp. 4-5.) Once OGC issued the complaint, it was incumbent upon charging party to prove the complaint allegations during the hearing. (p. 5.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	126	02/04/19
2622E	Cabrillo Community College District 1107.01000: CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES;PROCEDURES BEFORE THE BOARD; Exceptions; Responses to Exceptions; Standing; Extensions of Time/Late Filing/Waiver The Board may exercise its discretion to address a party’s exceptions despite their technical noncompliance with PERB Regulation 32300 where they raise an important issue, such as the effect of a prior Board decision remanding a case for issuance of a complaint. (pp. 2-3.) However, even when it exercises such discretion, the Board need not consider arguments the ALJ adequately addressed in the proposed decision. (p. 3.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	126	02/04/19
2622E	Cabrillo Community College District 1107.03000: CASE PROCESSING PROCEDURES;PROCEDURES BEFORE THE BOARD; Remand for Further Hearing; Remand to General Counsel Following Board review of a dismissal, the Board remanded the case to the Office of the General Counsel for issuance of a complaint. (p. 2, citing Cabrillo Community College District (2015) PERB Decision No. 2453.) Following a formal hearing, the ALJ dismissed the complaint. (p. 1.) Charging party’s exception that the ALJ improperly departed from the Board’s prior decision is misplaced. The Board made no conclusive factual findings in its earlier decision directing OGC to issue a complaint. (pp. 4-5.) Once OGC issued the complaint, it was incumbent upon charging party to prove the complaint allegations during the hearing. (p. 5.) more or view all topics or full text.	43	126	02/04/19