Board Decisions Summary July 2021

In July of 2021, the Board issued ten decisions. The decision descriptions and dispositions are below.

Decision No. 2776

Employer: Los Rios Community College District and Los Rios College Federation of Teachers, Local 2279

Case No.: SA-CE-2919-E and SA-CO-625-E

Issued date: July 8, 2021

Non-Precedential

Description:  Deglow appealed the dismissal of her unfair practice charges alleging that: (1) the District violated the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA) by failing to correct her hire date; and (2) the Federation violated EERA by working in “collusion” with the District to deny Deglow her correct her date. The Office of the General Counsel dismissed the charges on the grounds that they were untimely and failed to state a prima facie case. Deglow appealed.

Disposition: The Board dismissed the unfair practice charges without leave to amend and denied the District’s request for monetary sanctions without prejudice. However, the District did issue a new litigation sanction against Deglow.


Decision No. 2777

Employer: Los Rios Community College District and Los Rios College Federation of Teachers, Local 2279

Case No.: SA-CE-2924-E and SA-CO-628-E

Issued date: July 8, 2021

Non-Precedential

Description: Deglow appealed the dismissal of her unfair practice charges alleging that: (1) the District violated the Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA) by failing to pay her a 20-year longevity increment and denying her medical care for her work-related injuries; and (2) the Federation violated EERA by “collaborat[ing]” with the District to deny her the 20-year longevity increment. The Office of the General Counsel dismissed the charges on the grounds that they were untimely and failed to state a prima facie case. Deglow appealed.

Disposition: The Board dismissed the unfair practice charges without leave to amend and denied the District’s request for monetary sanctions without prejudice. However, the District did issue a new litigation sanction against Deglow.


Decision No. 2778

Organization: Glendale Teachers Association (Field)

Case No.: LA-CO-1792-E

Issued date: July 12, 2021

Non-Precedential

Description:  Charging Party Steven Eric Field appealed an Order of Dismissal issued by an administrative law judge following Glendale Teachers Association’s (GTA) Motion to Dismiss. The ALJ issued an Order of Dismissal finding that, even if Field was able to prove all of the allegations in the unfair practice charge and complaint, they failed to state a prima facie violation of EERA.

Disposition:  Dismissal affirmed.


Decision No. 2779

Employer: Los Angeles Unified School District

Case No.: LA-CE-6554-E

Issued date: July 16, 2021

Non-Precedential 

Description:  Michelle McNaughton and the Anonymous Know Nothings appealed the Office of the General Counsel’s dismissal of their unfair practice charge. The charge, as amended, alleged that the Los Angeles Unified School District violated EERA by interfering with McNaughton’s protected rights, terminating McNaughton in retaliation for her protected activities, and dominating the exclusive representative of classified employees, Service Employees International Union, Local 99.

Disposition:  The Board affirmed the dismissal of the unfair practice charge.


Decision No. 2780

Organization: Service Employees International Union, Local 99 (McNaughton)

Case No.: LA-CO-1787-E

Issued date: July 16, 2021

Non-Precedential

Description:  Michelle McNaughton and the Anonymous Know Nothings appealed the Office of the General Counsel’s dismissal of their unfair practice charge. The charge, as amended, alleged that Service Employees International Union, Local 99 violated EERA by failing to adequately represent McNaughton during her Skelly hearing and subsequent termination appeal proceedings before McNaughton’s employer, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and colluding with LAUSD to interfere with McNaughton’s protected rights.

Disposition:  The Board affirmed the dismissal of the unfair practice charge.


Decision No. 2781

Organization: California Teachers Association (Piper)

Case No.: SA-CO-632-E

Issued date: July 16, 2021

Non-Precedential

Description: The charge alleged that California Teachers Association breached its duty of fair representation, interfered with protected activities, and retaliated against charging party for engaging in such activities. PERB’s Office of the General Counsel dismissed the charge for failing to state a prima facie case.

Disposition:  In a non-precedential decision, the Board concurred that the charge did not allege a prima facie case, and the Board therefore affirmed the dismissal.


Decision No. 2758a-M

Employer: County of Ventura

Case Nos.: LA-CE-1260-M and LA-CE-1268-M

Issued date: July 20, 2021

Precedential

Description:  Charging Party Criminal Justice Attorneys Association of Ventura County requested reconsideration of County of Ventura (2021) PERB Decision No. 2758-M. In that decision, the Board found the County of Ventura violated the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) by implementing constructive receipt taxation of accrued leave without affording the Association adequate notice and a meaningful opportunity to bargain over the negotiable effects of that decision; and by bargaining in bad faith over amending the parties’ leave redemption plan. The Association asked the Board to broaden the scope of the make-whole order.

Disposition:  The Association’s request for reconsideration of the Board’s decision in County of Ventura (2021) PERB Decision No. 2758-M was denied. The Association’s arguments were already presented to the Board and rejected, and reiterating them was not an appropriate subject for reconsideration.


Decision No. 2782-M

Organization: Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3, AFL-CIO (Wagner et al.)

Case Nos.: SA-CO-144-M, SA-CO-145-M, and SA-CO-146-M

Issued date: July 26, 2021

Precedential

Description: Three consolidated complaints alleged that Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3, which represents a bargaining unit at the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District, violated the MMBA by interfering with the rights of three District employees. The complaints specifically alleged that Local 3 interfered with protected rights when it submitted a public records request asking for, among other items, certain e-mails that Charging Parties sent or received over a 15-week period. After receiving cross-motions for summary judgment, the ALJ found Local 3 liable for the violations as alleged in the complaints.

Disposition: The Board reversed and dismissed the complaints and underlying charges. The Board held that where the sole challenged conduct is a respondent’s public records request, a charging party must meet PERB’s traditional interference standards and show that the request, or any part of it, was both baseless and in bad faith. The Board found undisputed facts showing that Local 3’s request was not baseless, and the Board therefore found no need to reach any other issue.


Decision No. 2783-H

Employer: Regents of the University of California

Case Nos.: SF-CE-1300-H and SF-CE-1302-H

Issued date: July 26, 2021

Precedential

Description: The Regents of the University of California issued an Executive Order requiring “all students, faculty, and staff living, learning, or working” on University premises to receive an influenza vaccination by November 1, 2020. The complaints alleged that the University made the decision and implemented that decision without satisfying its obligation to meet and confer with unions representing employees working on University premises.

Disposition: The Board found that the decision to adopt the influenza vaccination policy was outside the scope of representation because under the unprecedented circumstances of a potential confluence of the COVID-19 and influenza viruses, the need to protect public health was not amenable to collective bargaining or, alternatively, outweighed the benefits of bargaining over the policy as to University employees. The Board also found, however, that the University was not privileged to implement the vaccination policy before completing negotiations over its effects because it did not meet and confer in good faith prior to implementation. Based on these findings, the University’s implementation of the vaccination policy constituted an unlawful unilateral change in violation of HEERA.


Decision No. 2784

Organization: California School Employees Association and its Chapter 821 (Thompson)

Case No.: SA-CO-639-E

Issued date: July 29, 2021

Non-Precedential

Description: Laureen Thompson appealed the Office of the General Counsel’s dismissal of her unfair practice charge alleging that California School Employees Association Chapter 821 violated its duty of fair representation by declining to arbitrate a grievance alleging that Thompson’s employer involuntary transferred her to another school site in violation of the collective bargaining agreement.

Disposition: The Board affirmed the dismissal of Thompson’s unfair practice charge.