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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03. (Handout) Excerpt from CA Government Code (Meyers-Milias-Brown Act)Excerpt from CA Government Code (Meyers-Milias-Brown Act) i rem J, (Handout) 3505. The governing body of a public agency, or such boards, commissions, administrative officers or other representatives as may be properly designated by law or by such governing body, shall meet and confer in good faith regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment with representatives of such recognized employee organizations, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 3501, and shall consider fully such presentations as are made by the employee organization on behalf of its members prior to arriving at a determination of policy or course of action. "Meet and confer in good faith" means that a public agency, or such representatives as it may designate, and representatives of recognized employee organizations, shall have the mutual obligation personally to meet and confer promptly upon request by either party and continue for a reasonable period of time in order to exchange freely information, opinions, and proposals, and to endeavor to reach agreement on matters within the scope of representation prior to the adoption by the public agency of its final budget for the ensuing year. The process should include adequate time for the resolution of impasses where specific procedures for such resolution are contained in local rule, regulation, or ordinance, or when such procedures are utilized by mutual consent. 3505.1. If a tentative agreement is reached by the authorized representatives of the public agency and a recognized employee organization or recognized employee organizations, the governing body shall vote to accept or reject the tentative agreement within 30 days of the date it is first considered at a duly noticed public meeting. A decision by the governing body to reject the tentative agreement shall not bar the filing of a charge of unfair practice for failure to meet and confer in good faith. If the governing body adopts the tentative agreement, the parties shall jointly prepare a written memorandum of understanding. 1111111 If after a reasonable period of time, representatives of the public agency and the recognized employee organization fail to reach agreement, the public agency and the recognized employee organization or recognized employee organizations together may agree upon the appointment of a mediator mutually agreeable to the parties. Costs of mediation shall be divided one-half to the public agency and one-half to the recognized employee organization or recognized employee organizations. 3505.3. (a) Public agencies shall allow a reasonable number of public agency employee representatives of recognized employee organizations reasonable time off without loss of compensation or other benefits when they are participating in any one of the following activities: (1) Formally meeting and conferring with representatives of the public agency on matters within the scope of representation. (2) Testifying or appearing as the designated representative of the employee organization in conferences, hearings, or other proceedings before the board, or an agent thereof, in matters relating to a charge filed by the employee organization against the public agency or by the public agency against the employee organization. (3) Testifying or appearing as the designated representative of the employee organization in matters before a personnel or merit commission. (b) The employee organization being represented shall provide reasonable notification to the employer requesting a leave of absence without loss of compensation pursuant to subdivision (a). (c) For the purposes of this section, "designated representative" means an officer of the employee organization or a member serving in proxy of the employee organization. 3505.4. (a) The employee organization may request that the parties' differences be submitted to a factfinding panel not sooner than 30 days, but not more than 45 days, following the appointment or selection of a mediator pursuant to the parties' agrieine t. to mediate or a mediation process required by a public agency' l caj rulgs. I.f the dispute was not submitted mediation, an employee organization may request that the parties' differences be submitted to a factfinding panel not later than 30 days following the date that either party provided the other with a written notice of a declaration of impasse. Within five days after receipt of the written request, each party shall select a person to serve as its member of the factfinding panel. The Public Employment Relations Board shall, within five days after the selection of panel members by the parties, select a chairperson of the factfinding panel. (b) Within five days after the board selects a chairperson of the factfinding panel, the parties may mutually agree upon a person to serve as chairperson in lieu of the person selected by the board. (c) The panel shall, within 10 days after its appointment, meet with the parties or their representatives, either jointly or separately, and may make inquiries and investigations, hold hearings, and take any other steps it deems appropriate. For the purpose of the hearings, investigations, and inquiries, the panel shall have the power to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence. Any state agency, as defined in Section 11000, the California State University, or any political subdivision of the state, including any board of education, shall furnish the panel, upon its request, with all records, papers, and information in their possession relating to any matter under investigation by or in issue before the panel. (`u) In titfviiiy at their findings ana recommendations, tri� factfinders shall consider, weigh, and be guided by all the following criteria: (1) State ana federal laws that are appliniple to the employer. (2) Local rules, regulations, or ordinances. (3) Stipulations of the parties (4) The interests and welfare rl1 r,e rvblic and the iiliaiii.icfi ability of the public agency. (5) Comparison of the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the employees involved in the factfinding proceeding with the wages, hours, and conditions of employment of other employees performing similar services in comparable public agencies. (6) The consumer price index for goods and services, commonly known as the cost of living. (7) The overall compensatic.. 1 __ .sently received by the employees, including direct wage compensation, vacations, holidays, and other excused time, insurance and pensions, medical and hospitalization benefits, the continuity ,and stability of employment, and all other benefits received. (8) Any other facts, not confined to those specified i» yaiayiaphs (1) to (7), inclusive, which are normally or traditionally taken into consideration in making the findings and recommendations. (e) The procedural right of an employee organization to request a factfinding panel cannot be expressly or voluntarily waived. 3505.5. (a) If the dispute is not settled within 30 days after the appointment of the factfinding panel, or, upon agreement by both parties within a longer period, the panel shall make findings of fact and recommend terms of settlement, which shall be advisory only. The factfinders shall submit, in writing, any findings of fact and recommended terms of settlement to the parties before they are made available to the public. The public agency shall make these findings and recommendations publicly available within 10 days after their receipt. (b) The costs for the services of the panel chairperson selected by the board, including per diem fees, if any, and actual and necessary travel and subsistence expenses, shall be equally divided between the parties. (c) The costs for the services of the panel chairperson agreed upon by the parties shall be equally divided between the parties, and shall include per diem fees, if any, and actual and necessary travel and subsistence expenses. The per diem fees shall not exceed the per diem fees stated on the chairperson's resume on file with the board. The chairperson's bill showing the amount payable by the parties shall accompany his or her final report to the parties and the board. The chairperson may submit interim bills to the parties in the course of the proceedings, and copies of the interim bills shall also be sent to the board. The parties shall make payment directly to the chairperson. (d) Any other mutually incurred costs shall be borne equally by the public agency and the employee organization. Any separately incurred costs for the panel member selected by each party shall be borne by that party. (e) A charter city, charter county, or charter city and county with a charter that has a procedure that applies if an impasse has been reached between the public agency and a bargaining unit, and the procedure includes, at a minimum, a process for binding arbitration, is exempt from the requirements of this section and Section 3505.4 with regard to its negotiations with a bargaining unit to which the impasse procedure applies. 3505.7. After any applicable mediation and factfinding procedures have been exhausted, but no earlier than 10 days after the factfinders' written findings of fact and recommended terms of settlement have been submitted to the parties pursuant to Section 3505.5, a public agency that is not required to proceed to interest arbitration may, after holding a public hearing regarding the impasse, implement its last, best, and final offer, but shall not implement a memorandum of understanding. The unilateral implementation of a public agency's last, best, and final offer shall not deprive a recognized employee organization of the right each year to meet and confer on matters within the scope of representation, whether or not those matters are included in the unilateral implementation, prior to the adoption by the public agency of its annual budget, or as otherwise required by law.