The Board’s Mission ...

The Employee Relations Board administers the city’s Employee Relations Ordinance (the “ERO”). Its functions in so doing include determining employee representation units, arranging for an elections in such units, determining the validity of claims of unfair practices filed against management and employee organizations, acting on requests for mediation, fact finding and arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses and grievances, and assisting employees to obtain access to their personnel file under California Labor Code section 1198.5.

The Board and Individual Employees...

Although the Board is charged with processing a variety of different types of cases, the great majority of filings by individual employees are what is called unfair employee relations practice (or "UERP") claims. In general, employees’ UERP claims are allegations of either retaliation for exercising rights guaranteed by the ERO or discrimination by management or union representatives based on race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status or sexual orientation. Employees may also file a claim alleging their union has breached of its duty of fair representation ("DFR"). Actions protected from retaliation by the ERO include filing formal grievances or disciplinary appeals, complaining informally about something related to wages, hours or working conditions, activities as a union officer or shop steward, etc. The DFR is not breached merely because a union declines to represent an employee before the Civil Service Commission.

The Board's authority over UERP claims is quasi-judicial in the sense that, like a court of law, the Board does not act through its own initiative nor does it conduct investigations. Rather, as is true of a trial court, the Board acts only in response to petitions properly submitted to it.

The UERP process is initiated by the “claimant’s” filing of a claim with the Board on its official form. A blank copy of the claim form can be obtained by clicking on "Forms" on the banner across the top of this page, by calling the Board at (213) 473-9700 to request a copy or by visiting the Board’s office on the eleventh floor of City Hall East. In order to be properly filed, an original and eight copies of a completed, typed UERP form must be filed with the Board either in person or by U.S. Mail (e-mail does not suffice for this purpose) and by serving a copy on the party against whom the claim is filed (the "respondent"). The claimant must provide the Board with a completed proof of service form, a blank copy of which can also be obtained from the Board. Claims not submitted to the Board’s official form and not served on the respondent are not considered to have been properly filed. Under the California Public Records Act, anyone making a proper request can gain access to the great majority of documents filed with the Board. Therefore, claims may not be filed confidentially and the names of employees involved in UERP claims will be a matter of public record.

A UERP claim which in the opinion of the Board’s executive director fails to provide sufficient information from which to conclude the ERO may have been violated will not be processed. When the executive director believes a claim does contain such information, the respondent will be asked to reply to the claim in writing and the claim will be placed on the agenda of a subsequent monthly Board meeting. If the majority of the five members of the Board deem it appropriate to do so, they will refer the claim to a "hearing officer" to conduct a hearing on the matter. A claim not containing required information will be dismissed if not withdrawn.

Although less formal, a Board hearing is similar to a court trial before a judge in that evidence is taken by the hearing officer through the testimony of witnesses and presentation of documents. The Board does not provide representation to claimants. Employees not wishing to handle their own case are entitled to be represented by a union staff person, a union attorney or an attorney they themselves retain. After completion of the hearing, the hearing officer makes a recommendation to the Board members regarding whether a violation of the ERO has occurred. The Board members will then either fully affirm that recommendation, affirm it in part and modify or reject it in part, or reject it entirely. If no ERO violation is found, the claim will be dismissed. If a violation is found, the Board will order the respondent to take action to remedy that violation.

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