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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.
Learn
More About ERB >>
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