California Government Code 3544.1 – The public school employer shall grant a request for recognition …
The public school employer shall grant a request for recognition filed pursuant to Section 3544, unless any of the following apply:
(a) The public school employer doubts the appropriateness of a unit.
Terms Used In California Government Code 3544.1
- Board: means the Public Employment Relations Board created pursuant to Section 3541. See California Government Code 3540.1
- employee: means a person employed by a public school employer except persons elected by popular vote, persons appointed by the Governor of this state, management employees, and confidential employees. See California Government Code 3540.1
- Employee organization: means an organization that includes employees of a public school employer and that has as one of its primary purposes representing those employees in their relations with that public school employer. See California Government Code 3540.1
- employer: means the governing board of a school district, a school district, a county board of education, a county superintendent of schools, a charter school that has declared itself a public school employer pursuant to subdivision (b) of §. See California Government Code 3540.1
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Exclusive representative: means the employee organization recognized or certified as the exclusive negotiating representative of public school employees, as "public school employee" is defined in subdivision (j), in an appropriate unit of a public school employer. See California Government Code 3540.1
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10
(b) Another employee organization either files with the public school employer a challenge to the appropriateness of the unit or submits a competing claim of representation within 15 workdays of the posting of notice of the written request. The claim shall be evidenced by current dues deductions authorizations or other evidence such as notarized membership lists, or membership cards, or petitions signed by employees in the unit indicating their desire to be represented by the organization. The evidence shall be submitted to the board, and shall remain confidential and not be disclosed by the board. The board shall obtain from the employer the information necessary for it to carry out its responsibilities pursuant to this section and shall report to the employee organizations seeking recognition and to the public school employer as to the adequacy of the evidence. If the claim is evidenced by the support of at least 30 percent of the members of an appropriate unit, a question of representation exists and the board shall conduct a representation election pursuant to Section 3544.7, unless subdivision (c) or (d) of this section applies.
(c) There is currently in effect a lawful written agreement negotiated by the public school employer and another employee organization covering any employees included in the unit described in the request for recognition, unless the request for recognition is filed less than 120 days, but more than 90 days, prior to the expiration date of the agreement.
(d) The public school employer has, within the previous 12 months, lawfully recognized another employee organization as the exclusive representative of any employees included in the unit described in the request for recognition.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 190, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2004.)