(a) The employer or its agents or representatives are prohibited from any of the following:
(1) Interfering with, restraining, or coercing employees in the exercise of any rights granted to them under this article.
(2) Dominating or interfering with the formation or administration of any employee organization or contributing financial or other support to it, under an agreement or otherwise. However, the employer and a certified representative may agree to and apply an agency shop provision under this article and a voluntary dues or service fee deduction provision, and may agree to reasonable use of county facilities for communicating with employees.
(3) Encouraging or discouraging membership in any employee organization by discriminating in hiring, tenure, wages, hours, or conditions of employment. However, nothing in this article precludes an agreement from containing a provision for an agency shop.
(4) Discharging or discriminating against a public employee because she or he files charges, gives testimony, or otherwise lawfully aids in the administration of this article.
(5) Refusing to bargain collectively with the certified representative.
(6) Refusing to reduce to writing or refusing to sign a bargaining agreement that has been agreed to in all respects.
(7) Refusing to process or arbitrate a grievance if required under a grievance procedure contained in a collective bargaining agreement.
(8) Directly or indirectly opposing the appropriation of funds or the enactment of legislation by the county council to implement an agreement reached between the employer and the certified representative under this article.
(9) Engaging in a lockout of employees.
(b) Employee organizations, their agents, representatives, and person who work for them are prohibited from any of the following:
(1) Interfering with, restraining, or coercing the employer or employees in the exercise of any rights granted under this article.
(2) Restraining, coercing, or interfering with the employer in the selection of its representative for the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances.
(3) Refusing to bargain collectively with the employer if the employee organization is the certified representative.
(4) Refusing to reduce to writing or refusing to sign a bargaining agreement which has been agreed to in all respects.
(5) Hindering or preventing, by threats of violence, intimidation, force, or coercion of any kind, the pursuit of any lawful work or employment by any person, public or private, or obstructing or otherwise unlawfully interfering with the entrance to or exit from any place of employment, or obstructing or unlawfully interfering with the free and uninterrupted use of public roads, streets, highways, railways, airports, or other ways of travel or conveyance by any person, public or private.
(6) Hindering or preventing by threats, intimidation, force, coercion, or sabotage, the obtaining, use, or disposition of materials, supplies, equipment, or services by the employer.
(7) Taking or retaining unauthorized possession of property of the employer, or refusing to do work or use certain goods or materials as lawfully required by the employer.
(8) Causing or attempting to cause the employer to pay or deliver or agree to pay or deliver any money or other thing of value, in the nature of an exaction, for services which are neither performed nor to be performed.
(c) A charge of prohibited practice may be filed by the employer, an employee organization, or any individual employee. The charge or charges shall be filed with the labor relations administrator, and copies shall be sent to the party alleged to have committed a prohibited practice. All charges shall contain a statement of facts sufficient to enable the labor relations administrator to investigate the charge. The labor relations administrator may request withdrawal of and, if necessary, summarily dismiss charges if they are insufficiently supported in fact or in law to warrant a hearing. The labor relations administrator has the authority to maintain whatever independent investigation she determines is necessary and to develop regulations for an independent investigation. If, upon investigation, the labor relations administrator finds that a charge is sufficiently supported to raise an issue of fact or law, she shall, if she is unable to achieve settlement or resolution of the matter, hold a hearing on the charge after notification to the parties. In any hearing, charging parties shall present evidence in support of the charges; and the party or parties charged shall have the right to file an answer to the charges, to appear in person or otherwise, and to present evidence in defense against the charges.
(d) If the labor relations administrator determines that the person charged has committed a prohibited practice, she shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law and may issue an order requiring the person charged to cease and desist from the prohibited practice, and may take affirmative actions that will remedy the violation of this article. Remedies of the labor relations administrator include reinstating employees with or without back pay, making employees whole for any loss relating to county employment suffered as a result of any prohibited practices, or withdrawing or suspending the employee organization’s authority to negotiate or continue an agency shop provision or a voluntary dues or service fee deduction provision. If the labor relations administrator finds that the party charged has not committed any prohibited practices, she shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law and issue an order dismissing the charges.
(e) The labor relations administrator shall not receive or entertain charges based upon an alleged prohibited practice occurring more than six (6) months before the filing of the charge. (1986 L.M.C., ch. 70, § 3.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated regarding a union’s authority to engage in collective bargaining on behalf of current employees, but not on behalf of future employees. See County Attorney Opinion dated explaining that conducting union business on County property does not violate the ethics law, because union business is public, not personal.
