Public Employment Relations Board: petitions: expedited resolution.

Existing law regulates the labor relations of employees and employers of public agencies. Existing law grants specified employees of public agencies the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their choosing and requires public agency employers, among other things, to meet and confer with representatives of recognized employee organizations and exclusive representatives on terms and conditions of employment. Existing law creates the Public Employment Relations Board and grants it specified powers in connection with public employee labor relations. Existing law described above grants the board the power to hear specified disputes in relation to these provisions and to make determinations regarding them. This bill would authorize the Public Employment Relations Board to grant expedited status for specified matters and generally codify regulations of the board, in this regard, that are currently in effect. This bill would require the board, upon request of an interested party, to grant expedited status for specified matters before the board if the board determines that they meet certain criteria. The bill would require the board to make this determination, and notify the parties, within 120 hours of the time of the filing of the request. For matters granted expedited status, the bill would require the board to reach a conclusion on the matter by a specified deadline and if a party appeals that conclusion, to render a final decision on or before 90 days after the appeal is filed, as specified.