PERB Defers Employee’s Retaliation/Discrimination Claim; Member Huguenin Writes Separate Decision
In Suzanne M. Scholz v. Trustees of the California State University (Long Beach) (2011) PERB Decision No. 2201-H, PERB held that an employee’s unfair practice charge, which alleged retaliation and discrimination, was properly deferred to arbitration, that the employee failed to timely seek “repugnancy review” of the arbitrator’s unfavorable decision, and even so, the decision was not repugnant to the purposes of the Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act.
Member Huguenin wrote a separate decision, expressing the view that PERB should not have deferred the employee’s unfair practice charge to arbitration. In her charge, the employee alleged that the employer retaliated/discriminated against her for having previously filed an unfair practice charge. Relying on National Labor Relations Board and PERB precedent, Member Huguenin argued that PERB should adjudicate such a charge, not defer it to arbitration, as PERB has a duty to preserve its processes.
Author: Kerianne Steele
