(A) 
The enactment of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall not subject the City or its employees to the provisions of Section 923 of the California Labor Code. The provisions of this chapter are not intended to conflict with the provision of Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Government Code of the state of California (Section 3500, et seq.).
(B) 
The purpose of this chapter is to implement Chapter 10, Division 4, Title 1 of the Government Code of the state of California (Sections 3500 et seq.) captioned "Public Employee Organizations," by providing orderly procedures for the administration of employer-employee relations between the City and its employee organizations and for resolving disputes regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
(Ord. 1515 § 2; Prior code § 2.122)
As used in this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by resolution pursuant to this title, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
"Appropriate unit"
means a unit established pursuant to Section 2-32.130 .
"Board"
means the Personnel Board of the City.
"City"
means the City of Santa Rosa. Where appropriate, "City" refers to the City Council.
"Consult" or "consultation"
means the act of communicating and discussing matters within the scope of representation between representatives of the City and representatives of employee organizations. For majority representation, which does not have formal recognition and the accompanying privilege to meet and confer, "consult" or "consultation" constitutes the level of communication between the majority representative and representatives of the City.
"Day"
means a calendar day, unless otherwise stated.
"Determining body or official"
means the body or official with final authority to make a decision on matters under discussion within the scope of representation.
"Employee"
means any person employed by the City except those persons elected by popular vote.
(1) 
"Confidential employee"
means any employee who is apprised of information leading to decisions of City management affecting employee relations.
(2) 
"Management"
means:
(a) 
Any employee having significant responsibilities for formulating and administering City policies and programs, including not but limited to the Chief Executive Officer and department heads; and
(b) 
Any employee having authority to exercise independent judgment to hire, transfer, suspend, lay-off, recall, promote, discharge, reward or discipline other employees, or having the responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances.
(3) 
"Peace Officer"
is as defined by Chapter 4.5, Part 2, California Penal Code, Sections 830 et seq.
(4) 
"Professional"
means employees engaged in work requiring specialized knowledge and skills attained through completion of a recognized course of instruction, including, but not limited to, attorneys, physicians, registered nurses, engineers, architects, teachers and various types of physical, chemical and biological scientists.
(5) 
"Regular employee"
means an employee who is appointed to a full-time permanent position.
"Employee organization"
means any organization which includes employees of the City and which has as one of its primary purposes representing City employees in their employment relations with the City.
(1) 
"Recognized employee organization"
means an employee organization which has been formally acknowledged by the City Council as an employee organization that represents employees of an appropriate unit as designated by the City Council.
(2) 
"Majority representatives"
means an employee organization that has been recognized by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer as representing the majority of employees in an appropriate unit.
"Factfinding"
means identifying issues in a particular dispute; reviewing the positions of the parties; investigating and reporting the facts by one or more impartial fact-finders; and, when directed by the Board, making recommendations for settlement.
"Grievance"
means a dispute concerning (1) the interpretation or application of departmental rules and regulations governing personnel practices or working conditions, or (2) the effect of departmental practices on employee relations matters. The term "grievance" shall not include disputes over the substantive terms of a memorandum of understanding.
"Impasse"
means the failure after reasonable and responsible effort in the meet and confer process of the participating parties to reach accord on the subjects properly within the scope of the process.
"Joint council"
means two or more recognized employee organizations which have joined together for the purpose of seeking recognition.
"Management representative"
means a person designated by a determining body or official, to carry out the responsibilities specified for a Management Representative under this chapter or his duly authorized representative.
"Mediation"
means efforts by an impartial third party to assist in reconciling a dispute between City Management Representatives and representatives of recognized employee organizations through interpretation, suggestion and advice.
"Meet and confer"
means the mutual obligation of the City's management representatives and representatives of recognized employee organizations personally to meet and confer within a reasonable period of time in order to exchange freely information, opinions and proposals, and to endeavor to reach agreement on matters within the scope of representation.
"Memorandum of understanding"
means a written memorandum between the City and a recognized employee organization as the result of conferring with respect to matters within the scope of the meet and confer process.
"Municipal employee relations officer"
means the City Manager or his duly authorized representative, as defined in Section 2-32.050.
"Ordinance"
means, unless otherwise indicated, the employer-employee relations ordinance of the City.
"Recognition"
means formal recognition of an employee organization by the City Council pursuant to Section 2-36.200.
"Scope of representation"
means all matters relating to employment conditions and employer-employee relations, including, but not limited to, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. Scope of representation shall not include consideration of the merits, necessity or organization of any service or activity provided by law or executive order.
(Prior code § 2.90)
The City reserves all rights of management not legally granted to employees by agreement or ordinance.
(Prior code §2.92)
Employees of the City shall have the right to form, join and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of being represented on all matters of employer-employee relations within the scope of representation. Employees of the City have the right to represent themselves individually in their employment relations with the City. No employee shall be interfered with, intimidated, restrained, coerced or discriminated against by the City or by any employee organization because of his or her exercise of these rights.
(Prior code § 2.91)
The City Manager shall be the Municipal Employee Relations Officer. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer or his/her appointed representative shall act as the City's principal representative in all matters of employer-employee relations with authority to meet and confer on matters within the scope of representation including wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.
(Prior code § 2.93)
The Board shall:
(A) 
Consult with the City Manager at his request on general matters of employer-employee relations;
(B) 
Supervise elections involving representation or the withdrawal of representation under the general direction of the City Manager;
(C) 
Hear grievances and submit recommendations to the City Manager on issues raised by an employee or organized employee organization arising under this chapter or concerning issues of recognition which have not been resolved by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer;
(D) 
After notice and hearing, submit recommended rules and procedures not inconsistent with the provisions of City ordinances to the City Manager which, in the opinion of the Board, are necessary and proper to implement the provisions of this chapter.
(Prior code § 2.95)
(A) 
The Personnel Board shall recommend to the City Manager establishment of grievance procedures to promote employer-employee relations.
(B) 
Rules governing grievance procedures shall insure employees either individually or through their designated employee organization, a systematic means of obtaining further considerations relative to conditions of employment.
(C) 
The grievance rules shall provide that the appeal shall be conducted with reasonable informality.
(D) 
The grievance rules shall provide that employees will be assured freedom from reprisal for using grievance procedures.
(E) 
Any employee may be reimbursed for loss of pay and fringe benefits arising from a disciplinary action against him/her. Reimbursement shall be confined to the period of time between the date of the original action and the date of the inception of the modification and shall be made only if the action taken results in a favorable decision to the employee.
(F) 
In the event the City has entered into a grievance procedure in an existing memorandum of understanding with a recognized employee organization, the procedure provided in such memorandum shall form the exclusive basis for handling grievances within such recognized employee organization.
(Prior code § 2.55)
The Municipal Employees Relations Officer shall consider the following and other relevant factors in determining the appropriateness of representation units:
(A) 
The community of interest of employees;
(B) 
The history of employee representation in the unit among other employees of the City and in similar employment;
(C) 
The effect of the unit on the efficient operation of the City and sound employee relations;
(D) 
The extent to which employees have similar skills, working conditions, job duties or educational requirements;
(E) 
The effect upon the City's classification structure of dividing a single classification among two or more units;
(F) 
Legal rights of professional and law enforcement employees to organize separately and be represented separately;
(G) 
Separate units of management or confidential employees shall be limited to employees in those categories;
(H) 
Management and confidential employees as defined in Section 2-36.020(G) shall be designated by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer, and set forth as an attachment to the rules and regulations. Management and confidential employees shall not represent any employee or employee organization which represents other employees on matters within the scope of representation;
(I) 
Units shall not be established solely on the basis of the extent of an organization's efforts or ability to secure employee's authorizations.
(Prior code § 2.96)
After the appropriate notice period has passed, the Municipal Employee Relations Officer will transmit his findings, recommendations and the units determined by his office to the City Council.
(Prior code § 2.100)
Action by the City Council designating the appropriate units for representation shall be by resolution. The City may unilaterally designate the appropriate units after giving notice of the City's intent to establish organizations who represent City employees.
(Prior code § 2.101)
An employee organization that seeks formal recognition for the purpose of meeting and conferring in good faith as the recognized employee organization shall file a petition with the Municipal Employee Relations Officer containing the following information and documentation:
(A) 
Name and address of the employee organization;
(B) 
Names and titles of its officers;
(C) 
Names of employee organization representatives who are authorized to speak on behalf of its members;
(D) 
A statement that the employee organization has, as one of its primary purposes, representing employees in their employment relations with the City;
(E) 
A statement whether the employee organization is a chapter or local of, or affiliated directly or indirectly in any manner with, a regional or state or national or international organization, and if so, the name and address of each such regional, state or international organization;
(F) 
Certified copies of the employee organization's constitution and bylaws;
(G) 
The names and addresses of two officers or members of the employee organization, either of which is authorized to receive notice for and on behalf of such organization;
(H) 
A statement that the employee organization recognizes that the provisions of Section 923 of the Labor Code are not applicable to City employees;
(I) 
A statement that the employee organization has no restriction on membership based on race, color, creed, sex or national origin;
(J) 
A statement that the employee organization has in its possession written proof, dated within six months of the date upon which the petition is filed, that 30 percent of the regular employees in the unit have designated the employee organization to represent them in their employment relations with the City;
(K) 
Before the petition is filed with the Municipal Employee Relations Officer, it shall be dated and signed by two of the officers of the organization authorized by the organization to execute and file the petition. The petition shall be verified under penalty of perjury by each party signing it as provided in California Code of Civil Procedure Section 2015.5, substantially as follows:
"I certify (or declare) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct";
(L) 
A request that the City recognize the employee organization as the recognized employee organization for the employees in the unit for the purpose of meeting and conferring in good faith on all matters within the scope of representation.
(Prior code § 2.102)
An employee organization or joint council or organizations desiring formal acknowledgement as the recognized employee organization of a proposed representation unit shall file with the Municipal Employee Relations Officer a petition in a form prescribed by the said officer containing the information specified below. Within two working days, notice shall be posted that the petition has been filed. The petition shall contain a statement that the organization has secured signatures of at least 30 percent of the regular employees of an appropriate unit designating the organization as their representative organization. The petition shall also contain a request that the organization be formally recognized.
(Prior code § 2.103)
Petition for formal recognition shall be processes as provided below.
(A) 
Upon receipt of a petition for formal recognition, the Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall review the information submitted for compliance with the requirements specified in Sections 2-32.140 and 2-32.150. The Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall consider the views of all concerned departments and offices together with the effect of the proposed unit on the general operation and conduct of the City. Other interested employee organizations may submit their views concerning the representation request, for consideration by the Municipal Employee Relations Officer.
(B) 
Formal recognition shall be determined by election except when all organizations eligible to participate in the election for representation of the unit and the City Manager agree that an election is not required. Before the City formally recognizes an employee organization, all affected employee organizations will be given 10 days' notice of the intent to grant recognition.
(C) 
If an election is required, the Board or Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall determine the names of the organizations which shall appear on the ballot.
(D) 
When necessary, the Board or Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall arrange for an election by secret ballot which shall be conducted by the City Clerk or some other agency. The choice of "no organization" shall also be included on the ballot. The order and manner in which the names of the organizations shall appear on the ballot shall be mutually determined. Regular employees in the unit shall be entitled to vote in such election if they were employed during a specified period of time immediately prior to the pay period within which the election is held, such period to be determined by the Board or Municipal Employee Relations Officer. Those employees shall be included who did not work during such period because of illness, vacation or authorized leave of absence.
(E) 
The Board or Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall recommend to the City Council that an employee organization or joint council be recognized as the recognized employee organization following an election or runoff election if such organization has received the vote of a numerical majority of the employees voting in the unit in which the election is held (i.e., 50 percent plus one of the votes of all employees voting) provided, that at least 60 percent of the eligible employees vote. A majority vote of all employees of the unit eligible to vote shall be required in order for the organization to be recognized as the recognized employee organization.
(F) 
Within 30 days from the date of an election at which no employee organization obtains a majority in accordance with subsection (E) of this section, a runoff election shall be conducted between the two choices receiving the largest number of votes.
(G) 
No petition for recognition shall be filed or received by the City until one year has elapsed from the date of the election where no majority employee organization was selected as the majority representative for the representation unit involved.
(Prior code § 2.104)
The City Clerk or other agency conducting the election shall report the election results to the Board or Municipal Employee Relations Officer and the other affected employee organizations and departments. Recommendations of the Board or the Municipal Employee Relations Officer shall be submitted to the City Council which will then make a final determination with respect to granting or denying recognition.
(Prior code § 2.105)
When an employee organization or joint council has been formally recognized as the majority representative of a unit, such recognition shall remain in effect for one year from the date thereof and thereafter until formal recognition is withdrawn as provided in Section 2-32.290.
(Prior code § 2.106)
A petition for withdrawal of formal recognition alleging that an employee organization no longer represents the majority of the employees in a particular unit may be filed by an individual employee, a group of employees or their representatives, an employee organization or by management in accordance with the procedures set forth in this chapter for formal recognition and the employer-employee relations rules and regulations of the City.
(Prior code § 2.107)
An employee organization not formally recognized but which seeks recognition for purposes of consultation shall file a petition with the Municipal Employee Relations Officer which shall contain all of the information enumerated in Section 2-32.140 (A) through (K), together with a request that the Municipal Employee Relations Officer grant informal recognition to the employee organization for the purpose of consultation.
(Prior code § 2.108)
The petition, including all accompanying documents, shall be verified, under oath, in the same manner as provided in Section 2-32.140 (K) by the Executive Officer and Secretary of the organization. All changes in such information shall be filed forthwith in like manner.
(Prior code § 2.109)
Informal recognition will not be granted to an organization claiming to represent a portion of a unit that has been granted formal recognition or has failed to gain recognition in a representative election.
(Prior code § 2.113)
Meeting and conferring between management and representatives of recognized employee organizations includes, but is not limited to, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment within the scope of representation as defined by Section 2-32.020 (T). Meeting and conferring shall not be required on any matter preempted or specially provided for by federal law, State law or the City Charter. Rules and regulations adopted by the City for the administration of employee relations pursuant to this chapter, rules of the Personnel Board and proposed amendments thereto are excluded from the scope of meeting and conferring but are subject to consultation as defined in Section 2-36.320.
Requests to meet and confer on matters requiring major budgetary financing shall be submitted to the Municipal Employee Relations Officer in time for adequate discussion, consideration and action in connection with the budget, or within the time set by the rules and regulations related to this chapter.
Meetings on those matters which affect employees generally may be held jointly with representatives of other recognized employee organizations.
(Prior code § 2.114)
When the meeting and conferring process is concluded between the City and a formally recognized employee organization, a jointly written memorandum of understanding shall be prepared for signature by the duly authorized City and employee representatives.
The memorandum of understanding shall be submitted to the City Council for determination and is not effective or binding until adopted by the council.
(Prior code § 2.119)
The scope of consultation between management representatives and representatives of employee organizations includes any item considered within the scope of representation.
Every reasonable effort shall be made to have such consultation prior to basic changes in any rule or procedure affecting employee relations.
Requests for consultation shall be directed to the Municipal Employee Relations Officer or his/her duly authorized representative.
(Prior code § 2.115)
Requests on matters within the scope of representation submitted to the City Council or other determining body or official shall be automatically referred to the Municipal Employee Relations Officer for review and processing pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(Prior code § 2.116)
Except in cases of emergency as hereafter provided, a determining body or official shall give reasonable written notice to each recognized employee organization affected by any proposed ordinance, rule, resolution or regulation directly relating to matters within the scope of representation proposed for adoption by the City. In addition, the City shall give recognized employee organizations the opportunity to consult with the determining body or official before the proposed ordinance, rule, resolution or regulation is adopted.
In cases of emergency, when an ordinance, rule, resolution or regulation must be adopted immediately without prior notice or meeting with recognized employee organizations, notice and opportunity to consult shall be given by the appropriate determining body or official at the earliest practicable time following the adoption of such ordinance, rule, resolution or regulation.
(Prior code § 2.117)