PERB’s End Of Fiscal Year Numbers

CORRECTION: This post initially stated that PERB issued 52 decisions in 2012-13. The correct number is 51. My initial count inadvertently included a decision issued in July 2013. The numbers below have been corrected.

Overview: PERB issues 51 decisions

PERB operates on a fiscal year running from July 1 to June 30. So fiscal year 2012-2013 is over. PERB’s annual report for 2012-2013 is not due until October 1, 2013. However, here are some preliminary numbers based on my tracking of PERB decisions. For fiscal year 2012-2013, PERB issued 51 board decisions (not including decisions on injunctive relief requests). The prior year PERB issued 100 board decisions. The dramatic drop is undoubtedly due to the turnover in board members. Member Dowdin’s term expired at the end of 2012 and the two new Board members were not appointed until February 1, 2013. Once PERB issues its annual report I’ll have a more thorough analysis. Until then, here are the preliminary numbers:

Decisions by Statute:

MMBA: 26
EERA: 10
HEERA: 8
Dills Act: 6
Trial Court: 1
Court Interpreter: 0
LA Met: 0

Decisions by Type:

Appeals from Dismissals: 21 (only 2 of which were DFR’s)
Exceptions to ALJ Decisions: 14
Approval of Settlement/Withdrawal: 5
Administrative Appeal (AA): 4
Reconsideration: 6
Judicial Review: 0
Unit Modification: 0
Injunctive Relief: 1

Decisions by Outcome:

Dismissals/AA’s Affirmed: 17
Dismissals/AA’s Overturned/Partially Overturned: 8
ALJ Decisions Affirmed: 12
ALJ Decisions Overturned/Partially Overturned: 2
Miscellaneous (Judicial Review, Settlements, Recon’s, Unit
Mod’s, IR): 12

Decisions by Board Member:

Martinez: 21
Dowdin (Term ended ~12/31/12): 13
Huguenin: 10
Winslow (Appointed 2/1/13): 5
Banks (Appointed 2/1/13): 1
Per Curiam: 1

Other Interesting Facts:

There were 3 dissents last year, all by Member Dowdin (2290-E; 2300-H; 2298-M).
The Board issued a written decision in an IR case (IR 1056-H) for the first time since 2001. That same case was issued per curiam, which the Board has not done in recent memory.
The Board’s affirmance rate of dismissals and AA decisions was 68.0%. If AA’s are not counted, the affirmance rate of dismissals was only 61.9%. Last year the affirmance rate was 82.3%. The year before that it was 93.8%. So, in my opinion, the Board is signaling to everyone that more complaints should be issuing by the General Counsel’s office.
The Board’s affirmance rate of ALJ decisions was 85.7%. This is higher than last year’s rate of 68.2%. Because the number of decisions was lower, it’s hard to draw any statistical conclusions. However, it’s always been the case that overturning an ALJ decision is hard. These numbers just confirm that.