Alameda County Medical Center (PERB 1620MA)

STATE OF CALIFORNIA
DECISION OF THE
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD
JUDITH
D.
KIMBROUGH,
Charging Party,
V.
ALAMEDA COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER,
Respondent.
Case No. SF-CE-96-M
Request for Reconsideration
PERB Decision No. 1620
PERB Decision No. 	1620a-M
June
	29, 	2004
Appearance: Thomas
M.
Bond, Jr., for Judith D. Kimbrough.
Before Duncan, Chairman; Whitehead and Neima, Members.
DECISION
WHITEHEAD, Member: This case is before the Public Employment Relations Board
(PERB or Board) on a request for reconsideration by Judith D. Kimbrough (Kimbrough)
of
the
Board's decision in Alameda County Medical Center (2004) PERB Decision No. 1620-M
(Alameda County). The charge alleged that the Alameda County Medical Center violated the
Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA)1 by refusing to meet and confer with Kimbrough in not
arbitrating her grievance. Kimbrough alleged that this conduct comprised an unlawful
unilateral change in violation
of
MMBA sections 3500 and 3502. In Alameda County, the
Board adopted the Board agent's dismissal finding that an employer's duty to meet and confer
under the MMBA is owed to the exclusive representative and not to an individual employee.
1MMBA is codified at Government Code section 3500, et seq.

The request for reconsideration seeks clarification on two points. First, Kimbrough
asks whether the charge stated a prima facie case. Second, she asks whether she has standing
to pursue her charge under MMBA.
DISCUSSION
A request for reconsideration is governed by PERB Regulation 32410.2 PERB
Regulation 32410 states, in pertinent part:
(a) Any party to a decision of the Board itself may, because of
extraordinary circumstances, file a request to reconsider the
decision within 20 days following the date of service of the
decision. An original and five copies of the request for
reconsideration shall be filed with the Board itself in the
headquarters office and shall state with specificity the grounds
claimed and, where applicable, shall specify the page of the
record relied on. Service and proof of service of the request
pursuant to Section 32140 are required. The grounds for
requesting reconsideration are limited to claims that: 	(1) the
decision of the Board itself contains prejudicial errors of fact, or
(2) the party has newly discovered evidence which was not
previously available and could not have been discovered with the
exercise of reasonable diligence. A request for reconsideration
based upon the discovery of new evidence must be supported by a
declaration under the penalty of perjury which establishes that the
evidence: (1) was not previously available; (2) could not have
been discovered prior to the hearing with the exercise of
reasonable diligence; (3) was submitted within a reasonable time
of its discovery; (4) is relevant to the issues sought to be
reconsidered; and ( 5) impacts or alters the decision of the
previously decided case. 	[Emphasis added.]
In the request, Kimbrough stated neither of the grounds for reconsideration and so the
request is dismissed.
MMBA section 3505 and PERB Regulation 32603(c) only require the employer to meet
and confer in good faith with the exclusive representative. 	(See also, Oxnard School District
(Gorcey and Tripp) (1988) PERB Decision No. 667; State of California (Department of
2PERB regulations are codified at California Code of Regulations, title 8, section
3 1001, et seq.
2

Corrections) (1993) PERB Decision No. 972-S.) There is no parallel mandate with regard to
individual employees. While MMBA section 3502 allows individual employees the right to
represent themselves in their employment relations with the public agency employer, there is
no corresponding provision that requires the employer to negotiate with the individual
employee. 	As only employee organizations may bring an allegation of unilateral change and
the Board lacks authority to adjudicate such an allegation by individual employees, Kimbrough
lacks standing to bring this charge.
ORDER
Judith D. Kimbrough's request for reconsideration of the Board's decision in Alameda
County Medical Center (2004) PERB Decision No. 1620 is hereby DENIED.
Chairman Duncan and Member Neima joined in this Decision.
3