2006 Ohio Revised Code - 4117.02. State employment relations board.

§ 4117.02. State employment relations board.
 

(A)  There is hereby created the state employment relations board, consisting of three members to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. Members shall be knowledgeable about labor relations or personnel practices. No more than two of the three members shall belong to the same political party. A member of the board during the member's period of service shall hold no other public office or public or private employment and shall allow no other responsibilities to interfere or conflict with the member's duties as a full-time board member. Of the initial appointments made to the board, one shall be for a term ending October 6, 1984, one shall be for a term ending October 6, 1985, and one shall be for a term ending October 6, 1986. Thereafter, terms of office shall be for six years, each term ending on the same day of the same month of the year as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of the member's appointment until the end of the term for which the member is appointed. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office for the remainder of the term. Any member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration of the member's term until the member's successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first. The  governor may remove any member of the board, upon notice and public hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause. 

(B) (1)  The governor shall designate one member of the board to serve as chairperson of the board. The chairperson is the head of the board and its chief executive officer. 

(2) The chairperson shall exercise all administrative powers and duties conferred upon the board under this chapter and shall do all of the following: 

(a) Except as provided in division (F)(2) of this section, employ, promote, supervise, and remove all employees of the board, and establish, change, or abolish positions and assign or reassign the duties of those employees as the chairperson determines necessary to achieve the most efficient performance of the board's duties under this chapter; 

(b) Maintain the office of the board in Columbus and manage the office's daily operations, including securing facilities, equipment, and supplies necessary to house the board, employees of the board, and files and records under the board's control; 

(c) Prepare and submit to the office of budget and management a budget for each biennium according to section 107.03 of the Revised Code, and include in the budget the costs of the board and its staff and the board's costs in discharging any duty imposed by law upon the board, the chairperson, or any of the board's employees or agents. 

(C)  The vacancy on the board does not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of the board, and two members of the board, at all times, constitute a quorum. The board shall have an official seal of which courts shall take judicial notice. 

(D)  The board shall make an annual report in writing to the governor and to the general assembly, stating in detail the work it has done. 

(E)  Compensation of the chairperson and members shall be in accordance with division (J) of section 124.15 of the Revised Code. The chairperson and the members are eligible for reappointment. In addition to such compensation, all members shall be reimbursed for their necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their work as members. 

(F) (1)  The chairperson, after consulting with the other board members and receiving the consent of at least one other board member, shall appoint an executive director. The chairperson also shall appoint attorneys and attorney-trial examiners. 

(2) The board shall appoint mediators, arbitrators, members of fact-finding panels, and directors for local areas, and shall prescribe their job duties. 

(G) (1)  The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of the chairperson. The executive director, under the direction of the chairperson, shall do all of the following: 

(a) Act as chief administrative officer for the board; 

(b) Ensure that all employees of the board comply with the rules of the board; 

(c) Do all things necessary for the efficient and effective implementation of the duties of the board. 

(2) The duties of the executive director described in division (G)(1) of this section do not relieve the chairperson from final responsibility for the proper performance of the duties described in that division. 

(H)  The attorney general shall be the legal adviser of the board and shall appear for and represent the board and its agents in all legal proceedings. The board may utilize regional, local, or other agencies, and utilize voluntary and uncompensated services as needed. The board may contract with the federal mediation and conciliation service for the assistance of mediators, arbitrators, and other personnel the service makes available. The board and the chairperson, respectively, shall appoint all employees on the basis of training, practical experience, education, and character, notwithstanding the requirements established by section 119.09 of the Revised Code. The board shall give special regard to the practical training and experience that employees have for the particular position involved. All full-time employees of the board excepting the executive director, the head of the bureau of mediation, and the personal secretaries and assistants of the board members are in the classified service. All employees of the board shall be paid in accordance with Chapter 124. of the Revised Code. 

(I)  The board shall select and assign examiners and other agents whose functions are to conduct hearings with due regard to their impartiality, judicial temperament, and knowledge. If in any proceeding under this chapter, any party prior to five days before the hearing thereto files with the board a sworn statement charging that the examiner or other agent designated to conduct the hearing is biased or partial in the proceeding, the board may disqualify the person and designate another examiner or agent to conduct the proceeding. At least ten days before any hearing, the board shall notify all parties to a proceeding of the name of the examiner or agent designated to conduct the hearing. 

(J)  The principal office of the board is in Columbus, but it may meet and exercise any or all of its powers at any other place within the state. The board may, by one or more of its employees, or any agents or agencies it designates, conduct in any part of this state any proceeding, hearing, investigation, inquiry, or election necessary to the performance of its functions; provided, that no person so designated may later sit in determination of an appeal of the decision of that cause or matter. 

(K)  In addition to the powers and functions provided in other sections of this chapter, the board shall do all of the following: 

(1) Create a bureau of mediation within the state employment relations board, to perform the functions provided in section 4117.14 of the Revised Code. This bureau shall also establish, after consulting representatives of employee organizations and public employers, panels of qualified persons to be available to serve as members of fact-finding panels and arbitrators. 

(2) Conduct studies of problems involved in representation and negotiation and make recommendations for legislation; 

(3) Hold hearings pursuant to this chapter and, for the purpose of the hearings and inquiries, administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses and documents, take testimony and receive evidence, compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents by the issuance of subpoenas, and delegate these powers to any members of the board or any attorney-trial examiner appointed by the board for the performance of its functions; 

(4) Train representatives of employee organizations and public employers in the rules and techniques of collective bargaining procedures; 

(5) Make studies and analyses of, and act as a clearinghouse of information relating to, conditions of employment of public employees throughout the state and request assistance, services, and data from any public employee organization, public employer, or governmental unit. Public employee organizations, public employers, and governmental units shall provide such assistance, services, and data as will enable the board to carry out its functions and powers. 

(6) Make available to employee organizations, public employers, mediators, fact-finding panels, arbitrators, and joint study committees statistical data relating to wages, benefits, and employment practices in public and private employment applicable to various localities and occupations to assist them to resolve issues in negotiations; 

(7) Notwithstanding section 119.13 of the Revised Code, establish standards of persons who practice before it; 

(8) Adopt, amend, and rescind rules and procedures and exercise other powers appropriate to carry out this chapter. Before the adoption, amendment, or rescission of rules and procedures under this section, the board shall do all of the following: 

(a) Maintain a list of interested public employers and employee organizations and mail notice to such groups of any proposed rule or procedure, amendment thereto, or rescission thereof at least thirty days before any public hearing thereon; 

(b) Mail a copy of each proposed rule or procedure, amendment thereto, or rescission thereof to any person who requests a copy within five days after receipt of the request therefor; 

(c) Consult with appropriate statewide organizations representing public employers or employees who would be affected by the proposed rule or procedure. 

Although the board is expected to discharge these duties diligently, failure to mail any notice or copy, or to so consult with any person, is not jurisdictional and shall not be construed to invalidate any proceeding or action of the board. 

(L)  In case of neglect or refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any person, the court of common pleas of the county in which the investigation or the public hearing occurs, upon application by the board, may issue an order requiring the person to appear before the board and give testimony about the matter under investigation. The court may punish a failure to obey the order as contempt. 

(M)  Any subpoena, notice of hearing, or other process or notice of the board issued under this section may be served personally, by certified mail, or by leaving a copy at the principal office or personal residence of the respondent required to be served. A return, made and verified by the individual making the service and setting forth the manner of service, is proof of service, and a return post office receipt, when certified mail is used, is proof of service. All process in any court to which application is made under this chapter may be served in the county wherein the persons required to be served reside or are found. 

(N)  All expenses of the board, including all necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by the members or employees of the board under its orders, shall be paid pursuant to itemized vouchers approved by the chairperson of the board, the executive director, or both, or such other person as the chairperson designates for that purpose. 

(O)  Whenever the board determines that a substantial controversy exists with respect to the application or interpretation of this chapter and the matter is of public or great general interest, the board shall certify its final order directly to the court of appeals having jurisdiction over the area in which the principal office of the public employer directly affected by the application or interpretation is located. The chairperson shall file with the clerk of the court a certified copy of the transcript of the proceedings before the board pertaining to the final order. If upon hearing and consideration the court decides that the final order of the board is unlawful or is not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole, the court shall reverse and vacate the final order or modify it and enter final judgment in accordance with the modification; otherwise, the court shall affirm the final order. The notice of the final order of the board to the interested parties shall contain a certification by the chairperson of the board that the final order is of public or great general interest and that a certified transcript of the record of the proceedings before the board had been filed with the clerk of the court as an appeal to the court. For the purposes of this division, the board has standing to bring its final order properly before the court of appeals. 

(P)  Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, the board is subject to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, including the procedure for submission of proposed rules to the general assembly for legislative review under division (H) of section 119.03 of the Revised Code. 
 

HISTORY: 140 v S 133 (Eff 10-6-83); 141 v H 201 (Eff 7-1-85); 142 v H 171 (Eff 7-1-87); 147 v H 215. Eff 9-29-97; 150 v H 95, § 1, eff. 9-26-03.
 

The effective date is set by section 179 of H.B. 95 (150 v  - ). 

Not analogous to former RC § 4117.02 (GC §§ 17-8, 17-9; 122 v 449, §§ 2, 3; Bureau of Code Revision, 10-1-53), repealed, 140 v S 133, § 2, eff 10-6-83.

 

Effect of Amendments

H.B. 95, Acts 2003, effective September 26, 2003, in (A), deleted the second to last sentence, which read: "The governor shall designate one member to serve as chairperson of the board."; inserted (B) and (G) and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; rewrote present (F); inserted "and the chairperson, respectively" in (H); substituted "chairperson" for "board" in (N); and made minor stylistic changes.