Cal. LAB § 1156.37 — California Code / Code lab / Division 2 / Part 3.5 / Chapter 5 / Section 1156.37
Section 1156.37
Status: in_force

(a) A labor organization may become the exclusive representative for the agricultural employees of an appropriate bargaining unit for purposes of collective bargaining with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment by filing a Majority Support Petition with the board alleging that a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit wish to be represented by that organization. The petition shall describe the geographical area that constitutes the unit claimed to be appropriate and shall be accompanied by proof of majority support, through authorization cards, petitions, or other appropriate proof of majority support. Only labor organizations that have filed LM-2 forms for the preceding two years with the federal government and have a collective bargaining agreement covering agricultural employees as defined in Section 1140.4 as of the effective date of this section may file a Majority Support Petition.

(b) A labor organization that wishes to represent a particular bargaining unit, as described in Section 1156.2, may be certified as that unit’s bargaining representative by submitting to the board a Majority Support Petition. The petition shall allege all of the following:

(1) That the number of agricultural employees currently employed by the employer named in the Majority Support Petition, as determined from the employer’s payroll immediately preceding the filing of the Majority Support Petition, is not less than 50 percent of the employer’s peak agricultural employment for the current calendar year.

(2) That no valid election has been conducted among the agricultural employees of the employer named in the Majority Support Petition within the 12 months immediately preceding the filing of the petition.

(3) That the Majority Support Petition is not barred by an existing collective bargaining agreement.

(c) The Majority Support Petition described in subdivision (b) shall be supported by a proof of majority support, through authorization cards, petitions, or other appropriate proof of majority support of the currently employed employees, as determined from the employer’s payroll immediately preceding the filing of the Majority Support Petition. The showing of support shall be submitted together with the Majority Support Petition.

(d) A labor organization submitting a Majority Support Petition shall personally serve the petition on the employer on the same day that the petition is filed with the board. Within 48 hours after the petition is served, the employer shall file with the board, and personally serve upon the labor organization that filed the petition, its response to the petition. As part of the response, the employer shall provide a complete and accurate list of the full names, current street addresses, telephone numbers, job classifications, and crew or department of all currently employed employees in the bargaining unit employed as of the payroll period immediately preceding the filing of the petition. The employer shall organize the employees’ names and addresses and other information by crew or department and shall provide the list to the board and petitioning labor organization in hardcopy and electronic format. The employee’s first name, middle name or initial, last name, address, city, state, ZIP Code, telephone number, classification, and crew or department shall be organized into separate columns. Immediately upon receiving the employer response and employee list, the board shall provide the response and employee list by hardcopy and electronic copy to the labor organization that filed the Majority Support Petition.

(e) (1) Upon receipt of a Majority Support Petition, the board shall immediately commence an investigation regarding the validity of the petition and the proof of support submitted. Within five days of receipt of the petition, the board shall make an administrative determination as to whether the requirements set forth in subdivision (b) are met by the petition and whether the labor organization submitting the petition has provided proof of majority support. In making this determination, the board shall compare the names on the proof of support submitted by the labor organization to the names on the list of currently employed employees provided by the employer. The board shall ignore discrepancies between the employee’s name listed on the proof of support and the employee’s name on the employer’s list if the preponderance of the evidence, such as the employee’s address, the name of the employee’s foreman or forewoman, or evidence submitted by the labor organization or employee shows that the employee who signed the proof of support is the same person as the employee on the employer’s list.

(2) The board shall return proof of majority support that it finds invalid to the labor organization that filed the Majority Support Petition, with an explanation as to why each proof of support was found to be invalid. To protect the confidentiality of the employees whose names are on authorization cards or a petition, the board’s determination of whether a particular proof of support is valid shall be final and not subject to appeal or review.

(3) If the board determines that the labor organization has submitted proof of majority support and met the requirements set forth in this section, it shall immediately certify the labor organization as the exclusive bargaining representative of the employees in the bargaining unit. An employer’s duty to bargain with the labor organization commences immediately after the labor organization is certified.

(4) If the board determines that the labor organization has not submitted the requisite proof of majority support, the board shall notify the labor organization of the deficiency and grant the labor organization 30 days from the date it is notified to submit additional support.

(f) (1) Within five days after the board certifies a labor organization through a majority support election, any person may file with the board a petition objecting to the certification on one or more of the following grounds:

(A) Allegations in the Majority Support Petition were false.

(B) The board improperly determined the geographical scope of the bargaining unit.

(C) The majority support election was conducted improperly.

(D) Improper conduct affected the results of the majority support election.

(2) Upon receipt of a petition objecting to certification, the board may administratively rule on the petitioner’s objections or may choose to conduct a hearing to rule on the petitioner’s objections. If the board decides to conduct a hearing on the objections, it shall mail a notice of the time and place of the hearing to the petitioner and the labor organization whose certification is being challenged. The board shall conduct the hearing within 14 days of the filing of an objection, unless an extension is agreed to by the labor organization. If the board finds at the hearing that any of the allegations in the petition of the grounds set forth in paragraph (1) are true, the board shall revoke the certification issued under subdivision (e).

(3) The filing of a petition objecting to a majority support election certification shall not diminish the duty to bargain or delay the running of the 90-day period or 60-day period set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 1164.

(g) The board shall not permit the filing of any other election petition once a Majority Support Petition is filed until the board determines whether the labor organization filing the Majority Support Petition should be certified.

(h) Once a labor organization has filed a Majority Support Petition, no other Majority Support Petition shall be considered by the board with the same agricultural employer until the board determines whether the labor organization that filed the pending Majority Support Petition should be certified. However, the board may consider a second Majority Support Petition if the second petition alleges that the first petition was filed because of the employer’s unlawful assistance, support, creation, or domination of the labor organization that filed the first petition. In those cases, the board shall expedite its investigation of the matter and render a decision on certification within three months of the filing of the first petition. If the board finds that a labor organization was unlawfully assisted, supported, created, or dominated by an employer, that labor organization’s petition shall be dismissed and the second petition shall be considered. A labor peace agreement shall not be deemed unlawful by virtue of the fact that it was entered into pursuant to Section 26051.5 of the Business and Professions Code. Any labor organization that has been illegally assisted, supported, or dominated by an employer shall be disqualified from filing any further petitions with the board for a period of one year. That labor organization’s representatives, agents, or officers shall similarly be disqualified from filing any further petitions with the board for a period of one year. A labor organization assisted, supported, created, or dominated by an employer, along with its representatives, agents, or officers, shall be permanently barred from filing any further petitions.

(i) In any case where two or more labor organizations are seeking to represent the same bargaining unit through a Majority Support Petition, the most recent proof of support shall prevail.

(j) If an employer commits an unfair labor practice or misconduct, including vote suppression, during a labor organization’s Majority Support Petition campaign, and the employer’s unfair labor practice or misconduct would render slight the chances of a new majority support campaign reflecting the free and fair choice of employees, the labor organization shall be certified by the board as the exclusive bargaining representative for the bargaining unit. For purposes of a finding of an unfair labor practice or misconduct under this part and under this section, a misrepresentation of fact or law by an employer, an employer’s representative, or agent is an unfair labor practice or misconduct whether or not a labor organization has had an opportunity to respond to or correct the misrepresentation.

(k) If an employer disciplines, suspends, demotes, lays off, terminates, or otherwise takes adverse action against a worker during a labor organization’s Majority Support Petition campaign, there shall be a presumption that the adverse action was retaliatory. The employer may rebut the presumption if they can provide clear and convincing evidence that the adverse action would have been taken in the absence of the Majority Support Petition campaign.

(l) For purposes of Section 1156.5, a certification through Majority Support Petition is a valid election.

(m) The number of Majority Support Petitions that result in the certification of a labor organization conducted under this part shall be limited to 75 certifications through January 1, 2028.

(n) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.