2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 1 - Government Organization › Chapter 6 - Merit Personnel System › Subchapter V - Public Employee Relations Board › § 1–605.02. Powers of the Board

§ 1–605.02. Powers of the Board.
The Board shall have the power to do the following:
(1) Resolve unit determination questions and other representation issues (including but not limited to disputes concerning the majority status of a labor organization);
(2) Certify and decertify exclusive bargaining representatives;
(3) Decide whether unfair labor practices have been committed and issue an appropriate remedial order;
(4) Resolve bargaining impasses through fact-finding, final and binding arbitration, or other methods agreed upon by the parties as approved by the Board and to remand disputes if it believes further negotiations are desirable. Arbitration shall not be conducted by the Board itself, but the Board shall provide arbitrators selected at random from a panel or list of arbitrators maintained by the Board and consisting of persons agreed upon by labor and management;
(5) Make a determination in disputed cases as to whether a matter is within the scope of collective bargaining;
(6) Consider appeals from arbitration awards pursuant to a grievance procedure; provided, however, that such awards may be modified or set aside or remanded, in whole or in part, only if the arbitrator was without, or exceeded, his or her jurisdiction; the award on its face is contrary to law and public policy; or was procured by fraud, collusion, or other similar and unlawful means; provided, further, that the provisions of this paragraph shall be the exclusive method for reviewing the decision of an arbitrator concerning a matter properly subject to the jurisdiction of the Board, notwithstanding any provisions of Chapter 44 of Title 16 of the District of Columbia Official Code;
(7) Conduct investigations, hear testimony, and take evidence under oath at hearings on any matter subject to its jurisdiction;
(8) Administer oaths or affirmations and through the power of subpoena, require the attendance of witnesses with any necessary records or other information which have a bearing on the dispute, without, however, abrogating rules and regulations abridging the confidentiality of personnel files as provided in subchapter XXXI of this chapter;
(9) Make decisions and take appropriate action on charges of failure to adopt, subscribe, or comply with the internal or national labor organization standards of conduct for labor organizations;
(10) Make recommendations concerning desirable revisions or amendments to the District government labor relations law;
(11) Adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its business and the carrying out of its powers and duties;
(12) The Board may designate a 3-member panel to hear any matter brought to it under this chapter. The decision of the 3-member panel shall be considered the final decision of the Board. An appeal from a decision of any 3-member panel may be taken in accordance with the provisions of §§ 1-617.02 and 1-617.13;
(13) Establish and maintain a list of qualified mediators, fact finders and arbitrators after consulting with employee organizations and management representatives, and appoint them;
(14) Retain, through the Director of the Office of Contracting and Procurement, independent legal counsel to assist in Board activities when the District government is a party to the Board’s proceedings or in any other situation as the Board deems appropriate;
(15) Develop a system for the collection, maintenance, and dissemination of labor-management relations information as appropriate to the needs of the District, labor organizations, and the public; and
(16) Seek appropriate judicial process to enforce its orders and otherwise carry out its authority under this chapter. In cases of contumacy by any party or other delay or impediment of any character, the Board may seek any and all such judicial process or relief as it deems necessary to enforce and otherwise carry out its powers, duties and authority under this chapter.
(17) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, all procurement authority shall be vested in the Office of Contracting and Procurement; provided, that the Mayor’s obligations pursuant to § 1-204.49, to provide financial review and approval of contracts is unaffected.
(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 502, 25 DCR 5740; Apr. 12, 1997, D.C. Law 11-259, § 304(a), 44 DCR 1423; Sept. 18, 1998, D.C. Law 12-151, § 2(a), 45 DCR 4043; Apr. 12, 2000. D.C. Law 13-91, § 103(f), 47 DCR 520; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 9(b), 59 DCR 6190.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 1-605.2.
1973 Ed., § 1-335.2.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 1-636.02 and § 6-215.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 13-91, in subd. (6), inserted a comma following “or in part”.
The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-171 substituted “notwithstanding any provisions of Chapter 44 of Title 16 of the District of Columbia Code” for “notwithstanding any provisions of the District of Columbia Uniform Arbitration Act (D.C. Official Code § 16-4301 to 16-4319)” in (6).