2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 110 - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Employee Association Act of 2013 (§§ 9001 — 9052) › § 9005 - Election of the Assembly of Delegates

(a) Assembly of Delegates.— The Assembly of Delegates shall have representation of the various sectors that comprise the membership of the Association. Delegates elected by the members of the Association shall only be members of the Assembly of Delegates, the Executive Committee, the Committees and the Subsidiary Corporations, in accordance with the rules and procedures stated below:
(1) Apportionment of delegates.—
(A) The employees of each government entity who are members of the Association shall elect one (1) official delegate and one (1) alternate delegate for every one thousand (1,000), or fraction thereof, employees contributing to the Savings and Loan Fund. No government entity may elect more than fifteen (15) official delegates.
(B) Municipal governments shall jointly elect one (1) official delegate and one (1) alternate delegate for every one thousand (1,000), or fraction thereof, municipal employees contributing to the Savings and Loan Fund, up to a maximum of fifteen (15) delegates.
(C) Former employees with life insurance coverage, covered depositor pensioned members, depositor pensioned members, and covered pensioned members constitute one single sector, which shall be known as the “sector composed of covered and depositor pensioned members”. This sector shall elect one (1) official delegate and one (1) alternate delegate for every one thousand (1,000), or fraction thereof, members comprising said sector up to a maximum of fifteen (15) official delegates.
(D) Only a person elected in his/her respective government entity as official or alternate delegate may be a member of the Assembly of Delegates.
(2) Election process to the Assembly of Delegates.— Every four (4) years, beginning in April 2015, delegates shall be elected in accordance with the composition and terms provided in this chapter and the election process approved by the Assembly of Delegates for such purposes, which shall include, among other matters, the election process, and election calendar, the creation and composition of the Committees in charge of the election process, the disclosure of the election process, voting, canvassing, and all events and activities related thereto.
The election process shall begin once the President of the Assembly of Delegates provides the appointing authority of each government entity, municipal government, and the sector composed of covered and depositor pensioned members with a notification certifying the total number of members and the number of delegates to be elected. This notification shall be delivered by certified mail return receipt requested.
An Organization Committee, a Voting and Canvassing Committee, and a Challenge Committee shall be created in each government entity.
The Organization Committee shall be composed of three (3) employees who are members of the Association designated by the appointing authority of the government entity and shall be constituted not later than sixty (60) days before the election. Neither the appointing authority of the government entity nor the candidates may belong to this Committee.
The Voting and Canvassing Committee shall be composed of three (3) employees of the government entity who are members of the Association or the sector composed of covered members and of covered depositor pensioned members. Each candidate shall be entitled to one (1) election observer at every canvassing table. This Committee shall be constituted not later than sixty (60) days before the election. The appointing authority of the government entity, the mayor, and the candidates may not belong to this Committee.
The Challenge Committee shall be composed of three (3) employees who are members of the Association designated by the appointing authority of the government entity and shall be constituted not later than sixty (60) days before the election. Neither the appointing authority of the government entity nor the candidates may belong to this Committee. The Challenge Committee shall resolve all challenges within five (5) days counted from the filing of the challenge. Challenges directly related to the election process shall be resolved before the beginning of the voting process. The Challenge Committee shall only have jurisdiction to address challenges filed by candidates for delegate. The decisions of this Committee may be reviewed by the Independent Arbitration Panel. In the case of covered and depositor pensioned members, the Challenge Committee shall be composed of three (3) covered members and depositor pensioned members other than candidates.
No member of the Challenge Committee shall belong to the Organization Committee or the Voting and Canvassing Committee.
The election process of the Assembly of Delegates in the following sectors: government entities, municipal governments, and the sector composed of covered members and covered depositor pensioned members is described below:
(A) Government entities sector.— A government entity composed of various government entities or that is part of the same government body, known as “umbrella agencies”, in accordance with the applicable law and the government reorganization plans in effect as of the date of the election shall be deemed to be one single government entity. These main entities with attached agencies, offices, or bodies shall hold a general election as a single main government entity. Candidates for delegate of said attached agencies, offices, or bodies shall compete among them in one (1) ballot representing the main government entity.
The appointing authority of each main government entity, as defined herein, shall call an election and be responsible for the organization of the elections provided herein and appoint an Organization Committee, a Voting and Canvassing Committee, and a Challenge Committee to carry out the election process as provided in this chapter.
(B) Municipal government sector.—
Municipal governments shall hold elections as provided below:
(i) The mayor shall call, within his/her municipality, an election to choose from among his/her employees a candidate who shall represent said municipal group in the election of delegates corresponding to municipal governments, and appoint an Organization Committee, a Voting and Canvassing Committee, and a Challenge Committee to carry out the election process as provided in this chapter. The Mayor shall notify the President of the Assembly of Delegates of the Association, in writing, the name or names of the selected candidate or candidates within ten (10) days counted after the holding of the election.
(ii) Once the President of the Assembly of Delegates of the Association receives the notification of election of seventy-five percent (75%) of the candidates for delegate elected by the municipal governments, he/she shall summon said candidates for delegate by certified mail return receipt requested within ten (10) days and shall choose delegates as one single sector in the same manner and proportion as the government entities. In this election, not more than one (1) delegate shall be elected per municipality.
(C) Sector composed of covered and depositor pensioned members.— This sector shall be called by the President of the Assembly of Delegates who shall appoint an Organization Committee, a Voting and Canvassing Committee, and a Challenge Committee to carry out the election process as provided in this chapter and the elections regulations. As established in the membership, this sector does not include retired or former employees of the Association.
(D) Rules of general applicability.—
(i) Any member may participate as candidate for delegate in his/her respective sector, except when the member is designated as member of the Organization Committee or the Challenge Committee. The right to be a candidate shall prevail over any appointment to a Committee.
(ii) At every election, measures shall be taken as appropriate to provide every member with the opportunity to cast a vote secretly and freely for the candidate or candidates of his/her preference.
(iii) Employees in regular or trust positions shall vote in the government entity or municipality where they contribute to the Savings and Loan Fund, regardless of whether they are rendering services in another entity or municipality. Likewise, a public employee may only be a delegate in representation of the government entity or municipality where he/she contributes to the Savings and Loan Fund. If a delegate is detailed in an entity or municipality other than the one he/she represents, such delegate shall keep his/her position as delegate where he/she was elected.
(3) Notification of elected delegates.— Within ten (10) days after the date on which the election is held in every government entity and municipal government, the appointing authority shall notify the President of the Assembly of Delegates the names of the elected candidates. Within that same term, the delegates of the sector composed of covered members and depositor pensioned members shall be notified to the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly of Delegates. Said notification shall include the name, address, and telephone number of every participant in the election and the total number of votes cast for each candidate. The official delegates shall be elected according to the highest number of votes cast and so forth until the total number of delegates corresponding to said sector is reached. Candidates who received the second highest number of votes shall be notified as alternate delegate.
In the case of government entities with attached agencies, offices, or bodies where four (4) or more delegates are elected, the general results of the election shall be notified considering all votes received by the candidates. To provide representation to the attached agencies, offices, or bodies, official delegates shall be notified as follows: firstly, the candidate of the attached agency, office, or body who received the highest number of votes cast in the general election shall be notified as elected. All other delegates to which the principal government entity may be entitled shall be certified as elected based on the total number of votes received according to the general election. If, as a result of the application of this provision, the members of the principal government entity are left without representation in the Assembly, a delegate shall be added to represent the members of said principal government entity. The remaining candidates shall be alternate delegates according to the number of votes received.
The President of the Assembly of Delegates shall be responsible for ensuring that the election of a candidate who has been notified as elected by a government entity complied with the provisions of this chapter and the elections process before calling him/her as member of the Assembly of Delegates. If the notification of a candidate elected by a government entity fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter and the elections process, it shall be returned for the corresponding action to be taken.
Within ten (10) days after the President of the Assembly of Delegates receives the notification that at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the total number of delegates have been elected, he/she shall call such delegates for the inaugural session of the new Assembly of Delegates indicating the appropriate date, time, and place.
The fact that any sector fails to hold elections shall not affect the legal status of the Assembly of Delegates, if the majority of such sectors hold elections and elect their delegates.
If there is no competition in any election process and the only candidate nominated is elected, the Organization Committee shall certify that a notice was published for filing candidacies and that only one candidate answered it. Said certification shall include a copy of the document stating the term to file candidacies.
If the election of a candidate is challenged, said candidate shall be called to the inaugural session and all other regular or special sessions of the Assembly of Delegates and shall act as such with all his/her rights and duties, until a final and binding decision regarding such challenge is issued. If such decision adversely affects the challenged candidate, he/she shall immediately cease to perform his/her duties as member of the Assembly of Delegates and to hold any position in the Executive Committee or any of the Subsidiary Corporations.
Expenditures related to the election of delegates of each sector shall be charged to the operating budget of each government entity; however, after the election is held, any expenditure related to the Assembly of Delegates shall be chargeable to the funds of the Association.
(4) No compensation.— The members of the Directive Body of the Assembly of Delegates, the Executive Committee, the Ethics Committee, Subsidiary Corporations and any other committee created by the Assembly shall not receive any compensation for discharging their duties. It is hereby provided that any expenses incurred in accordance with the regulations adopted by the Assembly of Delegates shall be refunded.
(5) Term of office of delegates.— No employee may be elected as a member of the Assembly of Delegates for more than two (2) consecutive four (4)-year terms, regardless of the government entity or sector such employee represented as delegate. One term shall be equal to more than fifty percent (50%) or fraction thereof in excess of the time elapsed from the election date to the holding of the following elections. The portion of a term served by an alternate delegate in substitution of an official delegate shall not be deemed to be a full term, provided that the substitution takes place after half of the term served by the official delegate has elapsed.
Any delegate elected and notified by the appointing authority shall be called as one of the members of the Assembly of Delegates and shall exercise all rights and privileges bestowed upon him/her and serve until the expiration of the term for which he/she was elected, provided that he/she fully complies with the provisions of this chapter.
Government entities and municipalities shall be required to authorize the participation and attendance of any employee holding the position of delegate in the Assembly of Delegates or whenever he/she is elected to any Committee of the Assembly, the Executive Committee or Board of any Subsidiary Corporation, without affecting his/her salary or any fringe benefit.
If an official delegate ceases to belong to the sector he/she represents for any of the reasons mentioned in this chapter, or fails to attend a certain meeting, the alternate delegate shall substitute him/her for the remainder of the term to which such official delegate was designated.
(6) Grounds for separation of delegates.— The grounds for separation of delegates of the sectors composed of government entities, municipal governments, covered and pensioned members include automatic separation or for just cause.
An elected delegate shall be automatically separated from office for the following reasons: ceasing, for any reason, to be an employee of the sector whose employees he/she represents in the Assembly of Delegates; resigning; having been found guilty of a felony by a competent court; or having been found unfit to care for him/herself or his/her property.
The Assembly of Delegates may remove an elected delegate from office for one or more of the following reasons: use the powers of his/her office of delegate for his/her own benefit, that of his/her family, or any family member within the third degree of consanguinity or the second degree of affinity; deceive or help to deceive the Association; or reveal confidential information on the business or internal affairs of the Association to favor other natural or juridical persons. Such delegate against whom a complaint for separation from office has been filed shall be guaranteed due process of law. The Ethics Committee shall be the first to evaluate on the merits such complaint for separation as member of the Assembly of Delegates. A recommendation for separation shall be submitted to the Assembly of Delegates convened in a special assembly where the vote of two- thirds (2/3) of the delegates present cast by secret ballot shall be required in order to approve said recommendation. The Ethics Committee shall draft regulations to establish the complaint process. Such regulations shall be approved by the Assembly of Delegates.
(7) Removal by the Assembly of Delegates of the members of the Executive Committee and the Ethics Committee.— The Assembly of Delegates may remove a member of the Executive Committee and the Ethics Committee when a simple majority of delegates of his/her sector or a simple majority of delegates, as appropriate, cast a vote of no confidence.
(b) Arbitration procedure.— An arbitration procedure is hereby created to be referred to the Conciliation and Arbitration Bureau of the Department of Labor and Human Resources and an Independent Arbitration Panel shall be designated to hear any challenge regarding the election process of candidates for delegate to and positions in the Assembly of Delegates.
The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources shall appoint an Independent Arbitration Panel composed of three (3) arbitrators who contribute to the Savings and Loan Fund of the Association, not later than thirty (30) business days before the election date. The Panel thus designated shall hear any challenge of a candidate. To such effects, any candidate may file a written complaint with the Panel within five (5) business days immediately following the holding of elections. The Panel shall meet to consider the challenge not later than fifteen (15) days after having received the same, and shall notify the claimant of its decision within a reasonable term that shall never exceed thirty (30) days after the filing thereof. The candidate may file a petition for reconsideration with the Panel within the term of five (5) days after having received the notice. The Panel shall reconsider the petition and notify its decision to the claimant within a reasonable term after the filing date of the petition for reconsideration, which shall not exceed ten (10) days. The decision of the Panel shall be self-executing and shall be observed even if the affected party seeks judicial review.
Any party adversely affected by a final resolution or an order of the Panel may seek judicial review of said resolution or order by the Court of Appeals of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, within a jurisdictional term of thirty (30) days after the notice of the decision of the arbitrator.
The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources shall designate an Independent Arbitration Panel composed of three (3) arbitrators who contribute to the Savings and Loan Fund of the Association, not later than five (5) business days after the filing of any challenge related to the positions in the Assembly of Delegates has been submitted. Such Panel shall follow the same procedure established for challenges in the delegate election process.
History —Apr. 25, 2013, No. 9, § 6.