Illinois Administrative Code › Title 80 - PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES › Part 1110 - REPRESENTATION PROCEDURES › Section 1110.100 - Processing of Petitions Seeking an Election

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) All parties served with a representation
			 petition seeking an election or a decertification petition shall respond to the
			 petition within seven days after service. The response shall set forth the
			 party's position with respect to the matters asserted in the petition,
			 including, but not limited to, the appropriateness of the bargaining unit. A
			 party that fails to file a timely response without good cause shall be deemed
			 to have waived its right to a hearing. Good cause will include when there is no
			 prejudice to another party or the other parties have consented to a hearing
			 without the filing of a timely response.
b) Upon receipt of the petition, the Board or
			 its agent shall investigate the petition. If the investigation discloses that
there is no reasonable cause to suspect that a question of
			 representation exists,
as defined in Section 7(c)(1) or (2) of the
			 Act, the petition will be dismissed; provided that, the dismissal may be
			 appealed within 14 days to the Board. If the investigation discloses that
there is reasonable cause to suspect that a question of representation
			 exists,
as defined in Section 7(c)(1) or (2) of the Act, the matter
			 will be set for hearing before a hearing officer. All parties shall be given a
			 minimum of seven days notice of the hearing. However, if the only issues
			 remaining between the parties are logistical, e.g., the date of the election,
			 the Executive Director or hearing officer may issue an order directing an
			 election, unless the parties are able to enter into a consent agreement
			 resolving those issues, as provided for in Section
			 1110.110.
c) Petitions to intervene may be filed with
			 the Board no later than 14 days prior to the date set for the election. Any
			 intervenor who files after the date set for hearing, or if no hearing is held,
			 after the approval of a consent election agreement or the direction of an
			 election pursuant to subsection (j), shall have waived objections to the
			 bargaining unit.
d) Interested
			 persons who wish to participate in the hearing shall direct such requests to
			 the hearing officer. The request shall be in writing and shall state the
			 grounds for participation. In determining whether to grant the request, the
			 hearing officer shall base his or her decision on the timeliness of the
			 request, the degree to which the person requesting participation has a real
			 interest at stake, the ability of the parties to represent the interests of the
			 person requesting participation and the complexity of the proceeding.
e) The hearing officer shall obtain a full
			 and complete record by inquiring into all matters in dispute. The record shall
			 be obtained either by evidentiary hearing or stipulation. Immediately prior to
			 the close of the record, one or more parties may file motions to remove the
			 case to the Board for decision. Responses to these motions may be filed as
			 directed by the hearing officer. Within seven days after the close of the
			 record, the hearing officer shall rule on the motions. The hearing officer may
			 also order the case removed to the Board on his or her own motion within seven
			 days after the close of the record. If the hearing officer orders a case
			 removed, he or she shall certify that there are no determinative issues of fact
			 that require a hearing officer's recommended decision.
f) Within seven days after removal, a party
			 may move the Board to remand the case to the hearing officer, identifying in
			 detail the material factual issues in dispute. If the Board fails to rule on
			 the motion within 14 days, the motion will be deemed denied; the General
			 Counsel will set a briefing schedule for briefs to be submitted to the Board.
			 In cases removed to the Board, the Board shall remand the case if, at any time,
			 it determines that the case presents issues of material fact requiring a
			 hearing officer's recommended decision. Unless the Board remands the case, it
			 shall issue and serve upon all parties a written decision giving the Board's
			 reasons for its decision.
g) In
			 cases not removed to the Board and in cases remanded to the hearing officer,
			 the hearing officer shall file and serve on the parties a recommended decision
			 within 21 days after the conclusion of the presentation of evidence, the
			 receipt of the transcript, and the receipt of any post-hearing briefs, unless
			 additional time is required due to the length of the record and the complexity
			 of the issues involved. The additional time shall not exceed 90 days. Any
			 findings of fact in this decision must be based exclusively upon the evidence
			 in the record and on matters of which official notice has been taken.
h) Exceptions and Responses
1) Parties may file exceptions to the hearing
			 officer's recommendation and briefs in support of those exceptions no later
			 than 14 days after receipt of the recommendation. Those exceptions and briefs
			 shall be filed with the General Counsel. Copies of all exceptions and briefs
			 shall be served upon all other parties, and a certificate of service shall be
			 attached.
2) Any party to the
			 proceeding may file a response to any exceptions and supporting briefs within
			 14 days from receipt of a party's exceptions and supporting brief. The response
			 shall be filed with the General Counsel. The response shall be served on all
			 parties, and a certificate of service shall be attached. If no exceptions have
			 been filed within the 14-day period, the parties will be deemed to have waived
			 their exceptions.
3) A party may
			 also file cross-exceptions and a supporting brief within 14 days from receipt
			 of another party's exceptions and supporting brief. Copies of the
			 cross-exceptions and supporting brief shall be filed with the General Counsel.
			 The response shall be served on all parties, and a certificate of service shall
			 be attached.
4) Any other party may
			 file a response to the cross-exceptions and supporting brief within 14 days
			 from receipt of the cross-exceptions and supporting brief. The response shall
			 be filed with the General Counsel. The response shall be served upon all
			 parties, and a certificate of service shall be attached. If no cross-exceptions
			 have been filed within 14 days after receipt of another party's exceptions and
			 supporting brief, the parties will be deemed to have waived their
			 cross-exceptions.