June 11, 2012

The timeliness an unfair practice charge measured from the date on which the party adversely affected learned [or should have known] of the event


The timeliness an unfair practice charge measured from the date on which the party adversely affected learned [or should have known] of the event
Levi Mcintyre And Middle Island Administrators Association and Longwood Central School District, ALJ Blassman, U-27349

A PERB ALJ dismissed a charge alleging that the Association violated of its duty of fair representation §209a.2(c) of the Act in breach as untimely.

The Association agreed to a collectively negotiated agreement that gave Levi McIntyre a lower total wage increase than other unit employees during the life of the agreement. McIntyre advanced two arguments with respect to his contention that his charge was timely: (1) that timeliness did not begin to run until he learned of the retirement of the Association's president, who was the only other unit employee who was similarly situated to McIntyre under the agreement or, in the alternative, the statute of limitations not begin to run until the second year of the agreement, which was when McIntyre alleged he was first negatively impacted by the agreement.

The ALJ ruled that McIntyre was adversely affected by the agreement when the Association agreed to it and thus his time to file a charge began to run from the date he learned of its provisions and how they affected him.

[See, also, Police Benevolent Association of Elmira, New York, Inc. and City Of Elmira, U-27466, in which the Board affirmed the decision of its ALJ dismissing an improper practice charge as untimely after determining that the PBA had actual knowledge of the triggering event more than four months before it filed its improper practice charge and failed to demonstrate that Elmira was equitably estopped from asserting its timeliness defense.]