California Public Employees and the Developing Duty of Fair Representation

Abstract

As traced by the author, a union's duty of fair representation in Cali fornia public sector labor law has statutory and common law origins, and arises in a variety of representational contexts, including grievance han dling, contract negotiations and internal union affairs. Jurisdictional and procedural issues involving the proper forum, exhaustion of remedies, and statutes of limitations add complex considerations for this developing area of the law. Further problems are presented by attempts to fashion appro priate remedies for a union's violation of its duty. While many fair repre sentation issues have been resolved by administrative and judicial decisions, often drawing upon federal precedent, significant questions re main. Many of these questions are related to the unique due process and civil service rights that distinguish public employees from those in the pri vate sector. The existence of such rights suggests that individual public employees may benefit from heightened scrutiny of union decisionmaking, and that unions, as well as employees, may benefit from the survival of alternative forums and remedies.