§ 4-2. Determining questions of representation.

(a) Commissioner to process petition and negotiate.

Whenever, in accordance with the provisions of this article and with such rules and regulations as may be promulgated by the Labor Commissioner, a petition or petitions have been filed with the Labor Commissioner claiming that a question concerning representation exists:

(1) by or on behalf of an employee organization alleging:

(i) that a substantial number of employees wish said employee organization to be their exclusive representative for collective negotiation, or

(ii) that the employee organization currently certified no longer represents the majority of employees in the unit; or

(2) by the employer alleging that one or more employee organizations have presented to it a claim to be recognized as the representative of a majority of employees in a specified unit,

the Labor Commissioner shall process said petition and negotiate on behalf of the employer, with the employee organization and any party or parties permitted to intervene in the proceedings, for the purpose of endeavoring to reach an agreement concerning the question of representation within 5 days.

(b) Governing standards.

In considering the question of representation, the Labor Commissioner shall define the appropriate unit pursuant to the following standards:

(1) A unit which consists of a majority of employees in a civil service job classification or group of related civil service job classifications shall be deemed prima facie an appropriate unit.

(2) This shall not limit the power of the Labor Commissioner to determine that a unit other than one based on job classification is appropriate so long as:

(i) the description of the unit corresponds to a community of interest among the employees in the proposed unit, involving such criteria as similarity of job duties, skills, wages, educational requirements, supervision, hours of work, job location, and working conditions; and

(ii) the unit is compatible with the joint responsibilities of the employer and employees to serve the public.

(3) No unit shall be deemed appropriate if it includes both professional and other employees unless a majority of such professional employees vote for inclusion in such unit, nor shall any unit be deemed appropriate if it includes both supervisory and non-supervisory personnel.

(1) In the event said Labor Commissioner, employee organization, employer, intervenor, or intervenors fail to reach an agreement on any aspect of the question concerning representation, the Labor Commissioner shall refer the dispute for final determination to a board of 3 impartial persons selected from a panel obtained from an independent third party agency, agreeable to all parties, and such board, in reaching its determination, shall be bound by the provisions of this article.

(2) The costs of such determination shall be divided among all parties thereto.

(3) In the event the parties are unable to agree on an independent third party agency, the board shall be selected from a panel obtained from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service of the U.S. Department of Labor.