DECISIONS

King County, Decision 12859-A (PECB, 2018)

STATE OF WASHINGTON

BEFORE THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION

Ed Stemler, General Counsel, for the Washington State Council of County and City Employees.

Kristi D. Knieps, Senior Labor Negotiator/Litigator for King County.

Public employees, as defined by the Legislature, enjoy the right to collectively bargain through representatives of their own choosing. RCW 41.56.010 and RCW 41.56.030(11). The Legislature exempted certain public employees including a person “who is a personal assistant to a district court judge, superior court judge, or court commissioner” from collective bargaining. RCW 41.56.030(11)(e). The issue in this case is whether the petitioned-for employees fall within the personal assistant exemption.

On June 28, 2017, the Washington State Council of County and City Employees (union) filed a petition to represent bailiffs employed by King County (employer). The bailiffs worked in the King County Superior Court. King County Superior Court Judges are elected officials. Each judge hired the bailiff who works in his or her courtroom. The judges and bailiffs work closely on the business of the court.

The employer asserted that the bailiffs were exempt from the definition of public employee because they were the judges’ personal assistants within the meaning of RCW 41.56.030(11)(e). Representation Case Administrator Dario de la Rosa conducted a hearing. Executive Director Michael Sellars issued a decision finding the bailiffs to be personal assistants within the definition of RCW 41.56.030(11)(e) and thereby excluded from exercising collective bargaining rights. King County, Decision 12859 (PECB, 2018). The union appealed.

The Commission reviews conclusions and applications of law, as well as interpretations of statutes, de novo. We review findings of fact to determine if they are supported by substantial evidence and, if so, whether those findings in turn support the Executive Director’s conclusions of law. City of Bellingham, Decision 7322-B (PECB, 2002). Substantial evidence exists if the record contains evidence of a sufficient quantity to persuade a fair-minded, rational person of the truth of the declared premise. Id.

On appeal, the union argued that to determine whether an employee is a personal assistant the Commission should apply the labor-nexus test used to determine whether an employee is confidential within the meaning of RCW 41.56.030(11). The labor-nexus test examines whether an employee’s duties are related to collective bargaining. If the employee is involved in collective bargaining, access to that information would place the employee in conflict of interest by having information about an employer’s bargaining position and being included in a bargaining unit. If that relationship exists, then the employee may be considered confidential. It would be inappropriate for us to impose a labor-nexus test to determine whether an employee is or is not a personal assistant. Neither party offered evidence that the Legislature intended the labor nexus test to apply to personal assistants. The confidential exemption and the personal assistant exemption are two distinct exemptions in the definition of public employee. The confidential exemption is intended to avoid placing an employee with collective bargaining responsibilities in a conflict of interest situation.  In contrast, the personal assistant exemption is not tied to the employee’s collective bargaining responsibilities. Rather, the personal assistant exemption is based on the employee’s relationship to the judge he or she works for.

We have reviewed the record, including the transcripts, the exhibits, and the parties’ briefs. Substantial evidence supports the Executive Director’s findings of fact, which in turn support the Executive Director’s conclusions of law. We affirm the Executive Director. The bailiffs at the King County Superior Court are personal assistants within the meaning of RCW 41.56.030(11)(e).

ORDER

The findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order issued by Executive Director Michael P. Sellars are AFFIRMED and adopted as the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order of the Commission.

ISSUED at Olympia, Washington, this  20th  day of September, 2018.

PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS COMMISSION

                                                MARILYN GLENN SAYAN, Chairperson

                                                MARK BUSTO, Commissioner