2006 Minnesota Statutes

179A.12 EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATION; ELECTIONS; DECERTIFICATION.
    Subdivision 1. Certification continued. Any employee organization holding formal
recognition by order of the commissioner or by employer voluntary recognition on the effective
date of Extra Session Laws 1971, chapter 33, under any law that is repealed by Extra Session
Laws 1971, chapter 33, is certified as the exclusive representative until it is decertified or another
representative is certified in its place.
Any teacher organization as defined by Minnesota Statutes 1969, section 125.20, subdivision
3 , which on the effective date of Extra Session Laws 1971, chapter 33, has a majority of its
members on a teacher's council in a school district as provided in Minnesota Statutes 1969,
section 125.22 is certified as the exclusive representative of all teachers of that school district
until the organization is decertified or another organization is certified in its place.
    Subd. 2. Certification upon joint request. The commissioner may certify an employee
organization as an exclusive representative in an appropriate unit upon the joint request of the
employer and the organization if, after investigation, the commissioner finds that no unfair labor
practice was committed in initiating and submitting the joint request and that the employee
organization represents over 50 percent of the employees in the appropriate unit. This subdivision
does not reduce the time period or nullify any bar to the employee organization's certification
existing at the time of the filing of the joint request.
    Subd. 3. Obtaining elections. Any employee organization may obtain a certification election
upon petition to the commissioner stating that at least 30 percent of the employees of a proposed
appropriate unit wish to be represented by the petitioner. Any employee organization may
obtain a representation election upon petition to the commissioner stating that the currently
certified representative no longer represents the majority of employees in an established unit and
that at least 30 percent of the employees in the established unit wish to be represented by the
petitioner rather than by the currently certified representative. An individual employee or group of
employees in a unit may obtain a decertification election upon petition to the commissioner stating
the certified representative no longer represents the majority of the employees in an established
unit and that at least 30 percent of the employees wish to be unrepresented.
    Subd. 4. State unit elections. The commissioner shall not consider a petition for a
decertification election during the term of a contract covering employees of the executive or
judicial branches of the state of Minnesota except for a period from not more than 270 to not less
than 210 days before its date of termination.
    Subd. 5. Commissioner to investigate. The commissioner shall, upon receipt of an
employee organization's petition to the commissioner under subdivision 3, investigate to
determine if sufficient evidence of a question of representation exists and hold hearings necessary
to determine the appropriate unit and other matters necessary to determine the representation
rights of the affected employees and employer.
    Subd. 6. Authorization signatures. In determining the numerical status of an employee
organization for purposes of this section, the commissioner shall require dated representation
authorization signatures of affected employees as verification of the statements contained in the
joint request or petitions. These authorization signatures shall be privileged and confidential
information available to the commissioner only.
    Subd. 7. Election order. The commissioner shall issue an order providing for a secret
ballot election by the employees in a designated appropriate unit. The election must be held on
one or more sites where those voting are employed or by a mail ballot, as determined by the
commissioner. In making this determination, the commissioner shall strive for an election process
that provides for maximum participation by the affected employees. The parties affected by this
determination may request reconsideration of it by the commissioner under bureau rules.
    Subd. 8. Ballot. The ballot in a certification election may contain as many names of
representative candidates as have demonstrated that 30 percent of the employees in the unit
desire them as their exclusive representative. The ballots shall contain a space for employees to
indicate that no representation is desired. The commissioner shall provide and count absentee
ballots in all elections.
    Subd. 9. Runoff election. If no choice on the ballot receives a majority of those votes cast
in the unit, the commissioner shall conduct a runoff election between the two choices receiving
the most votes.
    Subd. 10. Certification. Upon a representative candidate receiving a majority of those
votes cast in an appropriate unit, the commissioner shall certify that candidate as the exclusive
representative of all employees in the unit.
    Subd. 11. Unfair labor practices. If the commissioner finds that an unfair labor practice was
committed by an employer or representative candidate or an employee or group of employees,
and that the unfair labor practice affected the result of an election, or that procedural or other
irregularities in the conduct of the election may have substantially affected its results, the
commissioner may void the election result and order a new election.
    Subd. 12. Bar to reconsideration. When the commissioner certifies an exclusive
representative, the commissioner shall not consider the question again for a period of one year,
unless the exclusive representative is decertified by a court of competent jurisdiction, or by the
commissioner.
History: 1984 c 462 s 13; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 186 s 15; 1987 c 384 art 2 s 46; 1990 c 546 s
5,6; 1992 c 582 s 10; 1999 c 216 art 7 s 13