Los Angeles Unified School District (Jackson) (PERB A283E)

STATE
	OF
	CALIFORNIA
DECISION
	OF
	THE
PUBLIC
	EMPLOYMENT
	RELATIONS
	BOARD
PAULETTE 	JACKSON,
Charging
	Party,
V.
LOS
	ANGELES 	UNIFIED
	SCHOOL
DISTRICT,
Respondent.
)
)
)	
Case
	No.
	LA-CE-3650
Administrative
	Appeal
PERB
	Order
	No.
	Ad-283
May
	15,
	1997
)
)
)
)
)
}
)
)
Appearance:	
Paulette
	Jackson,
	on
	her
	own
	behalf.
Before 	Caffrey,
	Chairman;
	Johnson 	and 	Dyer,
	Members.
DECISION
DYER,
	Member:
	This 	case
	comes
	before 	the 	Public
	Employment
Board
	(PERB
	or
	Board) 	on
	Paulette 	Jackson's
	(Jackson)
	Relations
request
	that
	the
	Board
	accept 	her
	late-filed
	exceptions
	to
	a
Board
	administrative
	law
	judge's
	(ALJ)
	proposed
	decision.
BACKGROUND
On
	February
	14, 	1997,
1	
the
	ALJ
	issued
	a
	proposed
	decision
dismissing 	Jackson's 	unfair 	practice
	charge.
	A
cover
	letter
accompanying
	that
	proposed
	decision
	informed
	the
	parties 	that
	any
exceptions 	to 	the
	proposed
	decision
	had
	to
	be
	filed
	within
	twenty
days.
	(PERB
	Regulation
	32300.)
2	
Accordingly,
	any
	exceptions 	to
1
Unless 	otherwise 	indicated,
	all
	dates 	refer 	to
	1997.
2PERB
	regulations 	are 	codified at 	California
	Code
	of
Regulations,
	title
	8,
	section
	31001
	et
	seq.
	PERB
	Regulation
32300
	provides, 	in pertinent 	part:
(a) 	A
party
	may
	file
	with 	the 	Board
	itself
an 	original 	and 	five 	copies 	of
	a
	statement 	of
exceptions 	to
	a 	Board agent's 	proposed
decision 	issued pursuant 	to 	Section 	32215,

the
	proposed
	decision
	had
	to
	be
	filed
	on
	or 	before
	March
	11.
(See
	PERB
	Regulation
	32130.)
3 	On
	March
	12,
	Jackson
	filed
exceptions
	to
	the
	proposed
	decision. 	In 	the
	preamble
	to 	her
exceptions,
	Jackson
	requests
	that
	the
	Board
	excuse
	the
	lateness
of
	her
	filing
	because 	she
	had
	"inadequate
	time
	to 	prepare."
and
	supporting
	brief,
	within
	20
	days
following 	the 	date
	of
	service
	of 	the 	decision
or 	as 	provided
	in 	Section
	32310.
	The
statement 	of 	exceptions
	and
	briefs 	shall
	be
filed
	with 	the
	Board
	itself
	in
	the
headquarters
	office.
DISCUSSION
PERB
	Regulation
	32136
	provides
	that
	the
	Board
may
	excuse
	a:
late 	filing,
	even
	one
	as
	short
	as
	a
	day,
	only
	for
	good
	cause.
4
Nonetheless, 	Jackson
	does
	not 	provide
	any
	explanation,
whatsoever,
	for 	her
	failure
	to
	file
	in
	a
	timely
	manner,
	relying
instead
	on
	an
	oblique 	reference 	to
	the
	inadequacy
	of 	the 	Board's
timelines.
	She
	offers 	absolutely
	no
	reason	
why	
she 	could
	not
comply
	with
	the 	timelines
	set 	forth 	in
	the
	February
	14
	letter.
Where
	a
	party
	fails
	to
	provide
	any
	explanation 	for
	filing
documents
	late,
	the
	Board
	is
	precluded
	from
	finding
	that
	good
3 PERB
	Regulation
	32130
	provides,
	in 	pertinent 	part:
(c) 	The
	extension 	of 	time 	provided by
California
	Code
	of 	Civil
	Procedure
	section
1013,
	subdivision 	(a), 	shall
	apply 	to
	any
filing
	made
	in
	response
	to
	documents
	served
by
	mail.
4PERB
	Regulation
	32136
	provides:
A
late 	filing
	may
	be 	excused
	in 	the
discretion 	of 	the 	Board
	for
	good 	cause 	only.
A
late 	filing
	which 	has 	been 	excused becomes
a
	timely 	filing 	under 	these 	regulations.
2

(1995)
	cause
	exists.
	(California
	Faculty Association
	(Gregg)
PERB
	Order
	No. 	Ad-271-H
	at
	p.
	2.)
	Accordingly, 	Jackson 	has
failed
	to
	establish
	good
	cause
	to
	excuse
	the
	lateness
	of
	her
exceptions.
ORDER
Paulette
	Jackson's 	request
	that
	the
	Board
	accept 	her
	late
filed
	exceptions
	in
	Case
	No. 	LA-CE-3650
	is
	hereby
	DENIED.
Chairman
	Caffrey
	and
	Member
	Johnson
	joined
	in
	this
	Decision.
3
J
I
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