Palo Alto Unified School District (Fein) (PERB A112E)

STATE
	OF
	CALIFORNIA
DECISION
	OF
	THE
PUBLIC
	EMPLOYMENT
	RELATIONS
	BOARD
DR.
	LOU
IS 	FEIN,
Charging
	Party,
v.
PALO
	ALTO
	UNIFIED
	SCHOOL
	DISTRICT,
and
	PALO
	ALTO
	EDUCATORS
	ASSOCIATION,
CTA/NEA,
Respondent.
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Case
	No. 	SF-PN-5
PERB
	Order
	No. 	Ad- 112
Administrative
	Appeal
August 	11,
	1981
Appearances:	
Diane 	Ross,
	Attorney 	for 	Palo Alto 	Educators
Association.
Before
	Gluck,
	Chairperson; 	Jaeger
	and 	Moore, 	Members.
DECISION
This 	case
	is
	before 	the 	Public
	Employment
	Relations
	Board
(hereafter
	PERB
	or 	Board) 	on 	an
	appeal
	by
	the 	Palo Alto
Educators 	Association 	(hereafter
	Association) 	to 	the
	attached
determination
	by
	the 	executive
	assistant
	to 	the
	Board
	that
	the
Association's
	"Response
	to
	Appeal
	of
	Regional
	Director's
Dismissal
	of
	Complaint"
	in
	this
	case
	was
	not 	timely
	filed.
	The
PERB
	rules
	governing 	the
	filing
	of
	a
	response 	to
	an
	appeal 	of
	a
regional
	director's
	dismissal 	of
	a
	public 	notice 	complaint 	are
unequivocal
	and 	unambiguous.I 	Such
	responses 	are 	required 	to
lPERB
	rules 	are 	codified 	at
	title
	8, 	section
	31000

be
	filed
	in 	the
	headquarters
	office
	in
	Sacramento.
	The
Association's
	response
	was
	filed
	instead 	in
	the
	Board's
San
	Francisco
	regional
	office
	on
	the
	last 	filing
	date
	due
	to
	an
Association
	"clerical 	error."
	The
	clerical
	error
	noted
	above
does 	not
	constitute
	the
	existence
	of
	extraordinary
circumstances
	as
	required
	by
	PERB
	rule
	321332	
which 	would
justify 	late 	filing
	of
	the
	Association's
	response.
ORDER
The
	Board
	AFFIRMS
	the
	determination of 	the 	Executive
Assistant
	to 	the
	Board
	and
	DENIES
	the 	appeal.
PER
	CURIAM
et
	seq.
	of
	the
	California
	Administrative
	Code.
	Section
	32135
provides:
All
	documents
	shall
	be
	considered
	"filed"
	bya
	party
	when
	actually
	received
	by
	the 	proper
recipient
	before 	the
	close 	of 	business
	on
the
	last
	date
	set
	for
	filing.
Section
	32375
	provides 	in 	relevant 	part:
Within
	10
	days 	following 	the 	date 	of 	serviceof 	the 	appeal,
	any
	party
	may
	file
	a
	response
to 	the 	appeal.
	The
	response
	shall
	be
	filed
with 	the 	Executive
	Assistant
	to 	the 	Board.
2PERB
	rule
	32133
	reads:
A
late 	filing
	may 	be 	excused 	in 	the
discretion 	of 	the
	Board 	only 	under
extraordinary 	circumstances.
2

STATE
OF
CALIFORNIA 	EOMUNO
G.
BROWN
JR.,
Gcwmor
PUBLIC
EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONS BOARD
Headquarters Office
1031
18th Street,
Suite
200
Sacramento, California 	95814
(916) 322 4
3088
June
	11, 	1981
Diane 	Ross
1705 	Murchison
	Drive
Burlington,
	CA
	94010
Re:
	Palo 	Alto
	USD,
	SF-PN-5
Dear
Ms.
	Ross:
This
	will
	acknowledge
	receipt
	of
	the 	response 	to 	appeal
of
	Regional
	Director's
	Dismissal
	of
	Complaint
	in
	the
	above
captioned 	case. 	Unfortunately,
	your 	response
	was
	not
	timely
filed
	and
	cannot 	be
	presented 	to 	the
	Board
	itself.
My
	letter
	of
May
	19, 	1981
	addressed 	to 	Palo 	Alto
	Unified
School
	District
	and
	to
	Palo
	Alto 	Educators
	Association
	in
Mountain View
	stated 	that
	responses
	were 	due
	in 	this
	office
on
	or 	before
	June 	1,
	1981. 	Your
	response
	was
	filed 	in 	the
San
	Francisco
	Regional
	Office
	on June 	1,
	1981
	rather 	than
in
	our 	Headquarters
	Office.
You may
	appeal
	this 	rejection
	of
	your
	filing
	to 	the 	Board
itself
	in
	accordance with 	Section
	32360.
	If
	you
	choose
	to
do
	so,
	your 	appeal
	is
	due 	on
	or before 	ten
	(10) 	days
	after
service 	of
	this
	letter,
	on Monday, 	June 	22, 	1981.
Si~cere_ly,
fl 	l
J.
	Stephen 	Barber
Executive 	Assistant 	to 	the
	Board
JSB:ts
cc: 	Louis 	FeinRobert 	E. 	McLean
Kathryn 	Hoover 	Calfee