Except as otherwise provided by the Legislature, trial court employees shall have the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all matters of employer-employee relations. Trial court employees also shall have the right to refuse to join or participate in the activities of employee organizations and shall have the right to represent themselves individually in their employment relations with the trial court.

date of the agreement, whichever comes first. However, any employee who is a member of a bona fide religion, body, or sect that has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting recognized employee organizations shall not be required to join or financially support any recognized employee organization as a condition of employment. That employee may be required, in lieu of periodic dues, initiation fees, or agency shop fees to pay sums equal to those dues, initiation fees, or agency shop fees to a nonreligious, nonlabor charitable organization fund exempt from taxation under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, chosen by the employee from a list of at least three funds, designated in a memorandum of understanding or agreement between the trial court and the recognized employee organization, or if the memorandum of understanding or agreement fails to designate any funds, then to any fund chosen by the employee. Proof of those payments shall be made on a monthly

basis to the trial court as a condition of continued exemption from the requirement of financial support to the recognized employee organization.

frequently than once a year, shall be conducted by the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service in the event that the trial court and the recognized employee organization cannot agree within 10 days from the filing of the petition to select jointly a neutral person or entity to conduct the election. In the event of an agency fee arrangement outside of an agreement that was in effect on January 1, 2002, the recognized employee organization shall defend, indemnify, and hold the trial court harmless against any liability arising from any claims, demands, or other action relating to the trial court’s compliance with the agency fee obligation. Upon notification to the trial court by the recognized employee organization, the amount of the fee shall be deducted by the trial court from the wages or salary of the employee and paid to the employee organization. This subdivision shall be applicable on the operative date of this section, except that if a memorandum of understanding or agreement between the

trial court and a recognized employee organization was in effect before January 1, 2002, as to the employees covered by the memorandum of understanding or agreement, the implementation date of this subdivision shall be either the date a successor memorandum of understanding or agreement is effective or, if no agreement for a successor memorandum of understanding or agreement is reached, 90 days from the date of the expiration of the predecessor memorandum of understanding or agreement. The trial court and representatives of recognized employee organizations may mutually agree to a different date on which this subdivision is applicable.

an operating statement, certified as to accuracy by its president and treasurer or corresponding principal officer, or by a certified public accountant. An employee organization required to file financial reports under the federal Labor-Management Disclosure Act of 1959 covering employees governed by this chapter or required to file financial reports under Section 3546.5, may satisfy the financial reporting requirement of this section by providing the trial court with a copy of those financial reports.

in return for employees opposing or rescinding an agency shop arrangement.

If the trial court is party to any memorandum of understanding or agreement with any bargaining unit that includes court employees that provides for an agency shop provision as of the implementation date of this chapter, the trial court and employee organization representing the trial court employees shall be obligated to honor the terms of the agency shop provision, including indemnification provisions, if any, for the duration of the memorandum of understanding or agreement. The implementation of this chapter shall not be a cause for a new agency shop election.

Recognized employee organizations shall have the right to represent their members in their employment relations with trial courts as to matters covered by this article. Employee organizations may establish reasonable restrictions regarding who may join and may make reasonable provisions for the dismissal of individuals from membership. Nothing in this article shall prohibit any employee from appearing on his or her own behalf regarding employment relations with the trial court.

If agreement is reached by the representatives of the trial court and a recognized employee organization or organizations, they shall jointly prepare a written memorandum of the agreement or understanding, which shall not be binding, and present it to the trial court or its designee for determination.

If after a reasonable period of time, representatives of the trial court and the recognized employee organization fail to reach agreement, the trial court and the recognized employee organization or recognized employee organizations together may agree upon the appointment of a mediator mutually agreeable to the parties. Costs of mediation, if any, shall be divided one-half to the trial court and one-half to the recognized employee organization or recognized employee organizations.

The trial court shall allow a reasonable number of trial court employee representatives of recognized employee organizations reasonable time off, without loss of compensation or other benefits, when formally meeting and conferring with representatives of the trial court on matters within the scope of representation.

Trial courts and employee organizations shall not interfere with, intimidate, restrain, coerce, or discriminate against court employees because of their exercise of their rights under Section 71631.

In the absence of local procedures for resolving disputes on the appropriateness of a unit of representation, upon the request of any of the parties, the dispute shall be submitted to the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service for the mediation or for recommendation for resolving the dispute.

an employee organization based on a signed petition, authorization cards, or union membership cards showing that a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit desire the representation, unless another labor organization has previously been lawfully recognized as exclusive or majority representative of all or part of the same unit. Exclusive or majority representation shall be determined by a neutral third party, selected by the trial court and the employee organization, who shall review the signed petition, authorization cards, or union membership cards to verify the exclusive or majority status of the employee organization. If the trial court and the employee organization cannot agree on a neutral third party, the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service shall be the neutral third party and shall verify the exclusive or majority status of the employee organization. If the neutral third party determines, based on a signed petition, authorization cards, or union membership cards,

that a second labor organization has the support of at least 30 percent of the employees in the unit in which recognition is sought, the neutral third party shall order an election to establish which labor organization, if any, has majority status.

a recognized course of instruction, including, but not limited to, attorneys.

For purposes of this article, in addition to those rules and regulations that a trial court may adopt pursuant to, and in the same manner as set forth in, Section 71636, any trial court may adopt reasonable rules and regulations providing for designation of the management and confidential employees of the trial court and restricting those employees from representing any employee organization that represents other employees of the trial court, on matters within the scope of representation. Except as specifically provided otherwise in this article, this section does not otherwise limit the right of employees to be members of, and to hold office in, an employee organization.

A trial court employee shall have the right to authorize, and the trial court employer shall honor, a dues deduction from his or her salary or wages as provided in Section 1152, 1153, 1157.1, 1157.2, 1157.3, 1157.4, 1157.5, or 1157.7.

pursuant to Section 71636 shall be processed as an unfair practice charge by the board. The initial determination as to whether the charge of unfair practice is justified and, if so, the appropriate remedy necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article, shall be a matter within the exclusive jurisdiction of the board, except that in an action to recover damages due to an unlawful strike, the board shall have no authority to award strike-preparation expenses as damages, and shall have no authority to award damages for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred during, or as a consequence of, an unlawful strike. The board shall apply and interpret unfair labor practices consistent with existing judicial interpretations of this article and Section 71639.3. The board shall not issue a complaint in respect of any charge based upon an alleged unfair practice occurring more than six months prior to the filing of the charge, except that if the rules and regulations adopted by a trial court require exhaustion

of a remedy prior to filing an unfair practice charge or the charging party chooses to exhaust a trial court’s remedy prior to filing an unfair practice charge, the six-month limitation set forth in this subdivision shall be tolled during such reasonable amount of time it takes the charging party to exhaust the remedy, but nothing herein shall require a charging party to exhaust a remedy when that remedy would be futile.

regulation is itself in violation of this article.

Notwithstanding any other law, if a decision by an administrative law judge regarding the recognition or certification of an employee organization is appealed, the decision shall be deemed the final order of the board if the board does not issue a ruling that supersedes the decision on or before 180 days after the appeal is filed.

The enactment of this article shall not be construed as making Section 923 of the Labor Code applicable to trial court employees.

Trial courts and trial court employees are not covered by Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1, or any subsequent changes to these sections except as provided in this article. However, where the language of this article is the same or substantially the same as that contained in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500) of Division 4 of Title 1, it shall be interpreted and applied in accordance with the judicial interpretations of the same language.