New Mexico Administrative Code

Each party shall be entitled to an equal number of observers to observe and assist in each polling area, and to witness the counting of ballots. The director has complete discretion to determine the number of observers. Observers shall not be supervisory or managerial employees o…

Authority for Part 1 of Chapter 21 is the Public Employee Labor Relations Act NMSA Sections 1 through 26 (10-7E-1 to 10-7E-26 NMSA 1978).

A. Any party to an election, through its observer, or the election supervisor, may challenge the eligibility to vote of any person who presents himself or herself at the polls, and shall state the reason for the challenge. The director shall challenge any voter whose name does no…

Immediately following the counting of ballots, the election supervisor shall serve a tally of ballots upon one representative of each party. The tally shall show the number of votes cast for each labor organization listed on the ballot, the number of votes cast for no representat…

In an election where there are three or more choices on the ballot, if no ballot choice receives a majority of the valid votes cast, and at least forty percent (40%) of eligible voters voted, the director shall set a run-off election in which voters will be permitted to cast ball…

A. If, after all issues concerning representation have been resolved, and the expiration of the intervention period described in Section 16, above, only one labor organization is seeking to represent the appropriate bargaining unit, the director shall compare the showing of inter…

Within five days following the service of a tally of ballots or the issuance of a certification pursuant to Subsection A of Section 33 above, a party may file objections to conduct affecting the determination of majority support without an election of the result of the election. …

A petition for amendment of certification may be filed at any time by an exclusive representative or an employer to reflect such a change as a change in the name of the exclusive representative or of the employer, or a change in the affiliation of the labor organization. The dire…

A labor organization that was recognized by a public employer as the exclusive representative of an appropriate bargaining unit on June 30, 1999 shall be recognized as the exclusive representative of the unit. Such recognition shall not be affected by a local labor board ceasing …

A. Except as provided in Subsection A of Section 24 of the Act, a unit clarification petition is appropriate for resolving ambiguities concerning the unit placement of individuals who come within a newly established classification; where the circumstances surrounding the creation…

A. The exclusive representative of an existing collective bargaining unit, may petition the board to include in the unit employees who do not belong, at the time the petition is filed, to any existing bargaining unit, who share a community of interest with the employees in the ex…

A. A labor organization representing the majority of employees in an appropriate collective bargaining unit and a public employer, after a petition for certification has been filed, may enter into a voluntary recognition agreement in which the employer recognizes the labor organi…

Permanent.

The petitioner in a representation proceeding may request permission of the director to withdraw the petition at any time prior to an initial election. The director has discretion to grant or deny a withdrawal request only after soliciting the positions of all parties.

A severance petition is a representation petition filed by a labor organization that seeks to sever or slice a group of employees who comprise one of the occupational groups listed in 10-7E-13 NMSA from an existing unit for the purpose of forming a separate, appropriate unit. It …

Any labor organization holding exclusive recognition for a unit of employees may disclaim its representational interest in those employees at any time by submitting a letter to the PELRB and the employer disclaiming any representational interest in a unit for which it is the excl…

March 15, 2004, unless otherwise cited at the end of the section.

The objective of Part 2 of Chapter 21 is to establish a standard for uniform petition filings in an easily understood form in which all pertinent information is given to the public employee labor relations board to determine an appropriate bargaining unit.

[Reserved]

A representation case is commenced by filing a representation petition with the director on a form prescribed by the director. The form shall include, at a minimum, the following information: the petitioner's name, address, phone number, state or national affiliation, if any, and…

Upon filing a petition, the petitioner shall serve it upon the employer and any incumbent labor organization. Within ten (10) days of the filing of a petition, the director shall cause notice of the filing of the petition to be sent to any other interested party.

Public Employee Labor Relations Board, 2929 Coors NW, Suite #303, Albuquerque, NM, 87120, (505) 831-5422.

A. Within fifteen (15) days after service of a complaint, the respondent shall file with the director and serve upon the complainant its answer admitting, denying or explaining each allegation of the complaint. For purposes of this rule, the term "allegation" shall mean any state…

If a respondent fails to file a timely answer, the director shall serve on the parties a determination of violation by default, based upon the allegations of the complaint and any evidence submitted in support of the complaint.

A. Upon receipt of a complaint, the director shall screen the complaint for facial adequacy. If the complaint is facially deficient, the director shall advise the complainant of the deficiency and give the complainant an opportunity to amend the complaint within five (5) days. Ab…

A. The director's decision to dismiss a complaint shall be subject to board review by the complainant filing with the board and serving upon the other parties a notice of appeal within ten (10) days following service of the dismissal decision. In its appeal, the complainant shall…

If the director, following investigation and the filing of an answer, believes that there is sufficient evidence that the respondent has committed a prohibited practice to warrant a hearing, the director shall designate a hearing examiner, set a hearing, and serve a notice of the…

A. Following service of a notice of hearing and before commencement of the hearing, the director shall attempt to settle the complaint with the parties. If the parties achieve a settlement, they shall reduce it to writing and submit it to the director for approval. B. If the comp…

A. In the absence of an approved settlement agreement, the hearing examiner shall conduct a formal hearing, assigning the burden of proof and the burden of going forward with the evidence to the complainant, as stated in 11.21.1.22 NMAC. B. The hearing examiner may examine witnes…

The filing of post-hearing briefs shall be permitted on the same basis as provided by 11.21.2.20 NMAC for briefs in representation cases.

The hearing examiner shall issue a "report and recommended decision" within the same time limits and following the same requirements provided in 11.21.2.21 NMAC for hearing examiner reports in representation cases.

A. Any party aggrieved by the hearing officer's recommendation may obtain board review by filing with the board and serving on the other parties a notice of appeal within ten (10) days following service of the hearing officer's report. The notice of appeal shall specify which fin…

The scope of Part 3 of Chapter 21 applies to public employers, public employees and labor organization as defined by the Public Employee Bargaining Act (10-7E1 to 10-7E-26 NMSA 1978).

A party may move to set aside a default determination entered against it within thirty (30) days after the service thereof. Said motion shall be served upon all other parties and shall set out in detail the reasons in support thereof. Upon finding good cause for the motion and wi…

Where the board becomes aware that a complainant has initiated another administrative or legal proceeding based on essentially the same facts and raising essentially the same issues as those raised in the complaint, the board may take any of the following actions, at the board's …

A. If the subject matter of a prohibited practices complaint requires the interpretation of a collective bargaining agreement; and the parties waive in writing any objections to timeliness or other procedural impediments to the processing of a grievance, and the director determin…

Authority for Part 1 of Chapter 21 is the Public Employee Labor Relations Act NMSA Sections 1 through 26 (10-7E-1 to 10-7E-26 NMSA 1978).

Permanent.

March 15, 2004, unless otherwise cited at the end of the section.

The objective of Part 3 of Chapter 21 is to set forth an efficient and effective investigative process for collection and evaluating information to determine whether public employers, public employees or labor organizations have engaged in activities or conduct that constitutes a…

[RESERVED]

A. A prohibited practices case shall be initiated by filing with the director a complaint on a form furnished by the director. The form shall set forth, at a minimum, name, address and phone number of the public employer, labor organization, or employee against whom the complaint…

Any complaint filed more than six months following the conduct claimed to violate the Act or more than six months after the complainant either discovered or reasonably should have discovered each conduct, shall be dismissed.

Public Employee Labor Relations Board, 2929 Coors NW, Suite #303, Albuquerque, NM 87120, (505) 831-5422.

A. In certain instances variances from the board approved ordinance, resolution or charter amendment may be required by the unique facts and circumstances of the relevant local public employer, to effectuate the purposes of the Act. B. In such instances, an application for approv…

A. Each local board, shall submit a verified copy of the procedural rules enacted by the applying local board necessary to accomplish its functions and duties under the Act. B. Any proposed changes to the procedural rules of a local board must be approved by the PELRB prior to be…

A. Upon receiving an application for approval pursuant to 11.21.5.9 or 11.21.5.10 of these rules, the board shall conduct an administrative review of the application and, at a properly noticed public meeting or hearing, shall formally approve or disapprove the application. Public…

A. Following board approval of a local board, the local board or the public employer that created it shall file with the board any amendments to the ordinance, resolution, or charter amendment, creating the local board, or any procedural rules within 30 days of such changes, and …

Upon the issuance of a final order of the board or judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction, finding that a local board is not in compliance with the Act, all matters theretofore pending before the local board shall be removed to and come under the jurisdiction of the board.