AFSCME v. Illinois Labor Relations Board
2017 IL App (1st) 160960
| Ill. App. Ct. | 2017Background
- AFSCME (Council 31) filed a unit-clarification petition to add eight electronic-monitoring (EM) sergeants at Cook County jail to its bargaining unit; the Board’s executive director certified AFSCME on November 6, 2014.
- Board rules gave parties 10 days to appeal an executive-director certification to the full Board; no timely appeal was filed.
- After the appeal period elapsed, MAP (another union) emailed the Board claiming it already represented the EM sergeants; the executive director then revoked AFSCME’s certification and reopened proceedings without prior notice to AFSCME.
- AFSCME appealed the revocation to the Board; the Board (1) affirmed the executive director’s revocation and (2) later dismissed AFSCME’s unit-clarification petition as untimely under Board rules.
- AFSCME directly appealed both Board orders to the appellate court under the Public Labor Relations Act; the appellate court reversed the revocation and vacated the dismissal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the executive director had authority to revoke a certification after the 10-day appeal period | Executive director lacked statutory authority to reconsider/revoke after appeal period; agency may act only by statute | Executive director had implied authority to revoke to prevent disruption and protect orderly bargaining | Reversed: no implied authority; revocation exceeded statutory authority and was invalid |
| Whether the subsequent dismissal of AFSCME’s petition was valid | Dismissal flowed from an invalid revocation and thus was void for lack of jurisdiction | Board relied on its later proceedings and rule-based timeliness criteria to dismiss | Vacated: because the revocation was unauthorized, the dismissal was void and must be vacated |
Key Cases Cited
- County of Du Page v. Illinois Labor Relations Board, 231 Ill. 2d 593 (agency-review-of-order standard and de novo review)
- Board of Education of Mundelein Elementary School Dist. No. 75 v. Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, 179 Ill. App. 3d 696 (agency may not reconsider orders absent statutory authority)
- O’Grady v. Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board, 260 Ill. App. 3d 529 (implied agency powers discussed)
- Gersch v. Department of Professional Regulation, 308 Ill. App. 3d 649 (agency authority may be found by implication in some contexts)
- People ex rel. Olin Corp. v. Department of Labor, 95 Ill. App. 3d 1108 (director lacked authority to withdraw earlier order absent statute)
- City of Evanston v. Illinois State Labor Relations Board, 227 Ill. App. 3d 955 (judicial review of Board orders under Administrative Review Law)
- Department of Central Management Services v. AFSCME, 298 Ill. App. 3d 640 (statutory framework for representation petitions)
- Carroll v. Department of Employment Security, 389 Ill. App. 3d 404 (administrative proceedings subject to due process constraints)