Section 180-11-6 - When to File Petitions The following time restrictions apply to the filing of petitions with the Board.
1.Contract Bar. If a valid collective bargaining agreement is in effect which covers any or all of the employees or positions included in the petition, the unit determination petition, election petition or decertification petition must be filed in the window period beginning 90 and ending 60 days prior to the expiration date of that contract. A petition filed more than 90 days or less than 60 days prior to the expiration of the contract will be dismissed. Representation proceedings properly initiated by filings during the window period may be processed at any time after the filing regardless of the existence of a collective bargaining agreement. If there is no collective bargaining agreement in effect or the collective bargaining agreement has expired and a successor agreement has not become effective, a unit determination petition, an election petition or a decertification petition may be filed at any time. This contract bar rule does not apply to unit clarification petitions or merger petitions.2.Certification Bar. No question concerning representation may be raised within one year of a voluntary recognition, certification by majority sign-up, certification by election or attempted certification. An election in which the incumbent bargaining agent is decertified and in which no other prospective bargaining agent appeared on the ballot is not considered a certification or attempted certification within the meaning of this rule.3.Limitation on Unit Clarification Petitions. A unit clarification petition may be filed only by the employer or the incumbent certified or recognized bargaining agent. A unit clarification petition is not appropriate unless the circumstances surrounding the formation of an existing bargaining unit are alleged to have changed sufficiently to warrant modification in the composition of the bargaining unit, the parties are unable to agree on appropriate modifications and there is no question concerning representation. Unit clarification petitions may be denied if the question raised should properly be settled through the election process, or the petition requests the clarification of unit placement questions which could have been but were not raised prior to the conclusion of negotiations which resulted in an agreement containing a bargaining unit description. Unit clarification petitions must not be filed with such frequency as to constitute harassment.12- 180 C.M.R. ch. 11, § 6