Chapter 4117-3 | Voluntary Recognition

Rule 4117-3-01 | Voluntary recognition requests.

• Effective: May 18, 1987
• Promulgated Under: Ch 119.

(A) Requests for recognition by an employee organization pursuant to section 4117.05 of the Revised Code shall be filed with the board and served upon the employer. Requests for recognition shall not be accepted for filing with the board unless they contain proof of service, pursuant to paragraph (B) of rule 4117-1-02 of the Administrative Code. The request for recognition shall contain:

(1) The name, address, and affiliation, if any, of the employee organization, and the name and telephone number of its principal representative;

(2) A description of the bargaining unit which the employee organization proposes to represent, specifying inclusions and exclusions and the approximate number of employees in the unit;

(3) A statement that a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit wish to be represented by the employee organization; and

(4) Certification by the employee organization that the employee organization has filed with the board substantial evidence as defined in rule 4117-3-03 of the Administrative Code supporting the employee organization's statement that a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit wish to be represented by the employee organization.

(B) Immediately upon receipt of a request for recognition, the employer shall post a notice in each facility at which employees in the proposed unit are employed, a copy of which shall be filed with the board. The notice posted by the employer shall be no smaller than eight and one-half inches by eleven inches, shall be legible, and shall contain:

(1) A description of the proposed bargaining unit;

(2) The name of the employee organization requesting recognition;

(3) The date of receipt by the employer of the request for recognition;

(4) A statement advising employees that any objections to certification must be filed with the board not later than the twenty-first day following the date on which the employer received the request for recognition.

(C) Notices posted pursuant to paragraph (B) of this rule shall be placed in conspicuous locations where employees will be reasonably apprised of the contents. The notices shall be posted for twenty-one days. The employer shall take reasonable steps to ensure that notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by other materials. Immediately upon posting the notice the employer shall submit to the board a certification of posting together with a copy of the notice and a copy of the request for recognition.

(D) The posting of a notice pursuant to paragraph (B) of this rule and division (A)(2)(a) of section 4117.05 of the Revised Code does not prevent an employer from filing with the board a petition for election by the twenty-first day following the date on which the employer received the request.

Last updated October 26, 2023 at 7:17 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: –
Amplifies: –
Five Year Review Date:
Prior Effective Dates: 6/24/1984

Rule 4117-3-02 | Objections to voluntary recognition requests; petitions in response.

• Effective: May 18, 1987
• Promulgated Under: Ch 119.

(A) Any objections to a request for recognition shall be filed with the board and served upon the parties not later than the twenty-first day following the employer's receipt of the request for recognition.

(B) On the twenty-second day following the employer's receipt of the request for recognition, the board shall certify as the exclusive representative the employee organization filing the request for recognition unless by the twenty-first day:

(1) The employer has filed a petition for election pursuant to section 4117.07 of the Revised Code, in which case the board will determine whether there is a question of majority representation warranting a representation election;

(2) The board receives substantial evidence as defined by rule 4117-3-03 of the Administrative Code demonstrating that a majority of the employees in the described bargaining unit do not wish to be represented by the employee organization that filed the request for recognition;

(3) The board receives from another employee organization substantial evidence as defined by rule 4117-3-03 of the Administrative Code demonstrating that at least ten per cent of the employees in the described bargaining unit wish to be represented by such other employee organization; or

(4) The board receives substantial evidence as defined by rule 4117-3-03 of the Administrative Code indicating that the proposed unit is not appropriate.

(C) The board shall not certify an exclusive representative pursuant to an employee organization's request for recognition if the proposed bargaining unit is prohibited by division (D) of section 4117.06 of the Revised Code or if the evidence submitted in support of the request for recognition is not substantial.

(D) In the event the employer does not file a petition for representation election pursuant to sections 4117.05 and 4117.07 of the Revised Code, the board shall determine whether or not the employee organization is entitled to certification pursuant to section 4117.05 of the Revised Code and Chapter 4117-3 of the Administrative Code. The board may conduct inquiries, investigations, and hearings for the purpose of determining whether it has received substantial evidence in support of either the request for recognition or objections. The board shall notify the employee organization and employer of its determination.

(E) The submission of substantial evidence in accordance with paragraph (B)(2) or (B)(3) of this rule may result in the direction of an election if the board determines that there is a question of majority representation.

(F) Nothing in this rule shall be construed to permit a public employer to recognize, or the state employment relations board to certify, an employee organization as an exclusive representative under Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code if there is in effect a lawful written agreement, contract, or memorandum or understanding between the public employer and another employee organization which, on the effective date of Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, has been recognized by a public employer as the exclusive representative of the employees in a unit or which by tradition, custom, practice, election, or negotiation has been the only employee organization representing all employees in the unit; this restriction does not apply to that period of time covered by any agreement which exceeds three years. For the purposes of this rule, extensions of agreement do not affect the expiration of the original agreement.

Last updated October 26, 2023 at 8:06 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: –
Amplifies: –
Five Year Review Date:
Prior Effective Dates: 6/24/1984

Rule 4117-3-03 | Substantial evidence for the purpose of voluntary recognition.

• Effective: May 18, 1987
• Promulgated Under: Ch 119.

(A) For the purposes of division (A)(2), (A)(2)(b)(ii), and (A)(2)(b)(iii) of section 4117.05 of the Revised Code, and rules 4117-3-01 and 4117-3-02 of the Administrative Code, "substantial evidence" shall consist of the following documentation that shall be filed only with the board:

(1) Original signed statements, with each signature dated not more than one year prior to the date of filing, including but not limited to cards and petitions, that clearly set forth the intent of the employee with respect to representation by the employee organization; or

(2) Dues deduction authorizations or employer-verified dues deduction lists in effect as of the payroll period immediately preceding the filing of the request for recognition with the board; or

(3) Current cash dues receipts.

(B) At its discretion, the board, in the interest of fairness, may waive the time limitations of paragraph (A)(1) of this rule. For the purpose of division (A)(2)(b)(iv) of section 4117.05 of the Revised Code, "substantial evidence" shall consist of a clear and concise statement of the reason the unit is not appropriate, such statement to be supported by documentation relating to the factors set forth in section 4117.06 of the Revised Code.

(C) The board may request from any party any information necessary to determine if evidence is substantial, including but not limited to an alphabetized, numbered payroll list of employees in the proposed unit.

Last updated October 26, 2023 at 8:06 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: –
Amplifies: –
Five Year Review Date:
Prior Effective Dates: 6/24/1984