New Jersey § 34:13a-5

§ 34:13a-5.

There is hereby established a Division of Public Employment Relations and a Division

of Private Employment Dispute Settlement. (a) The Division of Public Employment Relations shall be concerned exclusively with

matters of public employment related to determining negotiating units, elections,

certifications and settlement of public employee representative and public employer

disputes and grievance procedures. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution , the Division of Public Employment Relations is hereby allocated within the Department

of Labor and Workforce Development , and located in the city of Trenton, but notwithstanding said allocation, the office

shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or by any board

or officer thereof. (b) The Division of Private Employment Dispute Settlement shall assist the New Jersey

State Board of Mediation in the resolution of disputes in private employment. The New Jersey State Board of Mediation, its objectives and the powers and duties

granted by this act and the act of which this act is amendatory and supplementary

shall be concerned exclusively with matters of private employment and the office shall

continue to be located in the city of Newark. (c) In the case of a private employer not regulated by the National Labor Relations

Board pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. s. 151 et seq. ), the New Jersey State Board of Mediation shall designate a representative for a

unit of employees of the private employer for the purposes of collective bargaining

when: (1) In any case in which the board determines that only one employee organization

is seeking to be the majority representative, that organization demonstrates that

a majority of employees in the unit have shown their preference to have that organization

be their representative by signing authorization cards indicating that preference;

or (2) The employees in the unit have selected a representative by an election that conforms

with the procedures outlined in section 159 of the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. s.159 ). For the purposes of paragraph (1) of this subsection, an authorization card indicating

preference shall not be valid unless it is printed in a language understood by the

employee who signs it. Any employer who refuses to provide information requested by the New Jersey State

Board of Mediation or otherwise acts to prevent the board from carrying out its responsibilities

pursuant to this subsection (c) shall have violated this subsection and shall be liable

to a fine of not more than $1,000, to be recovered under the “Penalty Enforcement

Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c. 274 ( C.2A:58-10 et seq. ) in the name of the board and to be used by the board for costs of implementing this

subsection. In addition, an employee organization seeking to represent the employees of the

employer may institute an action in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain an

injunction to restrain any continuation of the violation, to reimburse the employee

organization or any affected employee for any damages caused by the violation plus

reasonable costs and attorney's fees of the action. The provisions of this subsection (c) shall not apply to religious or parochial schools

or their employees or to any private nonprofit organization exempt from federal taxation

under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ( 26 U.S.C. s. 501 ). (d) In the case of a private employer regulated by the National Labor Relations Board

pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. s. 151 et seq. ), the New Jersey State Board of Mediation shall, based on the mutual agreement of

the private employer and an organization seeking to represent employees of the employer,

designate a representative for a unit of employees of the private employer for the

purposes of collective bargaining when: (1) In any case in which the board determines that only one employee organization

is seeking to be the majority representative, that organization demonstrates, in a

manner mutually agreed upon by the representative and the employer, that a majority

of employees in the unit have shown their preference to have that organization be

their representative by signing authorization cards indicating that preference; or (2) the employees in the unit have selected the representative by an election that

conforms with the procedures outlined in section 159 of the National Labor Relations

Act ( 29 U.S.C. s.159 ). (e) For the purposes of subsections (c) and (d) of this section, “ employee unit ” means an appropriate group of employees for the purposes of collective bargaining

as determined, if necessary, by the New Jersey State Board of Mediation.