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CITY OF WICHITA v. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RELATIONS BD.3/15/1996
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Teamsters Union Local 795 (Union) filed a petition with the Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) seeking to become the exclusive bargaining representative for certain safety officers working at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The petition alleged that the City of Wichita (City) was the employer of such officers. The respondent City filed a motion to dismiss the petition on the ground the officers were the employees of the
Wichita Airport Authority (Authority). Authority is not subject to the Public Employer-Employee Relations Act (PEERA), K.S.A. 75-4321 et seq., whereas City is subject to PEERA.
The adversaries on the motion to dismiss were Union and City, and each introduced extensive evidence in support of their respective positions. The presiding officer for PERB, acting in a quasi-judicial capacity, heard the evidence and made findings of fact and conclusions of law encompassing 45 pages. The presiding officer's key holdings were: (1) City and Authority were each a "public agency or employer" as defined by K.S.A. 75-4322(f); (2) City and Authority each exerted control over varying aspects of the employment relationship and were the "joint employers" of the safety officers, with City "having the dominant role in setting the conditions of employment" and being "fully capable of bargaining effectively with the Teamsters, [sufficient] to satisfy an employer's obligations under PEERA"; and (3) PERB, having jurisdiction over City, could proceed with the petitioned-for unit determination.
City then filed a petition for judicial review pursuant to K.S.A. 77-607. The district court held that: (1) PERB's findings of fact were appropriate and supported by the evidence; (2) PERB's conclusion as to City and Authority being joint employers was erroneous; and (3) the case should be remanded to PERB for further consideration.
An appeal and cross-appeal were filed. We held that (1) the district court's order of remand to PERB was invalid as it was not premised on any of the grounds set forth in K.S.A. 77-619(b); (2) the order sought to be appealed from was not a final order; and (3) the appeal and cross-appeal must be dismissed. City of Wichita v. PERB, No. 70,317, unpublished opinion filed October 28, 1994.
The district court then entered a final order in which it (1) held that City and Authority were not separate entities as held by PERB but, rather, constituted a single employer subject to PEERA and (2) affirmed PERB's determination that it had jurisdiction to determine the petitioned-for unit determination. City appeals therefrom.
SCOPE OF REVIEW
Preliminarily, the scope of review must be determined.
The Kansas Act for Judicial Review and Civil Enforcement of Agency Actions (KAJR) applies to all agencies and all proceedings not specifically exempted by statute from the provisions of the act. K.S.A. 77-603(a). PERB is not a statutorily exempt agency. See K.S.A. 77-603(c).
The scope of review under KAJR is set out in K.S.A. 77-621(c) as follows:
"The court shall grant relief only if it determines any one or more of the following:
"(1) The agency action, or the statute or rule and regulation on which the agency action is based, is unconstitutional on its face or as applied
"(2) the agency has acted beyond the jurisdiction conferred by any provision of law;
"(3) the agency has not decided an issue requiring resolution;
"(4) the agency has erroneously interpreted or applied the law;
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