NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the Public Employees Relations Commission has declined to rule on the petition for declaratory statement filed by Erin E. Smith, a staff attorney with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in Virginia, Case No. DS-2010-003 on November 01, 2010. The following is a summary of the agency's declination of the petition:
The Commission declined to provide a declaratory statement because the question of whether the Commission- appointed hearing officer erred by denying Attorney Erin E. Smith pro hac vice admission to represent an employee during an unfair labor practice hearing has ripened into actual controversy and litigation. The facts in the petition demonstrated that the petition is a challenge to a ruling made by a hearing officer during litigation. In addition, the petition is not seeking guidance from the Commission regarding Smith’s future actions; rather, the petition is seeking to resolve a dispute emanating from past conduct.
A copy of the Order Declining of the Petition for Declaratory Statement may be obtained by contacting: The Clerk, Public Employees Relations Commission, 4050 Esplanade Way, Suite 135, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0950.