1642                             Laws of Maryland                       Ch. 567

appropriate unit shall be eligible to vote. Such consent election shall
be conducted under the direction and supervision of the Commis-
sioner or his duly authorized representatives, and the rulings and
determinations by the Commissioner or his duly authorized represen-
tatives of the results thereof shall be final, and the Commissioner
or his duly authorized representatives shall issue to the parties a
certification of the results of the election, including certification of
representatives where appropriate.]

12.

(a)  An employer and any individuals or labor organizations rep-
resenting a substantial number of employees involved may petition
the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry, in such
form as prescribed by the Commissioner, for permission to enter
into a consent election agreement leading to a determination by the
Commissioner or his duly authorized representative of the facts
ascertained after such consent election. Where a petition has been
duly filed, the Commission shall cause notice of such petition to be
posted at the place of employment for a period of time sufficient for
all interested parties to be made aware of the nature and purpose of
the petition. The notice of each such petition caused to be posted
by the Commissioner shall state that any organization may file an
objection or exception to the petition with the Commissioner within
a time period prescribed by the Commissioner, such time period
to be not less than one week from the date of the posting of such
notice. If no objections or exceptions to the petition are received
by the Commissioner within the time period prescribed by the
Commissioner, he shall grant approval to the petitioner to enter
into a consent election agreement. Such agreement shall include a
description of the appropriate unit, the time and place of holding
the election, and the payroll to be used in determining which em-
ployees within the appropriate unit shall be eligible to vote. Such
consent election shall be conducted under the direction and super-
vision of the Commissioner or his duly authorized representatives,
and the rulings and determinations by the Commissioner or his duly
authorized representatives of the results thereof shall be final, and
the Commissioner or his duly authorized representatives shall issue
to the parties a certification of the results of the election, including
certification of representatives where appropriate.

(b)   Where objections or exceptions to the petition are received by
the Commissioner from an organization or organizations purporting
to represent a substantial number of employees involved, the Com-
missioner shall cause an investigation to be made into the objections
or exceptions. If, as a result of the investigation, it appears to the
Commissioner from such objections or exceptions that the organiza-
tion or organizations do appear to represent a substantial number of
employees involved, the Commissioner shall cause the name of the
organization or organizations to be placed on the official ballot to be
used in the consent election.

(c)   Where a bargaining unit has been certified by the Com-
missioner or his duly authorized representative as a result of a
consent election or where a bargaining unit has been established
without benefit of an election and an organization or organizations
have been extended the right to represent the unit for purposes of