SB 202-FN - AS INTRODUCED
1999 SESSION
SENATE BILL 202-FN
AN ACT relative to collective bargaining rights of public employees.
SPONSORS: Sen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Wheeler, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill clarifies certain procedures of collective bargaining rights with respect to public employees.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
99-0999
01/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine
AN ACT relative to collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Policy. Amend 1975, 490:1, II and III to read as follows:
II. Requiring public employers to negotiate in good faith and to reduce to writing any agreements reached with employee organizations which have been certified as representing their public employees; [and]
III. Establishing a public employee labor relations board vested with broad powers to assist in resolving disputes between government and its employees; and
IV. Allowing employees to have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection.
2 Terms and Conditions of Employment; Definition. Amend RSA 273-A:1, XI to read as follows:
XI. "Terms and conditions of employment" means wages, hours and other conditions of employment other than managerial policy within the exclusive prerogative of the public employer which are not specifically referenced in any collective bargaining agreement, or confided exclusively to the public employer by statute or regulations adopted pursuant to statute. The phrase "managerial policy within the exclusive prerogative of the public employer" shall be construed to include but shall not be limited to the functions, programs and methods of the public employer, including the use of technology, the public employer's organizational structure, and the selection, direction and number of its personnel, so as to continue public control of governmental functions.
3 Board; Clarification. Amend RSA 273-A:2, I and I-a to read as follows:
I. There is hereby created a public employee labor relations board consisting of 5 members, appointed by the governor and council. Two members shall be appointed who shall have extensive experience representing organized labor. Two members shall be appointed who shall have extensive experience in representing management interests. One member, who shall be the chairman, shall be appointed to represent the public at large, and shall not hold elective or appointive public office, or elective or appointive office, or membership in, any public sector organized labor organization at the time of his or her appointment or during his or her term. Members of the board may be removed by the governor and council for cause.
I-a. The governor and council shall appoint, in addition to the regular board members specified in paragraph I, 3 alternate board members. One member shall have extensive experience representing organized labor, one member shall have extensive experience in representing management interests, and one member shall represent the public at large, and shall not hold elective or appointive public office, or elective or appointive office, or membership in, any public sector organized labor organization at the time of his or her appointment or during his or her term. Alternate board members shall serve a 6 year term, and may be removed by the governor and council.
4 New Paragraph; Mandatory Subjects of Bargaining. Amend RSA 273-A:3 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. The following shall be mandatory subjects of bargaining and shall not be changed except with prior notice to the union or the employer: absence rules, automation decisions, bathroom procedures, bonus programs, clean-up rules, disciplinary procedures, disciplinary penalties, dress codes, drug/alcohol testing, elimination of positions, employee privileges, including, but not limited to, the right to listen to a radio, receive telephone calls, or smoke, employee purchase plan rules, evaluation systems, food service hours, free coffee, grievance procedures, grooming standards, insurance plans, layoffs for economic reasons, light duty policies, meal or coffee break rules, new hours or shifts, new positions, outside conduct rules, parking rules, pay check procedures, pay rates, physical examinations, production and activity quotas, relocation of work, safety awards, safety and health rules, smoking rules, subcontracting decisions, tardiness rules, time off prior to holidays, transfer of bargaining unit work to non-bargaining unit employees, union steward and officer privileges such as paid leaves and access to facilities, vacation policies, wages, workloads, and work rules.
5 Grievance Procedures Added. Amend RSA 273-A:4 to read as follows:
273-A:4 Grievance Procedures.
I. Every agreement negotiated under the terms of this chapter shall be reduced to writing and shall contain workable grievance procedures.
II. Duly authorized union stewards and union officers, while engaged in representational activities, are considered to be equals with management.
III. Duly authorized union stewards and union officers, while engaged in representational activities, shall not be punished or threatened with punishment by management if management considers grievances to be overly frequent, petty, offensively written, or if the grievance is brought to a higher step. Punishment and the threat of punishment includes, but is not confined to, the following: assignment to more difficult or unpleasant work activities; unfavorable employee evaluations; denial of pay increases; segregation from other employees; deprivation of overtime or other benefits; enforcement of work rules in a non-uniform manner; physically threatening or striking; overly supervising work activities; transfer to a different job or shift; and poor references for a prospective job.
IV. Duly authorized union stewards and union officers shall be held to the same standards as other employees.
V. Employers shall be required to supply authorized employee representatives with relevant information for the purpose of contract enforcement including, but not limited to, the following: accident reports, attendance records, bargaining notes, employment related memos, contracts with suppliers and subcontractors, correspondence, complaints, disciplinary records, equipment specifications, evaluations, inspection records, insurance policies, interview notes, investigative reports, job descriptions, material safety data sheets, payroll records, personnel files, photographs, reports and studies, security records, seniority lists, supervisor's notes, time study records, training manuals, videotapes, wage records, and work rules. Union requests shall be made in good faith and be based on a genuine suspicion, as determined by complaints or other evidence, that the contract was violated.
VI. Employees may request and receive assistance from union representatives when engaged in an investigator interview by the employer that the employee has a reasonable belief that discipline or other adverse consequences may result from what he or she says.
6 Unfair Labor Practices Clarified. Amend RSA 273-A:5, I(a) through (e) to read as follows:
(a) To restrain, coerce or otherwise interfere, including threats, warnings and orders to refrain from protected activities, with its employees in the exercise of the rights conferred by this chapter;
(b) To dominate or to interfere in the formation or administration of any employee organization;
(c) To discriminate in the hiring or tenure, or the terms and conditions of employment of its employees, including disciplinary actions such as suspensions, discharges, transfers, and demotions, for the purpose of encouraging or discouraging membership in any employee organization;
(d) To discharge or otherwise discriminate against any employee because he or she has filed a complaint, affidavit or petition, or given information or testimony under this chapter;
(e) To refuse to negotiate in good faith with the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit, including the failure to submit to the legislative body any cost item agreed upon in negotiations the failure to supply requested information, unilateral changes, refusal to hold grievance meetings, and direct dealings with employees;
7 Reference Addition. Amend RSA 273-A:5, II(e) to read as follows:
(e) To engage in a strike or other form of job action, except as provided in RSA 273-A:13;
8 Employee Rights. Amend RSA 273-A:11, I(a) to read as follows:
(a) The right to represent employees in collective bargaining negotiations and in the settlement of grievances. An individual employee may present an oral grievance to his or her employer without the intervention of the exclusive representative, but the individual employee shall not be required to waive his or her rights to union representation when the employee reasonably believes the interview could lead to disciplinary action. Until the grievance is reduced to writing, the exclusive representative [shall] may be excluded from a hearing if the employee so requests; but any resolution of the grievance shall not be inconsistent with the terms of an existing agreement between the parties.
9 Strikes Prohibited by Certain Employees. Amend RSA 273-A:13 to read as follows:
273-A:13 Strikes Prohibited. Strikes and other forms of job action by public employees are hereby declared to be unlawful when such strike or job action is taken by employees who are responsible for the direct care of patients or inmates, law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency response employees, and employees responsible for snow plowing during winter months. Any strike or job actions taken by public employees shall cease concurrently with the declaration by the governor of a state of emergency. A public employer shall be entitled to petition the superior court for a temporary restraining order, pending a final order of the board under RSA 273-A:6 for a strike or other form of job action in violation of the provisions of this chapter, and may be awarded costs and reasonable legal fees at the discretion of the court.
10 Appeals. Amend RSA 273-A:14 to read as follows:
273-A:14 Appeals. Any person aggrieved by a final order of the board granting or denying in whole or in part the relief sought may obtain review of such order [in the manner prescribed in RSA 541] by filing a bill in equity in any court of competent jurisdiction.
11 Record; Inspection. Amend RSA 273-A:16, II to read as follows:
II. All documents and records of the board shall be public records and shall be kept for a minimum of 10 years. All records shall be available for inspection by any party during the regular business hours of the board.
12 Gifts, Grants, or Donations. Amend RSA 273-A:17 to read as follows:
273-A:17 Gifts, Grants, or Donations. The board is authorized to receive any gifts, grants, or donations and to disburse and expend such gifts, grants, and donations. All gifts, grants, and donations shall be duly recorded by the board and shall be maintained with the records in accordance with RSA 273-A:16.
13 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2000.
LBAO
99-0999
2/17/99
SB 202-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to collective bargaining rights of public employees.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Public Employees Labor Relations Board indicates state, county and local expenditures may increase by an indeterminable amount in FY 2000 and each year thereafter. There is no impact on state, county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Board states that government employers may incur some cost for supplying certain information as proposed in this bill. Additionally, this bill specifically prohibits certain employees from striking and as such, it could be assumed that those employees not specified in this bill have the right to strike and therefor, could interrupt government services.