[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1016 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1016
To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers
employed by States or their political subdivisions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 12, 1999
Mr. DeWine (for himself, Mr. Gregg, Mr. Wellstone, and Mrs. Murray)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers
employed by States or their political subdivisions.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Public Safety Employer-Employee
Cooperation Act of 1999''.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE AND POLICY.
The Congress declares that the following is the policy of the
United States:
(1) Labor-management relationships and partnerships should
be based on trust, mutual respect, open communications,
consensual problem solving, and shared accountability.
(2) To promote and assure these relationships in the public
safety industry, to ensure the most effective delivery of
emergency services, and to maintain the normal flow of commerce
the public safety industry requires minimal standards for
collective bargaining.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Authority.--The term ``Authority'' means the Federal
Labor Relations Authority.
(2) Firefighter.--The term ``firefighter'' means an
individual employed by a fire department who--
(A) primarily performs work directly related to the
control and extinguishment of fires;
(B) is responsible for maintaining and using
firefighting equipment, preventing and investigating
fires, and communicating with and dispatching public
safety officers; or
(C) provides emergency medical care.
(3) Emergency medical services personnel.--The term
``emergency medical services personnel'' means an individual
who provides out-of-hospital emergency medical care, including
an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or first responder.
(4) Employer.--The terms ``employer'' and ``public safety
employer'' mean any State, political subdivision of a State,
the District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the
United States.
(5) Law enforcement agency.--The term ``law enforcement
agency'' means a State or local public agency that is charged
by law with the duty to prevent or investigate crimes or
apprehend or hold in custody persons charged with or convicted
of crimes.
(6) Law enforcement officer.--The term ``law enforcement
officer'' has the meaning given in section 1204, title I of
Public Law 90-351 (as amended) (42 U.S.C. 3796b(5)).
(7) Management employee.--The term ``management employee''
means an individual employed by a public safety employer in a
position that requires or authorizes the individual to
formulate, determine, or influence the policies of the
employer.
(8) Public safety officer.--The term ``public safety
officer'' means an employee of a public safety agency who is a
law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or emergency medical
services personnel. The term includes an individual who is
temporarily transferred to a supervisory or administrative
position, but does not include a permanent management or
supervisory employee.
(9) Supervisory employee.--The term ``supervisory
employee'' means an individual employed by a public safety
employer who--
(A) has the authority in the interest of the
employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, reward,
transfer, furlough, layoff, recall, suspend,
discipline, or remove public safety officers, to adjust
their grievances or to effectively recommend such
action, if the exercise of the authority is not merely
routine or clerical in nature but requires the
consistent exercise of independent judgment; and
(B) devotes a majority of time at work exercising
such authority.
SEC. 4. RIGHT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS TO ORGANIZE AND BARGAIN
COLLECTIVELY.
(a) Determination.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue a
determination as to whether a State substantially complies with
the rights and responsibilities described in subsection (b). In
making such a determination, the Authority shall not find that
a State law enacted prior to 1985 is not in substantial
compliance solely because it does not apply to political
jurisdictions with populations of 5,000 or less.
(2) Subsequent determinations.--After the expiration of the
180-day period referred to in paragraph (1), an employer or
labor organization may request the Authority to determine
whether the State substantially complies with the rights and
responsibilities described in subsection (b). The Director
shall issue such a determination not later than 30 days after
written receipt of such a request.
(3) Failure to meet requirements.--A State that does not
substantially comply with the rights and responsibilities
described in subsection (b) shall be subject to the regulations
and procedures described in section 5.
(b) Rights and Responsibilities.--In making a determination
described in subsection (a), the Authority shall consider whether State
law--
(1) grants public safety officers the right to form and
join a labor organization that does not include management and
supervisory employees and that is, or seeks to be, recognized
as the exclusive bargaining agent of such employees;
(2) requires public safety employers to recognize the
employees' labor organization (freely chosen by a majority of
the employees), to agree to bargain with the labor
organization, and to commit any agreements to writing in a
contract or memorandum of understanding;
(3) allows bargaining over hours, wages, terms, and
conditions of employment;
(4) prohibits bargaining over issues which are traditional
and customary management functions;
(5) protects all existing collective bargaining agreements,
memoranda of understanding, certifications, recognitions, and
elections;
(6) requires fact finding in the event of an interest
impasse;
(7) allows the parties voluntarily to agree to submit
disagreements to arbitration;
(8) requires enforcement through State courts of all
rights, responsibilities, and protections provided in this
section and of any written contract or memorandum of
understanding; and
(9) prohibits strikes and lockouts.
SEC. 5. RIGHTS TO ORGANIZE AND BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue regulations in
accordance with the provisions described in section 4(a) establishing
collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and
officers in States that are not in compliance with the rights and
responsibilities under section 4(b).
(b) Role of Fair Labor Relations Authority.--The Authority shall,
to the extent provided in this Act and in accordance with regulations
prescribed by the Authority--
(1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor
organization representation;
(2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a
labor organization has been selected as an exclusive
representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate
unit;
(3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good
faith;
(4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor
practices;
(5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards; and
(6) take such other actions as are necessary and
appropriate to effectively administer the provisions of this
Act.
(c) Enforcement.--A public safety employer, officer, and labor
organization each shall have the right to seek enforcement of this
section through appropriate State courts.
SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED.
A public safety employer, officer, or labor organization may not
engage in lockouts or strikes.
SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND AGREEMENTS.
A certification, recognition, election-held, collective bargaining
agreement or memorandum of understanding which has been issued,
approved, or ratified by any public employee relations board or
commission or by any State or political subdivision or its agents
(management officials) in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act shall not be invalidated by the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE.
(a) Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
invalidate or limit the remedies, rights, and procedures of any law of
any State or political subdivision of any State or jurisdiction that
provides greater or equal collective bargaining rights for public
safety employees.
(b) Compliance.--No State shall preempt laws or ordinances of any
of its political subdivisions which provide greater or equal collective
bargaining rights for public safety employees in order to comply with
this Act.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary to carry out this Act.
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