Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1154 To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or their political subdivisions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 13, 2019 Mr. KILDEE (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety offi- cers employed by States or their political subdivisions, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Em- 4 ployer-Employee Cooperation Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND POLICY. 6 Congress declares that the following is the policy of 7 the United States: 8 (1) Labor-management relationships and part- 9 nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1154 IH communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, 1 and shared accountability. Labor-management co- 2 operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties 3 to best serve the interests of the public, operating as 4 a team, to carry out the public safety mission in a 5 quality work environment. In many public safety 6 agencies, it is the union that provides the institu- 7 tional stability as elected leaders and appointees 8 come and go. 9 (2) State and local public safety officers play an 10 essential role in the efforts of the United States to 11 detect, prevent, and respond to terrorist attacks, and 12 to respond to natural disasters, hazardous materials, 13 and other mass casualty incidents. State and local 14 public safety officers, as first responders, are a com- 15 ponent of the National Incident Management Sys- 16 tem, developed by the Department of Homeland Se- 17 curity to coordinate response to and recovery from 18 terrorism, major natural disasters, and other major 19 emergencies. Public safety employer-employee co- 20 operation is essential in meeting these needs and is, 21 therefore, in the National interest. 22 (3) The Federal Government needs to encour- 23 age conciliation, mediation, and arbitration to aid 24 and encourage employers and the representatives of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1154 IH their employees to reach and maintain agreements 1 concerning rates of pay, hours, and working condi- 2 tions, and to make all reasonable efforts through ne- 3 gotiations to settle their differences by mutual agree- 4 ment reached through collective bargaining or by 5 such methods as may be provided for in any applica- 6 ble agreement for the settlement of disputes. 7 (4) The absence of adequate cooperation be- 8 tween public safety employers and employees has im- 9 plications for the security of employees and can af- 10 fect interstate and intrastate commerce. The lack of 11 such labor-management cooperation can detrimen- 12 tally impact the upgrading of law enforcement, fire, 13 and emergency medical services of local commu- 14 nities, the health and well-being of public safety offi- 15 cers, and the morale of law enforcement, fire, and 16 EMS departments. Additionally, these factors could 17 have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover, 18 providing minimal standards for collective bar- 19 gaining negotiations in the public safety sector can 20 prevent industrial strife between labor and manage- 21 ment that interferes with the normal flow of com- 22 merce. 23 (5) Many States and localities already provide 24 public safety officers with collective bargaining 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1154 IH rights comparable to or greater than the rights and 1 responsibilities set forth in this Act, and such State 2 and local laws should be respected. 3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 6 the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 7 (2) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 8 ‘‘confidential employee’’ has the meaning given such 9 term under applicable State law on the date of en- 10 actment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, 11 the term means an individual, employed by a public 12 safety employer, who— 13 (A) is designated as confidential; and 14 (B) is an individual who routinely assists, 15 in a confidential capacity, supervisory employ- 16 ees and management employees. 17 (3) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PER- 18 SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 19 personnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of- 20 hospital emergency medical care, including an emer- 21 gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re- 22 sponder. 23 (4) EMPLOYER; PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY; PUB- 24 LIC SAFETY EMPLOYER.—The terms ‘‘employer,’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1154 IH ‘‘public safety agency,’’ and ‘‘public safety em- 1 ployer’’ mean any State, or political subdivision of a 2 State, that employs public safety officers. 3 (5) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has 4 the meaning given the term ‘‘employee engaged in 5 fire protection activities’’ in section 3(y) of the Fair 6 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)). 7 (6) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 8 organization’’ means an organization of any kind, in 9 which employees participate and which exists for the 10 purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employ- 11 ers concerning grievances, conditions of employment, 12 and related matters. 13 (7) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 14 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given 15 such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 16 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 17 10284(6)). 18 (8) MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE.—The term 19 ‘‘management employee’’ has the meaning given 20 such term under applicable State law in effect on 21 the date of enactment of this Act. If no such State 22 law is in effect, the term means an individual em- 23 ployed by a public safety employer in a position that 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1154 IH requires or authorizes the individual to formulate, 1 determine, or influence the policies of the employer. 2 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in- 3 dividual or a labor organization. 4 (10) PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.—The term 5 ‘‘public safety officer’’— 6 (A) means an employee of a public safety 7 agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire- 8 fighter, or an emergency medical services per- 9 sonnel; 10 (B) includes an individual who is tempo- 11 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage- 12 ment position; and 13 (C) does not include a permanent super- 14 visory, management, or confidential employee. 15 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 16 the several States of the United States, the District 17 of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the 18 United States. 19 (12) SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES.—The term 20 ‘‘substantially provides’’, when used with respect to 21 the rights and responsibilities described in section 22 4(b), means comparable to or greater than each 23 right and responsibility described in such section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1154 IH (13) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su- 1 pervisory employee’’ has the meaning given such 2 term under applicable State law in effect on the date 3 of enactment of this Act. If no such State law is in 4 effect, the term means an individual, employed by a 5 public safety employer, who— 6 (A) has the authority in the interest of the 7 employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re- 8 ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus- 9 pend, discipline, or remove public safety offi- 10 cers, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively 11 recommend such action, if the exercise of the 12 authority is not merely routine or clerical in na- 13 ture but requires the consistent exercise of 14 independent judgment; and 15 (B) devotes a majority of time at work to 16 exercising such authority. 17 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL- 18 ITIES. 19 (a) DETERMINATION.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author- 22 ity shall make a determination as to whether a State 23 substantially provides for the rights and responsibil- 24 ities described in subsection (b). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1154 IH (2) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN- 1 IONS.—In making the determination described in 2 paragraph (1), the Authority shall consider the opin- 3 ions of affected employers and labor organizations. 4 In the case where the Authority is notified by an af- 5 fected employer and labor organization that both 6 parties agree that the law applicable to such em- 7 ployer and labor organization substantially provides 8 for the rights and responsibilities described in sub- 9 section (b), the Authority shall give such agreement 10 weight to the maximum extent practicable in making 11 the Authority’s determination under this subsection. 12 (3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter- 13 mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 14 shall be limited to the application of the criteria de- 15 scribed in subsection (b) and shall not require any 16 additional criteria. 17 (4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 19 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef- 20 fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub- 21 sequent determination, in accordance with the 22 procedures set forth in subparagraph (B) of 23 this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 1154 IH (B) PROCEDURES FOR SUBSEQUENT DE- 1 TERMINATIONS.—Upon establishing that a ma- 2 terial change in State law or its interpretation 3 has occurred, an employer or a labor organiza- 4 tion may submit a written request for a subse- 5 quent determination. If satisfied that a material 6 change in State law or its interpretation has oc- 7 curred, the Authority shall issue a subsequent 8 determination not later than 30 days after re- 9 ceipt of such request. 10 (5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person or em- 11 ployer aggrieved by a determination of the Authority 12 under this section may, during the 60-day period be- 13 ginning on the date on which the determination was 14 made, petition any United States Court of Appeals 15 in the circuit in which the person or employer re- 16 sides or transacts business or in the District of Co- 17 lumbia Circuit, for judicial review. 18 (b) RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In making a 19 determination described in subsection (a), the Authority 20 shall consider a State’s law to substantially provide the 21 required rights and responsibilities unless such law fails 22 to provide rights and responsibilities comparable to or 23 greater than the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 1154 IH (1) Granting public safety officers the right to 1 form and join a labor organization, which may ex- 2 clude management employees, supervisory employ- 3 ees, and confidential employees, that is, or seeks to 4 be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining represent- 5 ative of such employees. 6 (2) Requiring public safety employers to recog- 7 nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen 8 by a majority of the employees), to agree to bargain 9 with the labor organization, and to commit any 10 agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum 11 of understanding. 12 (3) Providing for the right to bargain over 13 hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employ- 14 ment. 15 (4) Providing for binding interest arbitration as 16 a mechanism to resolve an impasse in collective bar- 17 gaining negotiations. 18 (5) Requiring enforcement of all rights, respon- 19 sibilities, and protections enumerated in this section, 20 and of any written contract or memorandum of un- 21 derstanding between a labor organization and a pub- 22 lic safety employer, through— 23 (A) a State administrative agency, if the 24 State so chooses; and/or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 1154 IH (B) any court of competent jurisdiction. 1 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.—If the Au- 2 thority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under 3 subsection (a), that a State substantially provides rights 4 and responsibilities described in subsection (b), then this 5 Act shall not preempt State law. 6 (d) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority determines, 8 acting pursuant to its authority under subsection 9 (a), that a State does not substantially provide for 10 the rights and responsibilities described in sub- 11 section (b), then such State shall be subject to the 12 regulations and procedures described in section 5 be- 13 ginning on the later of— 14 (A) the date that is 2 years after the date 15 of enactment of this Act; 16 (B) the date that is the last day of the 17 first regular session of the legislature of the 18 State that begins after the date the Authority 19 makes a determination under subsection (a)(1); 20 or 21 (C) in the case of a State receiving a sub- 22 sequent determination under subsection (a)(4), 23 the date that is the last day of the first regular 24 session of the legislature of the State that be- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:50 Feb 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1154.IH H1154 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 1154 IH gins after the date the Authority made the de- 1 termination. 2 (2) PARTIAL FAILURE.—If the Authority makes 3 a determination that a State does not substantially 4 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 5 in subsection (b) solely because the State law sub- 6 stantially provides for such rights and responsibil- 7 ities for cer [Text truncated for display. 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