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It is hereby declared to be the policy of the city to favor and encourage the right of municipal employees to organize and be represented, written collective bargaining agreements on matters within the scope of collective bargaining, the use of impartial and independent tribunals to assist in resolving impasses in contract negotiations, and final, impartial arbitration of grievances between municipal agencies and certified employee organizations.
As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, and subject to the limitations of section 12-304:
a. The term "director" shall mean the director of the office created by section eleven hundred seventy of the charter.
b. The term "board of collective bargaining" shall mean the board created by section eleven hundred seventy-one of the charter.
c. The term "board of certification" shall mean the board created by section eleven hundred seventy-two of the charter.
d. The term "municipal agency" shall mean an administration, department, division, bureau, office, board, or commission, or other agency of the city established under the charter or any other law, the head of which has appointive powers, and whose employees are paid in whole or in part from the city treasury, other than the agencies specified in paragraph two of subdivision g of this section.
e. The term "municipal employees" shall mean persons employed by municipal agencies whose salary is paid in whole or in part from the city treasury.
f. The term "mayoral agency" shall mean any municipal agency whose head is appointed by the mayor.
g. The term "public employer" shall mean (1) any municipal agency; (2) the board of education, the New York city health and hospitals corporation, the New York city off-track betting corporation, the New York city board of elections and the public administrator and the district attorney of any county within the city of New York; (3) any public authority other than a state public authority as defined in subdivision eight of section two hundred one of the civil service law, whose activities are conducted in whole or in substantial part within the city; and (4) any public benefit corporation, or any museum, library, zoological garden or similar cultural institution, which is a public employer or government within the meaning of article fourteen of the civil service law, employing personnel whose salary is paid in whole or in part from the city treasury.
h. The term "public employees" shall mean municipal employees and employees of other public employers.
i. The term "municipal employee organization" shall mean any organization or association of municipal employees, a primary purpose of which is to represent them concerning wages, hours, and working conditions.
j. The term "public employee organization" shall mean any municipal employee organization and any other organization or association of public employees, a primary purpose of which is to represent public employees concerning wages, hours, and working conditions.
k. The term "municipal labor committee" shall mean an association known by that name created pursuant to a memorandum dated March thirty-first, nineteen hundred sixty-six, as amended, signed by representatives of the city and certain employee organizations.
l. The term "certified employee organization" shall mean any public employee organization: (1) certified by the board of certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit determined to be appropriate for such purpose; (2) recognized as such exclusive bargaining representative by a public employer in conformity with the rules set forth in the office of collective bargaining rules of practice and procedure; or (3) recognized by a municipal agency, or certified by the department of labor, as such exclusive bargaining representative prior to the effective date of this chapter, unless such recognition has been or is revoked or such certificate has been or is terminated.
m. The term "matters within the scope of collective bargaining" shall mean matters specified in section 12-307 of this chapter.
n. The term "executive order" shall mean, in the case of a mayoral agency, an executive order, memorandum or directive of the mayor and in the case of any other municipal agency or public employer, a written order, directive or resolution of such agency or employer or the head thereof, which provides for the application of the provisions of this chapter or otherwise implements the provisions of this chapter.
o. The term "grievance" shall mean: (1) A dispute concerning the application or interpretation of the terms of a written collective bargaining agreement or a personnel order of the mayor, or a determination under section two hundred twenty of the labor law affecting terms and conditions of employment; (2) A claimed violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of the rules or regulations of a municipal agency or other public employer affecting the terms and conditions of employment; (3) A claimed assignment of employees to duties substantially different from those stated in their job classifications; or (4) A claimed improper holding of an open-competitive rather than a promotional examination. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, the term grievance shall include a dispute defined as a grievance by executive order of the mayor, by a collective bargaining agreement, or as may be otherwise expressly agreed to in writing by a public employee organization and the applicable public employer.
p. The terms "labor member," "city member," and "impartial member" shall refer to those members of the board of collective bargaining described in section eleven hundred seventy-one of the charter.
q. The terms "designated representative" and "designated employee organization" shall mean a certified employee organization, council or group of certified employee organizations designated for the purposes specified in paragraph two, three or five of subdivision a of section 12-307.
This chapter shall be applicable to:
a. All municipal agencies and to the public employees and public employee organizations thereof;
b. any agency or public employer, and the public employees and public employee organizations thereof, which have been made subject to this chapter by state law;
c. any other public employer, and to the public employees and public employee organizations thereof, upon the election by the public employer or the head thereof by executive order of the chief executive officer to make this chapter applicable, subject to approval by the mayor, provided, however, that any such election by the New York city board of education shall not include any teacher as defined in section 13-501 of the administrative code or any employee who works in that capacity or any paraprofessional employees with teaching functions; and
d. any public employer, and the public employees and public employee organizations thereof, to whom the provisions of this chapter are made applicable pursuant to paragraph four of subdivision c of section 12-309 of this chapter.
Public employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist public employee organizations, to bargain collectively through certified employee organizations of their own choosing and shall have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities. However, neither managerial nor confidential employees shall constitute or be included in any bargaining unit, nor shall they have the right to bargain collectively; provided, however, that public employees shall be presumed eligible for the rights set forth in this section, and no employee shall be deprived of these rights unless, as to such employee, a determination of managerial or confidential status has been rendered by the board of certification; and provided further, that nothing in this chapter shall be construed to: (i) deny to any managerial or confidential employee his or her rights under section fifteen of the civil rights law or any other rights; or (ii) prohibit any appropriate official or officials of a public employer as defined in this chapter to hear and consider grievances and complaints of managerial and confidential employees concerning the terms and conditions of their employment and to make recommendations thereon to the chief executive officer of the public employer for such action as such chief executive officer shall deem appropriate. A certified or designated employee organization shall be recognized as the exclusive bargaining representative of the public employees in the appropriate bargaining unit.
a. Improper public employer practices. It shall be an improper practice for a public employer or its agents:
(1) to interfere with, restrain or coerce public employees in the exercise of their rights granted in section 12-305 of this chapter;
(2) to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any public employee organization;
(3) to discriminate against any employee for the purpose of encouraging or discouraging membership in, or participation in the activities of, any public employee organization;
(4) to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith on matters within the scope of collective bargaining with certified or designated representatives of its public employees;
(5) to unilaterally make any change as to any mandatory subject of collective bargaining or as to any term and condition of employment established in the prior contract, during a period of negotiations with a public employee organization as defined in subdivision d of section 12-311 of this chapter.
b. Improper public employee organization practices. It shall be an improper practice for a public employee organization or its agents:
(1) to interfere with, restrain or coerce public employees in the exercise of rights granted in section 12-305 of this chapter, or to cause, or attempt to cause, a public employer to do so, provided, however, that an employee organization does not interfere with, restrain or coerce public employees when, in accordance with this section, it limits its services to and representation of non-members of the employee organization;
(2) to refuse to bargain collectively in good faith with a public employer on matters within the scope of collective bargaining provided the public employee organization is a certified or designated representative of public employees of such employer;
(3) to breach its duty of fair representation to public employees under this chapter. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, an employee organization's duty of fair representation to a public employee it represents but who is not a member of the employee organization shall be limited to the negotiation or enforcement of the terms of an agreement with the public employer. No provision of this chapter shall be construed to require an employee organization to provide representation to a non-member of the employee organization:
(a) During questioning by the employer;
(b) In statutory or administrative proceedings or to enforce statutory or regulatory rights; or
(c) In any stage of a grievance, arbitration or other contractual process concerning the evaluation or discipline of a public employee where the non-member is permitted to proceed without the employee organization and be represented by his or her own advocate. Nor shall any provision of this chapter prohibit an employee organization from providing legal, economic or job-related services or benefits beyond those provided in the agreement with a public employer only to its members.
c. Good faith bargaining. The duty of a public employer and certified or designated employee organization to bargain collectively in good faith shall include the obligation:
(1) to approach the negotiations with a sincere resolve to reach an agreement;
(2) to be represented at the negotiations by duly authorized representatives prepared to discuss and negotiate on all matters within the scope of collective bargaining;
(3) to meet at reasonable times and convenient places as frequently as may be necessary, and to avoid unnecessary delays;
(4) to furnish to the other party, upon request, data normally maintained in the regular course of business, reasonably available and necessary for full and proper discussion, understanding and negotiation of subjects within the scope of collective bargaining;
(5) if an agreement is reached, to execute upon request a written document embodying the agreed terms, and to take such steps as are necessary to implement the agreement.
d. Joinder of parties in duty of fair representation cases. The public employer shall be made a party to any charge filed under paragraph three of subdivision b of this section which alleges that the duly certified employee organization breached its duty of fair representation in the processing of or failure to process a claim that the public employer has breached its agreement with such employee organization.
e. A petition alleging that a public employer or its agents or a public employee organization or its agents has engaged in or is engaging in an improper practice in violation of this section may be filed with the board of collective bargaining within four months of the occurrence of the acts alleged to constitute the improper practice or of the date the petitioner knew or should have known of said occurrence. Such petition may be filed by one or more public employees or any public employee organization acting on their behalf, or by a public employer, together with a request to the board for a final determination of the matter and for an appropriate remedial order.
(Am. L.L. 2022/025, 1/9/2022, eff. 2/8/2022)
a. Subject to the provisions of subdivision b of this section and subdivision c of section 12-304 of this chapter, public employers and certified or designated employee organizations shall have the duty to bargain in good faith on wages (including but not limited to wage rates, pensions, health and welfare benefits, uniform allowances and shift premiums), hours (including but not limited to overtime and time and leave benefits), working conditions and provisions for the deduction of dues from the wages or salaries of employees in the appropriate bargaining unit and for the payment of the sums so deducted to the certified or designated employee organization, subject to applicable state law, except that:
(1) with respect to those employees whose wages are determined under section two hundred twenty of the labor law, the duty to bargain in good faith over wages and supplements shall be governed by said section;
(2) matters which must be uniform for all employees subject to the career and salary plan, such as overtime and time and leave rules, shall be negotiated only with a certified employee organization, council or group of certified employee organizations designated by the board of certification as being the certified representative or representatives of bargaining units which include more than fifty percent of all such employees, but nothing contained herein shall be construed to deny to a public employer or certified employee organization the right to bargain for a variation or a particular application of any city-wide policy or any term of any agreement executed pursuant to this paragraph where considerations special and unique to a particular department, class of employees, or collective bargaining unit are involved;
(3) matters which must be uniform for all employees in a particular department shall be negotiated only with a certified employee organization, council or group of certified employees organizations designated by the board of certification as being the certified representative or representatives of bargaining units which include more than fifty percent of all employees in the department;
(4) all matters, including but not limited to pensions, overtime and time and leave rules which affect employees in the uniformed police, fire, sanitation and correction services, or any other police officer as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law who is also defined as a police officer in this code, shall be negotiated with the certified employee organizations representing the employees involved. For purposes of this paragraph only:
(i) employees of the uniformed fire service shall also include persons employed at any level of position or service by the fire department of the city of New York as fire alarm dispatchers and supervisors of fire alarm dispatchers, fire protection inspectors and supervisors of fire protection inspectors, emergency medical technicians and advanced emergency medical technicians, as those terms are defined in section three thousand one of the public health law, and supervisors of emergency medical technicians or advanced emergency medical technicians;
(ii) employees of the uniformed police service shall also include persons employed at any level of position or service by the police department of the city of New York as traffic enforcement agents and supervisors of traffic enforcement agents, and school safety agents and supervisors of school safety agents; and
(iii) employees of the uniformed sanitation service shall also include persons employed at any level of position or service by the sanitation department of the city of New York as sanitation enforcement agents and supervisors of sanitation enforcement agents;
(5) all matters, including but not limited to pensions, overtime and time and leave rules which affect the following employees at any level of position or service in the following agencies shall be negotiated with the certified employee organizations representing the employees involved:
(i) persons employed by the department of homeless services of the city of New York as special officers, senior special officers, supervising special officers and principal special officers;
(ii) persons employed by the department of health and mental hygiene of the city of New York as special officers, senior special officers, supervising special officers and principal special officers;
(iii) [Repealed.]
(iv) persons employed by the human resources administration of the city of New York as special officers, senior special officers, supervising special officers and principal special officers;
(v) persons employed by the administration for children's services of the city of New York as special officers, senior special officers, supervising special officers and principal special officers;
(vi) persons employed by the taxi and limousine commission of the city of New York as taxi and limousine inspectors, supervising taxi and limousine inspectors, senior taxi and limousine inspectors and associate taxi and limousine inspectors;
(vii) persons employed by the department of transportation of the city of New York as parking control specialists and associate parking control specialists;
(viii) persons employed by the department of parks and recreation of the city of New York as urban park rangers and associate urban park rangers; and
(ix) persons employed by the department of finance of the city of New York as deputy sheriffs, supervising deputy sheriffs and administrative sheriffs.
(6) matters involving pensions for employees other than those in the uniformed forces referred to in paragraph four hereof, shall be negotiated only with a certified employee organization, council or group of certified employee organizations designated by the board of certification as representing bargaining units which include more than fifty percent of all employees included in the pension system involved.
b. It is the right of the city, or any other public employer, acting through its agencies, to determine the standards of services to be offered by its agencies; determine the standards of selection for employment; direct its employees; take disciplinary action; relieve its employees from duty because of lack of work or for other legitimate reasons; maintain the efficiency of governmental operations; determine the methods, means and personnel by which government operations are to be conducted; determine the content of job classifications; take all necessary actions to carry out its mission in emergencies; and exercise complete control and discretion over its organization and the technology of performing its work. Decisions of the city or any other public employer on those matters are not within the scope of collective bargaining, but, notwithstanding the above, questions concerning the practical impact that decisions on the above matters have on terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, questions of workload, staffing and employee safety, are within the scope of collective bargaining.
c. It shall be the policy of the city of New York that, to the extent not inconsistent with law, the city shall make benefits available to the domestic partners of city employees on the same basis as the city makes benefits available to the spouses of city employees.
(Am. L.L. 2022/025, 1/9/2022, eff. 2/8/2022)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1998/027, L.L. 2001/018, L.L. 2001/019, L.L. 2005/056 and L.L. 2010/061.
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