Loading...
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.
a. Any order of the board of collective bargaining or the board of certification shall be (1) reviewable under article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules upon petition filed by an aggrieved party within thirty days after service by registered or certified mail of a copy of such order upon such party, and (2) enforceable by the supreme court in a special proceeding, upon petition of the board of collective bargaining, board of certification or any aggrieved party.
b. If a proceeding by the board for enforcement of its order is instituted prior to the expiration of the period within which a party may seek judicial review of such order, the respondent may raise in his or her answer the questions authorized to be raised by section seven thousand eight hundred three of the civil practice law and rules and thereafter the proceedings shall be governed by the provisions of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules that are not inconsistent herewith, except that if an issue specified in question four of section seven thousand eight hundred three of the civil practice law and rules is raised, the proceeding shall be transferred for disposition to the appellate division of the supreme court. Where an issue specified in question four of section seven thousand eight hundred three of the civil practice law and rules is raised, either in a proceeding to enforce or review an order of the board, the appellate division of the supreme court, upon completion of proceedings before it, shall remit a copy of its judgment or order to the court in which the proceeding was commenced, which court shall have the power to compel compliance with such judgment or order.
c. In a proceeding to enforce or review an order of the board, the court shall have power to grant such temporary relief or restraining order as it deems just and proper, and to make and enter a judgment or decree enforcing, modifying and enforcing as so modified, or setting aside in whole or in part the order of the board.
a. Board of collective bargaining. The board of collective bargaining, in addition to such other powers and duties as it has under this chapter and as may be conferred upon it from time to time by law, shall have the power and duty:
(1) on the request of a public employer or public employee organization which is a party to a disagreement concerning the interpretation or application of the provisions of this chapter, to consider such disagreement and report its conclusion to the parties and the public;
(2) on the request of a public employer or certified or designated employee organization to make a final determination as to whether a matter is within the scope of collective bargaining;
(3) on the request of a public employer or a certified or designated employee organization which is party to a grievance, to make a final determination as to whether a dispute is a proper subject for grievance and arbitration procedure established pursuant to section 12-312 of this chapter;
(4) to prevent and remedy improper public employer and public employee organization practices, as such practices are listed in section 12-306 of this chapter. For such purposes, the board of collective bargaining is empowered to establish procedures, make final determinations, and issue appropriate remedial orders;
(5) to recommend any needed changes in the provisions of this chapter or of an executive order;
(6) to hold hearings and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents;
(7) to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its business and the carrying out of its powers and duties including rules and regulations governing the procedures to be followed by mediation and impasse panels constituted pursuant to subdivision b or c of section 12-311 of this chapter;
(8) where either party to collective bargaining negotiations has rejected in whole or in part the recommendations of an impasse panel, to review such recommendations as provided in paragraph four of subdivision c of section 12-311 of this chapter.
b. Board of certification. The board of certification, in addition to such other powers and duties as it has under this chapter and as may be conferred upon it from time to time by law, shall have the power and duty:
(1) to make final determinations of the units appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining between public employers and public employee organizations, which units shall be such as shall assure to public employees the fullest freedom of exercising the rights granted hereunder and under executive orders, consistent with the efficient operation of the public service, and sound labor relations, provided that in any case involving a petition for certification where supervisory or professional employees petition to be represented for purposes of collective bargaining separate and apart from non-supervisory or non-professional employees, or where a petition for certification has been filed requesting a unit of supervisory and non-supervisory or a unit of professional and non-professional employees and the public employer objects thereto, the board of certification shall not include such supervisory or professional employees in a bargaining unit which includes non-supervisory or non-professional employees respectively unless a majority of the supervisory or professional employees voting in an election vote in favor thereof;
(2) to determine the majority representative of the public employees in an appropriate collective bargaining unit by conducting secret-ballot elections or by utilizing any other appropriate and suitable method designed to ascertain the free choice of a majority of such employees, to certify the same as the exclusive bargaining representative thereof; to designate representatives; and to determine the length of time during which such certification or designation shall remain in effect and free from challenge or attack;
(3) to decertify as exclusive bargaining representative an employee organization which has been found by secret-ballot election no longer to be the majority representative, or which shall otherwise become ineligible for certification under the provisions of this chapter, and to terminate or vacate designations of representatives;
(4) to determine whether specified public employees are managerial or confidential within the meaning of subdivision seven of section two hundred one of the civil service law and thus are excluded from collective bargaining;
(5) to hold hearings and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents; and
(6) to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its business and the carrying out of its powers and duties, including rules relating to the standards for determination of bargaining units.
c. Director. The director in addition to such other powers and duties as he or she has under this chapter and as may be conferred upon such director from time to time by law, shall have the power and duty:
(1) To oversee adherence to the provisions of this chapter and to administer the provisions of section 12-311 of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted by the board of collective bargaining, subject to the direction of such board;
(2) To administer the provisions of subdivision b of this section and the rules and regulations adopted by the board of certification, subject to the direction of such board;
(3) To maintain communication with public employers and public employee organizations engaged in collective bargaining negotiations, to facilitate such negotiations by furnishing at the request of both parties, such data or information as may aid them therein, and, if such director determines that either party is remiss in its obligations, to communicate this information as he or she deems appropriate;
(4) On the request of the mayor, to make available the mediation, impasse, and arbitration services of the office of collective bargaining to public employers and public employee organizations not otherwise entitled to make use thereof at a cost to them to be determined by the board; and
(5) To direct the operations of the staff of the office of collective bargaining.
Loading...