Public Safety Employer-Employee
Cooperation Act of 2007
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 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION
OF PURPOSE.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Labor-management
relationships and partnerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open
communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, and shared accountability.
In many public safety agencies it is the union that provides the institutional
stability as elected leaders and appointees come and go.
(2) State and local public
safety officers play an essential role in the efforts of the United States to
detect, prevent, and respond to terrorist attacks, and to respond to natural
disasters, hazardous materials, and other mass casualty incidents. As the first
to arrive on scene, State and local public safety officers must be prepared to
protect life and property and to preserve scarce and vital Federal resources,
avoid substantial and debilitating interference with interstate and foreign
commerce, and to protect the national security of the United States. Public
safety employer-employee cooperation is essential in meeting these needs and
is, therefore, in the National interest.
(3) The health and safety of the
Nation and the best interests of public safety employers and employees can be
best protected by the settlement of issues through the processes of collective
bargaining.
(4) The Federal Government needs
to encourage conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitration to aid and
encourage employers and the representatives of their employees to reach and
maintain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and working conditions, and
to make all reasonable efforts through negotiations to settle their differences
by mutual agreement reached through collective bargaining or by such methods as
may be provided for in any applicable agreement for the settlement of disputes.
(5) The absence of adequate cooperation
between public safety employers and employees has implications for the security
of employees, impacts the upgrading of police and fire services of local
communities, the health and well-being of public safety officers, and the
morale of the fire and police departments, and can affect interstate and
intrastate commerce.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term 'Authority' means
the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
(2) The term 'public safety
officer'--
(A) means an employee of a
public safety agency who is a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or
emergency medical services personnel;
(B) includes an individual who
is temporarily transferred to a supervisory or management position; and
(C) does not include a permanent
supervisory or management employee.
(3) The term 'firefighter' has
the same meaning given the term 'employee engaged in fire protection
activities' defined in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C.
203(y)).
(4) 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.
(5) The term 'law enforcement
officer' has the same meaning given such term in section 1204(5) of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(5)).
(6) The term 'supervisory
employee' has the meaning given such term under applicable State law on the
date of enactment of this Act. In the absence of such State law on the date of
enactment of this Act, the term 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, lay off, 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.
(7) The term 'management
employee' has the meaning given such term under applicable State law in effect
on the date of enactment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, the
term 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) The terms 'employer' and
'public safety agency' mean any State, political subdivision of a State, the
District of Columbia, or any territory or possession of the United States that
employs public safety officers.
(9) The term 'labor
organization' means an organization composed in whole or in part of employees,
in which employees participate, and the purpose of which is to represent such
employees before public safety agencies concerning grievances, conditions of
employment and related matters.
(10) The term 'substantially
provides' means substantial compliance with the rights and responsibilities
described in section 4(b).
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
(a) Determination--
(1) IN GENERAL -- Not later than
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Authority shall make a
determination as to whether a State substantially provides for the rights and
responsibilities described in subsection (b). In making such determinations,
the Authority shall consider and give weight, to the maximum extent
practicable, to the opinion of affected employee organizations.
(2) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS --
(A) A determination made pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in effect
unless and until the Authority issues a subsequent determination, in accordance
with the procedures set forth in subparagraph (B).
(B) Upon establishing that a
material change in State law or its interpretation has occurred, an employer or
a labor organization may submit a written request for a subsequent
determination. If satisfied that a material change in State law or its
interpretation has occurred, the Director shall issue a subsequent
determination not later than 30 days after receipt of such request.
(3) JUDICIAL REVIEW -- Any
person aggrieved by a determination of the Authority under this section may,
during the 60-day period beginning on the date on which the determination was
made, petition any United States Court of Appeals in the circuit in which the
person resides or transacts business or in District of Columbia circuit, for
judicial review. In any judicial review of a determination by the Authority,
the procedures contained in section 7123(c) and (d) of title 5, United States
Code, shall be followed.
(b) Rights and Responsibilities
-- In making a determination described in subsection (a), the Authority shall
consider whether State law substantially provides rights and responsibilities
comparable to or greater than the following:
(1) Granting public safety
officers the right to form and join a labor organization, which may exclude
management and supervisory employees, that is, or seeks to be, recognized as
the exclusive bargaining representative of such employees.
(2) Requiring 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) Providing for bargaining
over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment.
(4) Making available an interest
impasse resolution mechanism, such as fact-finding, mediation, arbitration, or
comparable procedures.
(5) Requiring enforcement
through State courts of--
(A) all rights,
responsibilities, and protections provided by State law and enumerated in this
subsection; and
(B) any written contract or
memorandum of understanding.
(c) Failure To Meet
Requirements--
(1) IN GENERAL -- If the
Authority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under subsection (a),
that a State does not substantially provide for the rights and responsibilities
described in subsection (b), such State shall be subject to the regulations and
procedures described in section 5.
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE -- Paragraph
(1) shall take effect on the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 5. ROLE OF THE
AUTHORITY.
(a) In General -- Not later than
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue
regulations establishing procedures providing the rights and responsibilities
described in section 4(b) for public safety employers and officers in States
which the Authority has determined, acting pursuant to its authority under
section 4(a), do not substantially provide for such rights and
responsibilities.
(b) Role of the Federal Labor
Relations Authority -- The Authority, to the extent provided in this Act and in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Authority, shall--
(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 voting 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 the
awards of arbitrators; and
(6) protect the right of each
employee to form, join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain from
any such activity, freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal, and protect
each employee in the exercise of such right; and
(7) take such other actions as
are necessary and appropriate to effectively administer this Act, including
issuing subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
production of documentary or other evidence from any place in the United
States, and administering oaths, taking or ordering the taking of depositions,
ordering responses to written interrogatories, and receiving and examining
witnesses.
(c) Enforcement --
(1) PETITION BY AUTHORITY -- The
Authority may petition any United States Court of Appeals with jurisdiction
over the parties or the United States Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit to enforce any final orders under this section, and for
appropriate temporary relief or a restraining order. Any petition under this
section shall be conducted in accordance with section 7123(c) and (d) of title
5, United States Code, except that any final order of the Authority with
respect to questions of fact or law shall be found to be conclusive unless the
court determines that the Authority's decision was arbitrary and capricious.
(2) RIGHT OF ACTION -- Unless
the Authority has filed a petition for enforcement as provided in paragraph
(1), any interested party has the right to file suit in a State court of
competent jurisdiction to enforce compliance with the regulations issued by the
Authority pursuant to subsection (b), and to enforce compliance with any order
issued by the Authority pursuant to this section. The right provided by this
paragraph to bring a suit to enforce compliance with any order issued by the
Authority pursuant to this section shall terminate upon the filing of a
petition seeking the same relief by the Authority under paragraph (1).
SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS
PROHIBITED.
Notwithstanding any rights or
responsibilities provided under State law or under regulations issued by the
Authority under section 5, a public safety employer, officer, or labor
organization may not engage in a lockout or strike.
SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING UNITS AND AGREEMENTS.
This Act and the regulations
issued under this Act shall not be construed to invalidate a certification,
recognition, 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, or the results of any election held before the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION, COMPLIANCE,
AND ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Construction -- Nothing in
this Act or the regulations issued under this Act shall be construed--
(1) to preempt or limit the
remedies, rights, and procedures of any law of any State or political
subdivision of any State or jurisdiction that substantially provides greater or
comparable rights and responsibilities described in section 4(b);
(2) to prevent a State from
enforcing a State law which prohibits employers and labor organizations from
negotiating provisions in a labor agreement that require union membership or
payment of union fees as a condition of employment;
(3) to preempt any State law in effect
on the date of enactment of this Act that substantially provides for the rights
and responsibilities described in section 4(b) solely because--
(A) such State law permits an
employee to appear in his or her own behalf with respect to his or her employment
relations with the public safety agency involved;
(B) such State law excludes from
its coverage employees of a state militia or national guard;
(C) such rights and
responsibilities have not been extended to other categories of employees
covered by this Act. In such circumstances, the Authority shall only exercise
the powers provided in section 5 of this Act with respect to those categories
of employees who have not been afforded the rights and responsibilities
described in section 4(b); or
(D) such laws or ordinances
provide that a contract or memorandum of understanding between a public safety
employer and a labor organization must be presented to a legislative body as
part of the process for approving such contract or memorandum of understanding;
(4) to permit parties subject to
the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) and the regulations
under such Act to negotiate provisions that would prohibit an employee from
engaging in part-time employment or volunteer activities during off-duty hours;
(5) to prohibit a State from
exempting from coverage under this Act a political subdivision of the State
that has a population of less than 5,000 or that employs fewer than 25 full
time employees; or
(6) to require a State to
rescind or preempt laws or ordinances of any of its political subdivisions if
such laws substantially provide rights and responsibilities for public safety
officers that are comparable to or greater than the rights and responsibilities
enumerated in section 4(b) of this Act.
For purposes of paragraph (4),
the term 'employees' includes each individual employed by the political
subdivision except any individual elected by popular vote or appointed to serve
on a board or commission.
(b) Enforcement -- Not
withstanding any other provision of the Act, and in the absence of a waiver of
a States sovereign immunity, the Authority shall have the exclusive power to
enforce the provisions of this Act with respect to State employees and
employees of arms of a State.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF
APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this
Act.
Introduced 2/12/2007 and
referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor
On July 17, 2007 the bill passed in the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of 314 Ayes, 97 Nays, and 20 Present/Not Voting.
List of House members and their votes on H.R. 980