[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.
                                 <all>