PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR LAW

Public Employees

• Most governmental bodies have civil service laws, designed to insure that employment decisions are not based on politics, but on merit.

• Teachers and professors in public schools and universities sometimes enjoy the protection of tenure laws, designed to protect the central purposes of academic life:−to raise questions,−express controversial ideas,−and pursue the truth wherever it leads.

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• Public employees are protected from wrongful termination by: −The due process rights in property and liberty

afforded by the 5th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and

−The freedoms of speech, religion and association afforded by the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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• In general, public employers are responsible for affording their employees due process, both pre-termination and post-termination.

• Prior to termination, a hearing must be held that provides public employees with − notice of the charges against them, − explanation of the evidence, and − opportunity to present their side of the story.

• Following termination, a more elaborate hearing with opportunities to confront witnesses and present evidence is required (if requested by terminated employees).

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• Constitutional protection on free speech grounds is afforded only to a public employee who is speaking as a citizen on matters of public concern, not as an employee.

• Public employers must respect the constitutional rights of their employees to freedoms of religion, speech, and association.

• Termination or other disciplinary action should be imposed only when the exercise of these rights clearly interferes with an employee’s ability to do his job or with accomplishment of the public agency’s mission.

But, the NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

• Expressly excludes

−United States, wholly owned government corporations, states, and municipal corporations.

Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS)• Part of Civil Service Reform Act of 1978

• Includes rules pertaining to federal employees forming, joining, and assisting labor organizations. (May join or refrain from joining.)

• Calling, participating in, or condoning a strike, work stoppage, or slowdown is an unfair labor practice

• A union’s certification may be revoked.

• Covers all executive agencies, Library of Congress, and the U.S. Government Printing office.

• Excluded agencies include General Accounting Office, FBI, CIA, National Security Agency, & Tennessee Valley Authority

• Administered by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)− Investigates and prosecutes unfair labor practice cases

Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (FSLMRS) (Cont’d)

• Agencies & exclusive representatives have an obligation to meet at reasonable times and to consult and bargain in a good faith effort to reach agreement with respect to conditions of employment

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES• Agency:

−Interfering with exercise of employee rights, −Disciplining or discriminating because an

employee engaged in union activities or filed a complaint or petition,

−Refusing to negotiate in good faith, −Refusing to cooperate in impasse procedures, −Enforcing a regulation that is in conflict with

any prior CBA, or to otherwise fail to comply with the statute

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES• Union

− Interfering with employee rights− Attempting to cause agency to discriminate− Failing to negotiate in good faith− Failing to cooperate in impasse procedures & decisions− Discriminating on the basis of race, color, creed,

national origin, sex, age, preferential or nonpreferential civil service status, political affiliation, marital status, or handicap

− Calling or condoning a strike or work slowdown− Picketing that interferes with agency’s operation is

prohibited, but informational picketing that does not interfere is allowed.

UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES

• Remedies−Order to

• Cease & desist• Require a negotiation with retroactive effect• Reinstate an employee with back pay

−Award of attorney fees in certain situations

POSTAL SERVICE WORKERS• Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 created the

U.S. Postal Service as an independent agency

• NLRB is authorized to determine the appropriate bargaining unit, supervise elections, and enforce unfair labor practice provisions

• Wages, hours, and working conditions determined through collective bargaining

• If an impasse exists after 180 days , fact-finding procedures and then binding arbitration are required (Striking not permitted.)

STATE AND LOCAL EMPLOYMENT• 2/3 of states have statutes that allow public

sector collective bargaining

• Thirty states have comprehensive public sector labor relations law

• States without comprehensive laws include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, GEORGIA, Idaho, ND, OKLA, SC, Tenn, TX, Virginia, WV

• Many states have a Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). Similar to NLRB.

PROCEDURES USED DURING IMPASSE

• Negotiation

• Mediation

• Fact-finding

• Interest arbitration

• Final offer selecting

GEORGIA LABOR RELATIONS

• Georgia Merit System• http://www.gms.state.ga.us/aboutgms/index.asp• Grievance hearing

http://www.gms.state.ga.us/employee/grievancehear.asp

• Grievance procedure http://www.gms.state.ga.us/pdf/misc/grvpolicy.pdf

• Dispute resolution http://www.gms.state.ga.us/employee/disputeres.asp

UNIONS OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

• AFSCME http://www.afscme.org/

• American Federation of Government Employees http://www.afge.org/Index.cfm?Page=AFGEFacts