Relates to disputes arising from collective negotiations; addresses strikes which occur on a date or dates more than one year after the expiration of the last agreement between the employee's public employer and the public employee organization representing such employee; relates to impasse resolution.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4739
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to disputes arising
from collective negotiations
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 209-a of the civil service law, as
2 amended by chapter 467 of the laws of 1990 and as renumbered by chapter
3 695 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
4 6. Application. In applying this section, fundamental distinctions
5 between private and public employment shall be recognized, and no body
6 of federal or state law applicable wholly or in part to private employ-
7 ment, shall be regarded as binding or controlling precedent. With
8 respect to any improper practice charge filed against either a public
9 employer or a public employee organization that alleges a refusal to
10 negotiate in good faith a presumption of bad faith shall apply whenever
11 the last agreement between the parties or, as applicable, the last
12 interest arbitration award between them, has been expired for a period
13 in excess of one year from final execution of the agreement or delivery
14 of the award to the parties and no new agreement has been reached at the
15 date such improper practice charge is filed.
16 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 209 of the civil service law, as amended
17 by chapter 216 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
18 1. (a) For purposes of this section, an impasse may be deemed to exist
19 if the parties fail to achieve agreement at least one hundred twenty
20 days prior to the end of the fiscal year of the public employer and
21 shall be deemed to exist if the last agreement between the parties at
22 impasse, or as applicable, their last interest arbitration award, has
23 been expired for a period in excess of one year from final execution of
24 the agreement or delivery of the arbitration award to the parties.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09478-01-3
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1 (b) In any circumstance in which an impasse has been found to exist or
2 has been deemed to exist, the board shall take such action as it consid-
3 ers to be necessary and appropriate to ensure the completion without
4 delay of any and all applicable impasse resolution procedures authorized
5 or required by this article.
6 § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 210 of the civil
7 service law, as amended by chapter 24 of the laws of 1969, is amended to
8 read as follows:
9 (b) Presumption. (i) For purposes of this subdivision an employee who
10 is absent from work without permission, or who abstains wholly or in
11 part from the full performance of his duties in his normal manner with-
12 out permission, on the date or dates when a strike occurs, shall be
13 presumed to have engaged in such strike on such date or dates.
14 (ii) Any strike which occurs on a date or dates more than one year
15 after the expiration of the last agreement between the employee's public
16 employer and the public employee organization representing such employ-
17 ee, or, as applicable, more than one year after delivery of an interest
18 arbitration award to such employee's employer and public employee organ-
19 ization shall be presumed to have been one caused by acts of extreme
20 provocation within the meaning of this article.
21 § 4. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 3 of section 210 of the civil
22 service law, as amended by chapter 677 of the laws of 1977, is amended
23 to read as follows:
24 (f) If the board determines that an employee organization has violated
25 the provisions of subdivision one of this section, the board shall order
26 forfeiture of the rights granted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph
27 (b) of subdivision one, and subdivision three of section two hundred
28 eight of this [chapter] article, for such specified period of time as
29 the board shall determine, or, in the discretion of the board, for an
30 indefinite period of time subject to restoration upon application, with
31 notice to all interested parties, supported by proof of good faith
32 compliance with the requirements of subdivision one of this section
33 since the date of such violation, such proof to include, for example,
34 the successful negotiation, without a violation of subdivision one of
35 this section, of a contract covering the employees in the unit affected
36 by such violation; provided, however, that where a fine imposed on an
37 employee organization pursuant to subdivision two of section seven
38 hundred fifty-one of the judiciary law remains wholly or partly unpaid,
39 after the exhaustion of the cash and securities of the employee organ-
40 ization, the board shall direct that, notwithstanding such forfeiture,
41 such membership dues deduction shall be continued to the extent neces-
42 sary to pay such fine and such public employer shall transmit such
43 moneys to the court. In fixing the duration of the forfeiture, the
44 board, or any other court or other tribunal authorized by law, including
45 without limitation section seven hundred fifty-one of the judiciary law,
46 to determine such issue shall consider all the relevant facts and
47 circumstances, including but not limited to: (i) the extent of any
48 wilful defiance of subdivision one of this section; (ii) the impact of
49 the strike on the public health, safety, and welfare of the community
50 [and]; (iii) the financial resources of the employee organization; [and
51 the board may consider (i)] (iv) the refusal of the employee organiza-
52 tion or the appropriate public employer or the representative thereof,
53 to submit to the [mediation and fact-finding] impasse resolution proce-
54 dures provided in section two hundred nine of this article; and [(ii)]
55 (v) whether, if so alleged by the employee organization, the appropriate
56 public employer or its representatives engaged in such acts of extreme
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1 provocation as to detract from the responsibility of the employee organ-
2 ization for the strike. In determining the financial resources of the
3 employee organization, the board shall consider both the income and the
4 assets of such employee organization. In the event membership dues are
5 collected by the public employer as provided in paragraph (b) of subdi-
6 vision one of section two hundred eight of this [chapter] article, the
7 books and records of such public employer shall be prima facie evidence
8 of the amount so collected.
9 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
