No. CS/CS/HB 995
Filed under Local Government.
Public Employees Relations Commission; Revises provisions relating to certain final orders issued by PERC; specifies annual salaries of chair & other commissioners of PERC; revises provisions for delivery of service; requires employee organization, within specified timeframe, to revoke membership of, & cease collection of membership dues from, public employee; revises requirements for registration, registration renewal, certification, recertification, or decertification of employee organizations; removes provisions relating to revocation of certification of employee organizations; requires commission or one of its designated agents to conduct investigation if challenge is filed; provides prohibitions on public employers, their agents or representatives, & any person acting on their behalf; revises provisions relating to impasse; authorizes certain actions by public employees upon agreement between public employer & bargaining agent; provides exceptions for certain bargaining units; increases fines for certain violations.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDCertifying, recertifying, or decertifying a union now requires the commission to run a secret-ballot election, and winning requires a majority of everyone in the unit, not just those who vote, except in police, fire, corrections, and EMS units, which keep the current majority-of-voters rule.
Public employers may no longer deduct union dues from most employees' paychecks; members must pay dues directly, though public-safety-unit employees keep automatic payroll deduction. Any union member can also stop dues within 30 days of asking, no reason required.
Public employers can no longer pay employees or give paid leave for union business unless the employer and union agree to specific exceptions, and fines for illegal strikes rise steeply, with union fines reaching up to $120,000 a day, six times the old cap.
When the Legislature appropriates a pay raise, the employer and the union must meet and renegotiate its impact on a fast fixed timetable set out in the bill, separate from ordinary bargaining, unless the employees belong to a public-safety unit.
AIUnions can no longer become the certified bargaining agent through direct employer recognition of majority support. Every certification or recertification now requires a petition to the commission backed by a showing of interest from at least 30 percent of the unit, followed by a secret-ballot election.
AIWinning or keeping certification requires a majority vote of everyone employed in the bargaining unit as of the date the commission sets, not just a majority of ballots cast, so employees who do not vote now count against the union. Public safety units keep the old majority-of-voters standard.
AIExcept under a narrow federal-funding waiver, a public employer may no longer deduct union dues from most employees' paychecks; members must pay dues directly to their union instead. Public-safety-unit employees are the exception and keep automatic payroll deduction on request.
AIA public employee may revoke union membership at any time, and the union cannot require a reason. Once it receives the written revocation, the employee organization must end the member's status and stop the payroll dues deduction within 30 days.
AIPublic employers and anyone acting for them may not pay employees, directly or indirectly, for engaging in union activities such as bargaining, lobbying, organizing, or attending union events. Unpaid leave, personal leave, or a narrower set of on-duty representational duties is allowed only if the employer and bargaining agent agree.
AIIf fewer than 60 percent of a bargaining unit's employees have signed, unrevoked membership authorizations and pay dues, the bargaining agent must file for recertification within 30 days of the commission's notice, putting the union's status to a fresh vote.
AIA salary increase the Legislature appropriates automatically counts as a financial urgency. The employer and bargaining agent must negotiate its impact and, if they reach impasse, move through a compressed set of deadlines for a special magistrate, hearing, and legislative resolution. Public safety units are exempt.
AIThe commission's maximum fine against a striking employee organization rises from $20,000 to $120,000 per day. A court's contempt fine cap rises from $5,000 to $30,000, and per-day fines against individual union officers rise from $50-$100 to $300-$600.