Bargaining Update

SUBJECT	DESCRIPTION	STATUS	CASE NAME
Disciplinary Procedures	Employer deviated from contract’s requirement that it complete non-criminal internal investigations within 15 days from receipt of complaint. Employer’s actions termed “repudiation” of contract.	Mandatory. Employer required to complete investigations within 15 days.	City of Holyoke, (Mass. LRC 2002).
Duration	Proposal that contract remain in full force and effect until replaced by subsequent agreement. State law limited duration of contracts to three years.	Prohibited. Employer not required to bargain over issue.	Milwaukee County, Decision No. 30431 (Wis. ERC 2002).
Probationary Period	Labor organization contended that employer made unilateral change in long-standing interpretation of word “probation” as used in disciplinary settlements. At unfair labor practice hearing, labor organization failed to demonstrate the practice in existence before the change.	Inconclusive.	New York State Troopers, Inc., 35 NYPER ¶3024 (N.Y. PERB 2002).
Promotions	Change in weights assigned oral and written portions of promotional examination. While promotional procedures mandatory for bargaining, weighting of test scores was not.	Not Mandatory. Employer allowed to maintain new weights.	Pennsylvania State Troopers Assn. v. Pennsylvania State Labor Relations Board, 809 A.2d 422 (Pa.Cmwlth. 2002).

There are three categories of bargaining topics.

Mandatory. Mandatory subjects must be negotiated if either side raises them during the negotiations process. If a past practice concerns a mandatory subject of bargaining, an employer may not make a change in the practice without first bargaining with the labor organization unless the labor organization has waived its right to negotiate over the subject.

Permissive. Permissive subjects need not be negotiated by either party, but can be negotiated if both sides voluntarily choose to do so. An employer is free to make changes in past practices affecting permissive subjects of bargaining without first bargaining with a labor organization.

Prohibited. Prohibited subjects are excluded from bargaining. A subject is often prohibited if it is “preempted” by another law covering the subject (e.g., a state law might preempt bargaining over the entire subject of pension benefits).