Bargaining Update

SUBJECT	DESCRIPTION	STATUS	CASE NAME
Disciplinary Standards	Employer unilaterally enacted new rule prohibiting the off-duty consumption of intoxicating beverages within eight hours before the start of a police officer’s scheduled tour of duty.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind rule.	City of Albany, No. U-27105 (N.Y. PERB 2009).
Global Positioning Systems	County secretly installed a GPS unit in a take-home vehicle assigned to a single investigator, based upon the suspicion that the investigator was using the vehicle in violation of the Department’s rules. The Court noted that it was not deciding the broader question of the installation of GPS units in all cars.	Permissive.	Riverside Sheriffs’ Association v. Trask, 2009 WL 618239 (Cal. App. 2009).
Health Insurance	Employer refused to process grievances to arbitration concerning amount of copayment of health insurance premiums. Commission rejected argument that state law specified level of copayment of premiums.	Mandatory. Employer required to process grievance to arbitration.	City of Bayonne, PERC No. 2009-40 (N.J. PERC 2009).
Health Insurance, Retirees	Employer unilaterally changed the eligibility criteria for current employees’ participation in the retiree health insurance program by discontinuing subsidies for medical and dental insurance for employees retiring after June 1, 2007.	Mandatory. Employer required to rescind change.	County of Sacramento, PERB No. 2044-M (Calif. PERB 2009).
Physical And Psychological Conditions	Employer began using new form that required employees filing workers’ compensation claims to complete a form that sought additional medical information. Issue not preempted by workers’ compensation law, which did not require the employer to seek the particular information.	Mandatory. Employer required to proceed to arbitration.	City of Newark, PERC No. 2009-41 (N.J. PERC 2009).
Safety	Grievance asserted that yard towers in a correctional facility violated the contractual safety and health clause and state regulations. Issues concerning physical facilities and conveniences related to employee comfort are mandatorily negotiable.	Mandatory. Employer required to process grievance.	County of Mercer, PERC No. 2009-11 (N.J. PERC 2009).

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).