Bargaining Update

SUBJECT	DESCRIPTION	STATUS	CASE NAME
Insurance	Employer unilaterally implemented a wage deduction for workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Issue not negotiable since employee co-payment required by change in state law.	Not Mandatory. Employer not required to bargain over wage deduction.	Skagit County Deputy Sheriffs Guild v. Skagit County, Decision 8886-A (Wash. PERC 2007).
Retirement Benefits	Change in statewide retirement plan from defined benefit plan. Bargaining over retirement issues preempted by state retirement law.	Not Mandatory. Employer not required to bargain over change.	Alaska Correctional Officers Association, No. 60-1481 (Alaska DLWD 2007).
Shift Scheduling	Employer discontinued an alleged practice of permitting officers assigned to full-day, off-site training to discontinue their workdays at the end of training, even if the training did not last the normal length of the 12-hour shift. While issue was mandatory for bargaining, Union unable to prove that employer had consistent practice of not charging compensatory time to account for difference between training day and normal shift.	Mixed.	Borough of Bernardsville, No. 2008-4 (N.J. PERC 2007).
Sick Leave	Employer unilaterally implemented an absence control tracking system (ACTS) which used software to monitor employee sick leave. PERC determined that implementation of the ACTS software was a managerial right, and was a technological change brought about to make the employer’s operation more efficient without changing any existing employer sick leave policy.	Not Mandatory. Employer allowed to continue use of ACTS.	Kitsap County, Decision 8402-B (Wash. PERC 2007).
Subcontracting	Employer assigned civilian employees to assist troopers in performing school bus safety inspections. Under past practice of 16 years’ duration, troopers had performed inspections without assistance of civilians.	Mandatory. Employer required to restore past practice.	Pennsylvania State Police, #PF-C-06-102-E (Pa. LRB 2007).
Union Activities	Employer repudiated past practice of relieving union representative’s case load so that he could attend to union duties during the course of the normal workday.	Mandatory. Employer required to restore past practice.	State of Wisconsin (Department of Corrections), No. 31272-B (Wis. ERC 2007).

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).