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S07801 Summary:

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S07801 Floor Votes:

S07801 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7801
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      June 10, 2014
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
 
        AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to the  negotiability
          of  disciplinary  procedures  affecting  employees  in the competitive
          class of civil service of the state of New York or any civil  division
          thereof
 

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Legislative  findings  and  declarations.  The  Taylor  Law
     2  requires collective bargaining over all "terms and conditions of employ-
     3  ment."  Our courts have often stressed the importance of this policy and
     4  have made clear that "the presumption...that all terms and conditions of
     5  employment  are  subject to mandatory bargaining" cannot easily be over-
     6  come. In the Matter of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association of the City of
     7  New York, Inc. v. New York State Public Employment  Relations  Board,  6
     8  N.Y.  3d  563  at 572 (2006) (Hereinafter NYC PBA case).  However, while
     9  paying homage to our state's  strong  and  sweeping  policy  to  support
    10  collective  bargaining  of  all terms and conditions of employment under

    11  the Taylor Law, the Court of Appeals in the case cited above  held  that
    12  that  policy  must  yield  to  any  other legislation which specifically
    13  commits police discipline to the discretion of local officials,  includ-
    14  ing  the  New York City charter, the Rockland County Police Act, section
    15  155 of the town law and section 8-804 of the village law, provided  only
    16  that those laws were passed prior to 1958 when Sections 75 and 76 of the
    17  civil  service  law  providing  minimum  or back-stop provisions for due
    18  process disciplinary procedures for public employees  were  enacted.  In
    19  doing so, the court cited specifically to the first sentence of subdivi-
    20  sion  4  of section 76 of the civil service law which says that sections
    21  75 and 76 of the civil service law shall not be construed to  repeal  or
    22  modify  pre-existing laws relating to the removal or suspension of offi-

    23  cers or employees in the competitive class of the civil service  of  the
    24  state or any civil division.
    25    Since  the  Taylor Law was enacted in 1967 making all terms and condi-
    26  tions of employment subject to collective bargaining, matters pertaining
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15316-01-4
        S. 7801                             2
 
     1  to employee discipline, including  disciplinary  procedures,  have  been
     2  negotiated  into many collective bargaining agreements in municipalities
     3  across the state covering  all  types  of  public  employees,  including
     4  police  officers.  Those agreements were honored until 2006 when the NYC

     5  PBA case was decided. The impact of the NYC PBA case has been to deprive
     6  many, but not all, police officers of the right to enforce their negoti-
     7  ated disciplinary procedures and of the right  to  collectively  bargain
     8  with  regard  to matters pertaining to discipline in the future that all
     9  other public employees enjoy. The purpose of this act  is  to  expressly
    10  overrule  this  decision  and those that have followed it and to replace
    11  them with a legislative declaration that police officers and  all  other
    12  competitive class public employees in the state of New York are entitled
    13  to collectively bargain with respect to all matters pertaining to disci-
    14  pline  and,  in  the  absence of a negotiated procedure, to at least the
    15  minimum due process protections provided by sections 75 and  75  of  the
    16  civil service law.

    17    §  2. Subdivision 4 of section 76 of the civil service law, as amended
    18  by chapter 283 of the laws of 1972, is amended and a new  subdivision  5
    19  is added to read as follows:
    20    4.  [Nothing  contained in section seventy-five or seventy-six of this
    21  chapter shall be construed to repeal or modify any general,  special  or
    22  local  law or charter provision relating to the removal or suspension of
    23  officers or employees in the competitive class of the civil  service  of
    24  the  state  or  any  civil  division. Such sections may be supplemented,
    25  modified or replaced by agreements negotiated between the state  and  an
    26  employee  organization  pursuant  to  article  fourteen of this chapter.
    27  Where such sections are  so  supplemented,  modified  or  replaced,  any

    28  employee against whom charges have been preferred prior to the effective
    29  date of such supplementation, modification or replacement shall continue
    30  to  be  subject  to  the provisions of such sections as in effect on the
    31  date such charges were preferred.] This section or section  seventy-five
    32  of  this  title  shall  be  construed  to  repeal or modify any general,
    33  special or local law or charter provision relating  to  the  removal  or
    34  suspension  of  officers  or  employees  in the competitive class of the
    35  civil service of the state or  any  civil  division.  This  section  and
    36  section  seventy-five  of  this  title  may be supplemented, modified or
    37  replaced by agreements negotiated between the  state  or  any  political

    38  subdivision  thereof  and  an  employee organization pursuant to article
    39  fourteen of this chapter. Where such sections are so supplemented, modi-
    40  fied or replaced, any employee against whom charges have been  preferred
    41  prior  to  the  effective  date of such supplementation, modification or
    42  replacement shall continue to be  subject  to  the  provisions  of  such
    43  sections as in effect on the date such charges were preferred.
    44    5. The terms of any current or expired collective bargaining agreement
    45  or interest arbitration award between any public employer and any public
    46  employee  organization  relating  to any aspect of police officer disci-
    47  pline which were invalidated or rendered unenforceable by any  decision,

    48  order  or judgement of any court, administrative agency or other adjudi-
    49  catory tribunal on grounds of public policy shall be deemed  valid  from
    50  the date any such agreements or awards were first reached or issued, and
    51  those  agreements  or  awards  shall  be  applied and enforced as to any
    52  disciplinary charges pending on the effective date of  this  subdivision
    53  and to any disciplinary charges filed thereafter.
    54    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.