PRINTER'S NO. 1240
No. 1094 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY HANNA, MELIO, YOUNGBLOOD, SHANER, BELARDI, DALEY,
LEH, PESCI AND BOSCOLA, APRIL 2, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR RELATIONS, APRIL 2, 1997
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), entitled
2 "An act establishing rights in public employes to organize
3 and bargain collectively through selected representatives;
4 defining public employes to include employes of nonprofit
5 organizations and institutions; providing compulsory
6 mediation and fact-finding, for collective bargaining
7 impasses; providing arbitration for certain public employes
8 for collective bargaining impasses; defining the scope of
9 collective bargaining; establishing unfair employe and
10 employer practices; prohibiting strikes for certain public
11 employes; permitting strikes under limited conditions;
12 providing penalties for violations; and establishing
13 procedures for implementation," including confidential
14 employees.
15 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
16 hereby enacts as follows:
17 Section 1. Section 301 of the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563,
18 No.195), known as the Public Employe Relations Act, is amended
19 to read:
20 Section 301. As used in this act:
21 (1) "Public employer" means the Commonwealth of
22 Pennsylvania, its political subdivisions including school
23 districts and any officer, board, commission, agency, authority,
1 or other instrumentality thereof and any nonprofit organization
2 or institution and any charitable, religious, scientific,
3 literary, recreational, health, educational or welfare
4 institution receiving grants or appropriations from local, State
5 or Federal governments but shall not include employers covered
6 or presently subject to coverage under the act of June 1, 1937
7 (P.L.1168), as amended, known as the "Pennsylvania Labor
8 Relations Act," the act of July 5, 1935, Public Law 198, 74th
9 Congress, as amended, known as the "National Labor Relations
10 Act."
11 (2) "Public employe" or "employe" means any individual
12 employed by a public employer but shall not include elected
13 officials, appointees of the Governor with the advice and
14 consent of the Senate as required by law, management level
15 employes, [confidential employes,] clergymen or other persons in
16 a religious profession, employes or personnel at church offices
17 or facilities when utilized primarily for religious purposes and
18 those employes covered under the act of June 24, 1968 (Act
19 No.111), entitled "An act specifically authorizing collective
20 bargaining between policemen and firemen and their public
21 employers; providing for arbitration in order to settle
22 disputes, and requiring compliance with collective bargaining
23 agreements and findings of arbitrators."
24 (3) "Employe organization" means an organization of any
25 kind, or any agency or employe representation committee or plan
26 in which membership includes public employes, and which exists
27 for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers
28 concerning grievances, employe-employer disputes, wages, rates
29 of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work but shall not
30 include any organization which practices discrimination in
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1 membership because of race, color, creed, national origin or
2 political affiliation.
3 (4) "Representative" means any individuals acting for public
4 employers or employes and shall include employe organizations.
5 (5) "Board" means the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.
6 (6) "Supervisor" means any individual having authority in
7 the interests of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend,
8 layoff, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline
9 other employes or responsibly to direct them or adjust their
10 grievances; or to a substantial degree effectively recommend
11 such action, if in connection with the foregoing, the exercise
12 of such authority is not merely routine or clerical in nature
13 but calls for the use of independent judgment.
14 (7) "Professional employe" means any employe whose work: (i)
15 is predominantly intellectual and varied in character; (ii)
16 requires consistent exercise of discretion and judgment; (iii)
17 requires knowledge of an advanced nature in the field of science
18 or learning customarily acquired by specialized study in an
19 institution of higher learning or its equivalent; and (iv) is of
20 such character that the output or result accomplished cannot be
21 standardized in relation to a given period of time.
22 (8) "Unfair practice" means any practice prohibited by
23 Article XII of this act.
24 (9) "Strike" means concerted action in failing to report for
25 duty, the wilful absence from one's position, the stoppage of
26 work, slowdown, or the abstinence in whole or in part from the
27 full, faithful and proper performance of the duties of
28 employment for the purpose of inducing, influencing or coercing
29 a change in the conditions or compensation or the rights,
30 privileges, or obligations of employment.
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1 (10) "Person" includes an individual, public employer,
2 public employe, authority, commission, legal representative,
3 labor organization, employe organization, profit or nonprofit
4 corporation, trustee, board or association.
5 (11) "Membership dues deduction" means the practice of a
6 public employer to deduct from the wages of a public employe,
7 with his written consent, an amount for the payment of his
8 membership dues in an employe organization, which deduction is
9 transmitted by the public employer to the employe organization.
10 (12) "Budget submission date" means the date by which under
11 the law or practice a public employer's proposed budget, or
12 budget containing proposed expenditures applicable to such
13 public employer is submitted to the Legislature or other similar
14 body for final action. For the purposes of this act, the budget
15 submission date for the Commonwealth shall be February 1 of each
16 year and for a nonprofit organization or institution, the last
17 day of its fiscal year.
18 [(13) "Confidential employe" shall mean any employe who
19 works: (i) in the personnel offices of a public employer and has
20 access to information subject to use by the public employer in
21 collective bargaining; or (ii) in a close continuing
22 relationship with public officers or representatives associated
23 with collective bargaining on behalf of the employer.]
24 (14) "Wages" means hourly rates of pay, salaries or other
25 forms of compensation for services rendered.
26 (15) "Commonwealth employe" means a public employe employed
27 by the Commonwealth or any board, commission, agency, authority,
28 or any other instrumentality thereof.
29 (16) "Management level employe" means any individual who is
30 involved directly in the determination of policy or who
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1 responsibly directs the implementation thereof and shall include
2 all employes above the first level of supervision.
3 (17) "Meet and discuss" means the obligation of a public
4 employer upon request to meet at reasonable times and discuss
5 recommendations submitted by representatives of public employes:
6 Provided, That any decisions or determinations on matters so
7 discussed shall remain with the public employer and be deemed
8 final on any issue or issues raised.
9 (18) "Maintenance of membership" means that all employes who
10 have joined an employe organization or who join the employe
11 organization in the future must remain members for the duration
12 of a collective bargaining agreement so providing with the
13 proviso that any such employe or employes may resign from such
14 employe organization during a period of fifteen days prior to
15 the expiration of any such agreement.
16 (19) "First level of supervision" and "first level
17 supervisor" means the lowest level at which an employe functions
18 as a supervisor.
19 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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