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Workplace Rules and Practices 13-3 details must also be bargained over if a past practice has been created. 18 Thus, an employer may not unilaterally change the method of assigning paid details without bargaining. 19 However, if the employer has a past practice relating to the assignment of paid details, even though the practice was infrequent, the employer may be able to implement the practice. 20 In Town of Arlington, the Town was found not to have violated the Law when it canceled all paid details except a traffic detail for which no police oficers had volunteered to work; the Town had created a “past practice” ten to twelve years earlier when it had canceled paid details until volunteers came forward for a street resurfacing detail. 21 The Town of Falmouth was ordered to make whole nine superior officers for lost paid detail opportunities after the town failed to live up to the agreement it made to have superior officers and patrol officers continue to share in paid details. 22 The calculation of damages involved looking at the number of details the superior officers worked for the two year periods both before and after the violation. 23 An employer may prioritize paid details and the decision is a management right; however, upon request, good faith negotiations to impasse or agreement are required over the means and method of implementing that decision and the impacts of such decision. 24 § 3 WORK SHIFTS AND SCHEDULES Hours and shift schedules are both mandatory conditions of employment and mandatory subjects of bargaining. 25 An employer may not, as a rule, implement a new work shift without providing notice and, if requested, bargaining first. 26 Similarly, the employer should bargain first over a change in work shift coverage or the elimination of a shift. 27 As to changes in an individual’s work schedule, an employer may change an employee’s schedule without bargaining with the union unless there is a past practice of bargaining prior to schedule changes. 28 Occasionally, an employer may wish to change employee schedules in an effort to reduce overtime costs. 29 As long as the overtime is not “scheduled,” and there is no applicable contract provision, the employer may restructure schedules after giving the union notice and an opportunity to bargain. Where a contract expressly permits altering shifts, no notice or bargaining is required. 30 The Taunton School Committee violated the Law by failing to bargain in good faith by implementing a proposed teaching schedule that required teachers to teach an extra period without bargaining with the Union to resolution or impasse over its decision and the impacts of its decision. 31 Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee
Workplace Rules and Practices 13-4 § 4 JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND WORK ASSIGNMENTS Job duties are a mandatory subject of bargaining. 32 The employer is required to bargain prior to changing the job description of any position. 33 Changing the job description and job duties of an employee constitutes an alteration in the terms and conditions of employment and is unlawful unless bargained over prior to implementation. Thus, an employer may not circumvent the requirement of bargaining over a change in workload by merely changing the job description. 34 Some minor changes, however, may be so insignificant (de minimus) as not to require bargaining. As discussed in Chapter 2, the right to assign employees is an inherent managerial prerogative. Thus, the Appeals Court held in City of Boston v. Boston Police Superior Officers Federation that statutory provisions granting the Boston Police Commissioner the power to appoint and promote police officers would supersede contractual provisions in the colective bargaining agreement purporting to limit the Commissioner’s assignment authority. 35 The employer, however, will nonetheless be required to bargain over the procedures relative to assignments. (The 1998 amendments to M.G.L. c. 150E afecting the Commissioner’s exemption may alter future decisions in this area.) In its 1983 decision involving the Burlington Police Department, the Supreme Judicial Court held that the decision to assign police prosecutorial duties is an exclusive managerial prerogative, and not a mandatory subject of bargaining. 36 The Burlington case involved the transfer of prosecutorial duties from a sergeant (in a superior officer's unit) to a police officer in a separate unit. 37 In Town of Dennis, the Union's charge was dismissed as time-barred for failure to file within the Commission's 6-month statute of limitations. 38 However, it is clear that the employer had the duty to bargain about the impacts of its decision on terms and conditions of employment. There was some disagreement among the three Commissioners over the scope of the employer's obligations, especially when presented with a fait accompli. The majority concluded that regardless of whether the Town's notice of its intended reassignment was a "proposal" or a fait accompli, the union had six months from that date of notice to file a prohibited practice charge. The Labor Relations Commission has dealt with a number of cases involving changes to work assignments, and has indicated that the following unilateral actions are unlawful: requiring firefighters on watch duty to man the front desk; 39 Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PREFACE Municipal officials and dep
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INTRODUCTION Public safety unions h
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Table of Contents ii § 2 Entry-Lev
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Table of Contents iv § 8 Other Ben
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Management Rights 1-2 management ri
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Management Rights 1-4 organized pub
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Management Rights 1-6 arbitrate a d
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CHAPTER 2 - SCOPE OF ARBITRATION Mu
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Scope of Arbitration 2-3 There are
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Scope of Arbitration 2-5 Northborou
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Scope of Arbitration 2-7 DiSciulo
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Scope of Arbitration 2-9 leniency o
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Scope of Arbitration 2-11 20 Masach
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-2 When a p
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-4 § 2 NON
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-6 each new
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Subjects of Bargaining 3-8 47 Whitm
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CHAPTER 4 - “GOOD FAITH” Both t
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Good Faith 4-3 A. REFUSAL TO NEGOTI
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Good Faith 4-5 When a contract is i
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Good Faith 4-7 assignments an inher
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Good Faith 4-9 A union's obligation
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Good Faith 4-11 employees' terms an
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Good Faith 4-13 3) Contractual Waiv
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Good Faith 4-15 impasse is reached
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Good Faith 4-17 1 Harwich School Co
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Good Faith 4-19 59 Commonwealth of
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Assignment 5-2 Despite the fact tha
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Assignment 5-4 condition of re-issu
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CHAPTER 6 - PROMOTIONS The promotio
Page 62 and 63: Promotions 6-3 list is due to expir
Page 64 and 65: CHAPTER 7 - APPOINTMENTS The appoin
Page 66 and 67: Appointments 7-3 providing the unio
Page 68 and 69: Appointments 7-5 entry-level wage o
Page 70 and 71: Appointments 7-7 union requests bar
Page 72 and 73: CHAPTER 8 - BARGAINING UNIT WORK A
Page 74 and 75: Bargaining Unit Work 8-3 private se
Page 76 and 77: Bargaining Unit Work 8-5 § 1 REMED
Page 78 and 79: Bargaining Unit Work 8-7 2) Absence
Page 80 and 81: Bargaining Unit Work 8-9 33 Safeway
Page 82 and 83: Reorganization 9-2 the work is supe
Page 84 and 85: Reorganization 9-4 bargaining unit
Page 86 and 87: Reorganization 9-6 If the union dem
Page 88 and 89: Reorganization 9-8 41 See Commonwea
Page 90 and 91: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-2 Wh
Page 92 and 93: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-4 §
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Page 96 and 97: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-8 Up
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Page 100 and 101: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-12 1
Page 102 and 103: Light Duty 11-2 leave if they are c
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Page 108 and 109: Defibrillators 12-2 they affect gre
Page 110 and 111: CHAPTER 13 - WORKPLACE RULES AND PR
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Page 134 and 135: Changing Schedules 14-2 § 1 CONTRA
Page 136 and 137: Changing Schedules 14-4 legitimate
Page 138 and 139: CHAPTER 15 - MINIMUM STAFFING The n
Page 140 and 141: Minimum Staffing 15-3 that “a min
Page 142 and 143: Minimum Staffing 15-5 1 Chapter 594
Page 144 and 145: Benefits, Compensation and Leaves 1
Page 158 and 159: Employee Performance 17-2 The emplo
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Employee Performance 17-6 37 See se
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APPENDIX A-2 SAMPLE NOTICE FORM (OP
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APPENDIX A-4 SAMPLE NOTICE FORM (OP
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APPENDIX A-6 SAMPLE FORM 5 SAMPLE D
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APPENDIX A-8 6. The employee to be
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APPENDIX A-10 CONSENT I agree that
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APPENDIX A-12 to maintai
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