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Workplace Rules and Practices 13-5 discontinuing the practice of assigning “night captains” in the police force; 40 involuntarily transferring workers; 41 changing transfer and work schedule assignment procedures; 42 assigning “breakfast duty” in a school to paraprofessionals outside the bargaining unit; 43 adding billing duties to the position of engineering clerk; 44 assigning firefighters to visit a vacant school building to inspect for signs of intrusion, arson, or fire hazards; 45 and changing a contract compliance officer's workload. 46 However, the Commission has refused to find a violation where an employer implemented a policy requiring firefighters to perform dispatch duties, in light of a past (though infrequent) practice of assigning such duties to firefighters. 47 In a 2002 case involving the Boston Police Department, the Commission, while acknowledging the Commissioner’s managerial authority to decide not to fill a supervisory position, made it clear that the city still had to meet its impact bargaining obligations by bargaining with the union to agreement or impasse prior to implementing its decision. 48 Since neither side moved at all during four 1-hour bargaining sessions, the commission concluded that impasse had been reached and dismissed the union’s unilateral change complaint. PRACTICE POINTERS Shift bidding procedures present a special problem with respect to assignments. Most cases reported by the LRC involve collective bargaining contracts that allow shift bidding and seniority to be considered in making assignments, but that give the employer the ultimate right to make shift assignments. 49 Even if no such provision was contained in a contract, an employer could argue that as an inherent managerial prerogative, assignments cannot be subject to absolute bidding arrangements. At most, a procedure to advise the chief of an employee’s preference may be required. However, the employer is required to provide notice and an opportunity to bargain when intending to change the shift bidding procedure. 50 § 5 PROMOTION If an employer seeks to change the criteria for promotion, at least to a position in the unit, or in some cases to a non-union position, it may have to bargain first with the union if there is a past practice or if there is a relevant provision in the labor contract. 51 As long as the criteria have Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee
Workplace Rules and Practices 13-6 been used by the employer in the past, the employer is generally free to continue to use those criteria in a more formal fashion. Thus, in City of Boston, the LRC found that the City had a past practice of considering attendance as a factor in promotions, and dismissed the unlawful unilateral change charge even though the City intended to use attendance always as a factor in promotion in the future. 52 The denial of a promotion may also trigger the employer’s responsibility to furnish the union with the reasons for the failure to promote, especially if the union plans to file a grievance with respect to the decision. 53 Similarly, the elimination of a position may activate the employer’s duty to bargain, where the eliminated position represents an initial “toe hold” in the promotional ladder 54 or a lost promotional opportunity. 55 PRACTICE POINTERS Employers should refuse to negotiate over a proposal which seeks to require the promotion of certain employees based on seniority. Similarly, the employer should point out to the union whenever the latter proposes to control how promotions are made or what criteria will be used, that the law leaves all this exclusively to management. Bargaining over procedures for notifying unit members of an opening, on the other hand, are proper subjects of bargaining. Employers should avoid the pitfalls of including any language in a contract which allows employees to file grievances over promotions. Therefore, even provisions which permit the employer to determine qualifications but then require promoting the “senior most qualified” should never be included. The use of assessment centers for both initial hiring and promotions is becoming increasingly popular. This is one of the best ways of avoiding claims of cronyism and similar unfairness charges. Moreover, it goes a long way towards insulating the employer from charges of discrimination and other improprieties. § 6 DRESS AND GROOMING REGULATIONS The constitutionality of public safety grooming regulations has been well established for many years. In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Kelley v. Johnson,that police departments did not infringe on an oficer’s First Amendment free speech and expression rights through the enforcement of grooming regulations. 56 For the regulations to be valid, a department was only required to demonstrate that the regulations bore a “rational relationship” to the goals the department was trying to achieve. 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
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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 §
Page 94 and 95: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-6 wh
Page 96 and 97: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-8 Up
Page 98 and 99: Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-10 P
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
Page 104 and 105: Light Duty 11-4 § 2 INJURED ON DUT
Page 106 and 107: Light Duty 11-6 1 Votour v. City of
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
Page 160 and 161: Employee Performance 17-4 compellin
Page 162 and 163: 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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