Management Rights - AELE's Home Page

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-2 When faced with a strike or job action (e.g., sick out), an employer may take reasonable action, including requiring a doctor's certificate and/or employee's affidavit of illness, as a condition of sick leave eligibility. PRACTICE POINTERS A strongly-worded <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> clause may constitute a waiver of the union's rights to bargain over certain rules or changes in sick leave policy. Unless a contract contains clear language, the LRC is not likely to find that a union waived its right to demand bargaining over changes in mandatory subjects of bargaining. Where a collective bargaining agreement contains language concerning sick or injury leave, the municipal employer is not free to promulgate a rule at variance with the contract without the union's permission. Such changes must ordinarily await regular contract negotiations. However, where a contract is silent, or does not address the issue to be covered by a proposed new rule or policy, the employer -- generally acting through its chief -- may institute such a rule or policy to effectuate a legitimate municipal objective, so long as the employer satisfies its labor relations obligations (i.e., notice and opportunity to bargain). The employer is required to provide the union with notice of the proposed new rule or policy, and, upon request, enter into good faith bargaining with the union until reaching either agreement or impasse. 10 Once the union is on notice of the contemplated change, the union is bound to make a prompt and effective demand for bargaining or it will be found to have waived its right to demand bargaining over the proposed change. 11 Only a finding of fait accompli (done deal) relieves the union of the obligation to demand bargaining over the change. 12 An exception may be made by the LRC to the fait accompli rule where circumstances beyond the employer's control required immediate action, thus permitting bargaining after the fact. 13 In determining whether a fait accompli exists, the Commission considers "whether, under all the attendant circumstances, it can be said that the employer's conduct has progressed to the point that a demand to bargain would be fruitless." 14 An offer by the employer to bargain after a prohibited unilateral change has been made does not cure the violation. 15 In such a case, the employer is required to rescind the offending change and then offer to engage in good faith negotiations upon demand from the union. 16 A municipal employer is not relieved of its obligation by the mere existence of a by-law or ordinance governing the subject. If there is a conflict between an ordinance or by-law and a collective bargaining agreement, the ordinance or by-law must give way to the collective bargaining Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Sick and Injury Leave Rules 10-3 agreement. 17 The Commission has made it clear that it intends to apply Section 7 of the Law giving a contract precedence over ordinances/by-laws which are in existence at the time a contract is executed as well as those that post-date an agreement. 18 § 1 MANDATORY SUBJECT OF BARGAINING The basis for such obligations concerning sick leave rules is clear. The Commission has ruled that sick leave pay is a term and condition of employment. Both sick leave policies 19 and criteria for eligibility for injured on duty leave 20 have been held by the Labor Relations Commission to be mandatory subjects of bargaining. The Commission has ruled that a public employer violates Section 10(a)(5) of Chapter 150E, when it unilaterally alters a condition of employment involving a mandatory subject of bargaining without first providing notice to, and, if requested, bargaining with the union in good faith to resolution (agreement) or impasse. 21 An employer's obligation to bargain before changing conditions of employment extends to working conditions established through past practice, as well as those specified in a collective bargaining agreement. 22 In a case involving the Hull Police Department, the LRC ruled that the chief was not able unilaterally to discontinue the practice of allowing officers who exhausted their sick leave to borrow from future sick leave credits expected to be received in a subsequent fiscal year. 23 A past practice was found where, on at least eleven occasions over an eight year period, every officer who exhausted his or her accrued sick leave was allowed to remain off duty but on the payroll, with a bookkeeping entry amounting to borrowing from anticipated future sick leave accumulation. PRACTICE POINTERS If the chief or employer wants to stop allowing employees from borrowing against future sick leave, this is their right. All that is needed is to provide the union with notice that management plans on stopping the practice. If the union requests bargaining, it should be limited to the impact of the decision to stop the gratuitous practice. If a chief (or his/her predecessor) has been lax in enforcing a rule or contract provision regarding sick leave, all that is required is notice to the union that the rule will be enforced in the future. Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee
Page 2 and 3:
PREFACE Municipal officials and dep
Page 4 and 5:
INTRODUCTION Public safety unions h
Page 6 and 7:
Table of Contents ii § 2 Entry-Lev
Page 8 and 9:
Table of Contents iv § 8 Other Ben
Page 10 and 11:
Management Rights 1-2 management ri
Page 12 and 13:
Management Rights 1-4 organized pub
Page 14 and 15:
Management Rights 1-6 arbitrate a d
Page 16 and 17:
CHAPTER 2 - SCOPE OF ARBITRATION Mu
Page 18 and 19:
Scope of Arbitration 2-3 There are
Page 20 and 21:
Scope of Arbitration 2-5 Northborou
Page 22 and 23:
Scope of Arbitration 2-7 DiSciulo
Page 24 and 25:
Scope of Arbitration 2-9 leniency o
Page 26 and 27:
Scope of Arbitration 2-11 20 Masach
Page 28 and 29:
Subjects of Bargaining 3-2 When a p
Page 30 and 31:
Subjects of Bargaining 3-4 § 2 NON
Page 32 and 33:
Subjects of Bargaining 3-6 each new
Page 34 and 35:
Subjects of Bargaining 3-8 47 Whitm
Page 36 and 37:
CHAPTER 4 - “GOOD FAITH” Both t
Page 38 and 39:
Good Faith 4-3 A. REFUSAL TO NEGOTI
Page 40 and 41: Good Faith 4-5 When a contract is i
Page 42 and 43: Good Faith 4-7 assignments an inher
Page 44 and 45: Good Faith 4-9 A union's obligation
Page 46 and 47: Good Faith 4-11 employees' terms an
Page 48 and 49: Good Faith 4-13 3) Contractual Waiv
Page 50 and 51: Good Faith 4-15 impasse is reached
Page 52 and 53: Good Faith 4-17 1 Harwich School Co
Page 54 and 55: Good Faith 4-19 59 Commonwealth of
Page 56 and 57: Assignment 5-2 Despite the fact tha
Page 58 and 59: Assignment 5-4 condition of re-issu
Page 60 and 61: 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 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
Page 112 and 113: Workplace Rules and Practices 13-3
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 146 and 147:
Page 148 and 149:
Page 150 and 151:
Page 152 and 153:
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
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
Page 164 and 165:
APPENDIX A-2 SAMPLE NOTICE FORM (OP
Page 166 and 167:
APPENDIX A-4 SAMPLE NOTICE FORM (OP
Page 168 and 169:
APPENDIX A-6 SAMPLE FORM 5 SAMPLE D
Page 170 and 171:
APPENDIX A-8 6. The employee to be
Page 172 and 173:
APPENDIX A-10 CONSENT I agree that
Page 174 and 175:
APPENDIX A-12 to maintai
show all

Management Rights - AELE's Home Page

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?