HF 793

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004)

Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00 a.m.

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state employees; instituting a freeze on 
  1.3             salaries and wage rates for state employees. 
  1.4   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.5      Section 1.  [SALARY FREEZE.] 
  1.6      Subdivision 1.  [SALARY INCREASES PROHIBITED.] (a) From the 
  1.7   effective date of this section through June 30, 2005, a state 
  1.8   employer must not increase the rate of salary or wages for any 
  1.9   employee.  This section prohibits any increase including, but 
  1.10  not limited to, across-the-board increases, cost of living 
  1.11  adjustments, increases based on longevity, increases as a result 
  1.12  of step and lane changes, increases in the form of lump-sum 
  1.13  payments, increases in employer contributions to deferred 
  1.14  compensation plans, or any other pay grade adjustments of any 
  1.15  kind.  For purposes of this section, salary or wages does not 
  1.16  include employer contributions toward the cost of medical or 
  1.17  dental insurance premiums provided that employee contributions 
  1.18  to the costs of medical or dental insurance premiums are not 
  1.19  decreased. 
  1.20     (b) This section does not prohibit an increase in the rate 
  1.21  of salary and wages for an employee who is promoted or 
  1.22  transferred to a position that the employer determines has 
  1.23  greater job responsibilities.  
  1.24     (c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the terms of a 
  2.1   collective bargaining agreement in effect on June 30, 2003, may 
  2.2   not be extended after that date if the extension would increase 
  2.3   a salary in a manner prohibited by this section. 
  2.4      Subd. 2.  [FUTURE CONTRACTS.] A contract or collective 
  2.5   bargaining agreement or compensation plan entered into after 
  2.6   June 30, 2005, must not provide a retroactive salary, or wage 
  2.7   increase that applies to a period before June 30, 2005, if that 
  2.8   increase would be prohibited by this section if granted before 
  2.9   June 30, 2005. 
  2.10     Subd. 3.  [ARBITRATION AND STRIKES.] Notwithstanding any 
  2.11  law to the contrary:  
  2.12     (1) an employee may not legally strike due to a state 
  2.13  employer's refusal to grant a salary or wage increase if the 
  2.14  refusal is required to comply with this section; and 
  2.15     (2) neither a state employer nor an exclusive 
  2.16  representative may request interest arbitration in relation to 
  2.17  an increase in the rate of salary or wages that is prohibited by 
  2.18  this section, and an arbitrator may not issue an award that 
  2.19  would increase salary or wages in a manner prohibited by this 
  2.20  section. 
  2.21     Subd. 4.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section: 
  2.22     (1) "state employer" means an appointing authority in the 
  2.23  executive, legislative, or judicial branches as defined in 
  2.24  Minnesota Statutes, section 43A.02, subdivisions 5, 22, 25, and 
  2.25  27; and 
  2.26     (2) "employee" has the meaning given in Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.27  section 43A.02, subdivision 21. 
  2.28     Subd. 5.  [RELATION TO OTHER LAW.] This section supersedes 
  2.29  Minnesota Statutes, chapter 179A, and any other law to the 
  2.30  contrary.  It is not an unfair labor practice under Minnesota 
  2.31  Statutes, chapter 179A, for a state employer to take any action 
  2.32  required to comply with this section.  
  2.33     Sec. 2.  [UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA; SALARY AND WAGE RATE 
  2.34  FREEZE RECOMMENDED.] 
  2.35     The legislature strongly recommends that the University of 
  2.36  Minnesota comply with section 1 as if it were defined as a state 
  3.1   employer under that section. 
  3.2      Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.3      Sections 1 and 2 are effective July 1, 2003.