HF 1542

2nd Engrossment - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public employment; making technical 
  1.3             changes; modifying definitions; modifying certain 
  1.4             arbitration procedures; ratifying certain labor 
  1.5             agreements and proposals; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1996, sections 3.855, subdivision 2; 43A.06, 
  1.7             subdivision 1; 179A.03, subdivision 14; 179A.10, 
  1.8             subdivision 1; 179A.11, subdivision 1; and 179A.16, 
  1.9             subdivision 7. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 3.855, 
  1.12  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.13     Subd. 2.  [STATE EMPLOYEE NEGOTIATIONS.] (a) The 
  1.14  commissioner of employee relations shall regularly advise the 
  1.15  commission on the progress of collective bargaining activities 
  1.16  with state employees under the state public employment labor 
  1.17  relations act.  During negotiations, the commission may make 
  1.18  recommendations to the commissioner as it deems appropriate but 
  1.19  no recommendation shall impose any obligation or grant any right 
  1.20  or privilege to the parties.  
  1.21     (b) The commissioner shall submit to the chair of the 
  1.22  commission any negotiated collective bargaining agreements or, 
  1.23  arbitration awards, compensation plans, or salaries for 
  1.24  legislative approval or disapproval.  Negotiated agreements 
  1.25  shall be submitted within five days of the date of approval by 
  1.26  the commissioner or the date of approval by the affected state 
  1.27  employees, whichever occurs later.  Arbitration awards shall be 
  2.1   submitted within five days of their receipt by the 
  2.2   commissioner.  If the commission disapproves an a collective 
  2.3   bargaining agreement or, award, compensation plan, or salary, 
  2.4   the commission shall specify in writing to the parties those 
  2.5   portions with which it disagrees and its reasons.  If the 
  2.6   commission approves an a collective bargaining agreement or, 
  2.7   award, compensation plan, or salary, it shall submit the matter 
  2.8   to the legislature to be accepted or rejected under this 
  2.9   section.  Failure of the commission to disapprove an agreement 
  2.10  or award within 30 days of its receipt constitutes approval.  
  2.11     (c) When the legislature is not in session, the commission 
  2.12  may give interim approval to a negotiated collective bargaining 
  2.13  agreement, salary, compensation plan, or arbitration 
  2.14  award.  When the legislature is not in session, failure of the 
  2.15  commission to disapprove a collective bargaining agreement or 
  2.16  arbitration award within 30 days constitutes approval.  The 
  2.17  commission shall submit the negotiated collective bargaining 
  2.18  agreements, salaries, compensation plans, or arbitration awards 
  2.19  for which it has provided approval to the entire legislature for 
  2.20  ratification at a special legislative session called to consider 
  2.21  them or at its next regular legislative session as provided in 
  2.22  this section.  Approval or disapproval by the commission is not 
  2.23  binding on the legislature. 
  2.24     (d) When the legislature is not in session, the 
  2.25  proposed collective bargaining agreement, arbitration decision, 
  2.26  salary, or compensation plan must be implemented upon its 
  2.27  approval by the commission, and state employees covered by the 
  2.28  proposed agreement or arbitration decision do not have the right 
  2.29  to strike while the interim approval is in effect.  Wages and 
  2.30  economic fringe benefit increases provided for in the agreement 
  2.31  or arbitration decision paid in accordance with the interim 
  2.32  approval by the commission are not affected, but the wages or 
  2.33  benefit increases must cease to be paid or provided effective 
  2.34  upon the rejection of the agreement, arbitration decision, 
  2.35  salary, or compensation plan, or upon adjournment of the 
  2.36  legislature without acting on it. 
  3.1      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 43A.06, 
  3.2   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.3      Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL.] (a) The commissioner, through 
  3.4   the labor relations bureau, shall perform the duties assigned to 
  3.5   the commissioner by sections 3.855, 179A.01 to 179A.25 and this 
  3.6   section.  
  3.7      (b) The deputy commissioner for the labor relations bureau 
  3.8   shall be the state labor negotiator for purposes of negotiating 
  3.9   and administering agreements with exclusive representatives of 
  3.10  employees and shall perform any other duties delegated by the 
  3.11  commissioner subject to the limitations in paragraph (c). 
  3.12     (c) The board of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges 
  3.13  and universities may exercise the powers under this section for 
  3.14  employees included in units 9, 10, 11, and 12 in section 
  3.15  179A.10, subdivision 2, except with respect to sections 43A.22 
  3.16  to 43A.31, which shall continue to be the responsibility of the 
  3.17  commissioner.  The commissioner of employee relations shall have 
  3.18  the right to review and comment to the Minnesota state colleges 
  3.19  and universities on the board's final proposals prior to 
  3.20  exchange of final positions with the designated bargaining units 
  3.21  as well as any requests for interest arbitration.  When 
  3.22  submitting a proposed collective bargaining agreement to the 
  3.23  legislative coordinating commission and the legislature under 
  3.24  section 3.855, subdivision 2, the board of trustees must use 
  3.25  procedures and assumptions consistent with those used by the 
  3.26  commissioner of employee relations in calculating the costs of 
  3.27  the proposed contract.  The legislative coordinating commission 
  3.28  must, when considering a collective bargaining agreement or 
  3.29  arbitration award submitted by the board of trustees, evaluate 
  3.30  market conditions affecting the employees in the bargaining 
  3.31  unit, equity with other bargaining units in the executive 
  3.32  branch, and the ability of the trustees and the state to fund 
  3.33  the agreement or award. 
  3.34     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 179A.03, 
  3.35  subdivision 14, is amended to read: 
  3.36     Subd. 14.  [PUBLIC EMPLOYEE.] "Public employee" or 
  4.1   "employee" means any person appointed or employed by a public 
  4.2   employer except:  
  4.3      (a) elected public officials; 
  4.4      (b) election officers; 
  4.5      (c) commissioned or enlisted personnel of the Minnesota 
  4.6   national guard; 
  4.7      (d) emergency employees who are employed for emergency work 
  4.8   caused by natural disaster; 
  4.9      (e) part-time employees whose service does not exceed the 
  4.10  lesser of 14 hours per week or 35 percent of the normal work 
  4.11  week in the employee's appropriate unit; 
  4.12     (f) employees whose positions are basically temporary or 
  4.13  seasonal in character and:  (1) are not for more than 67 working 
  4.14  days in any calendar year; or (2) are not for more than 100 
  4.15  working days in any calendar year and the employees are under 
  4.16  the age of 22, are full-time students enrolled in a nonprofit or 
  4.17  public educational institution prior to being hired by the 
  4.18  employer, and have indicated, either in an application for 
  4.19  employment or by being enrolled at an educational institution 
  4.20  for the next academic year or term, an intention to continue as 
  4.21  students during or after their temporary employment; 
  4.22     (g) employees providing services for not more than two 
  4.23  consecutive quarters to the state university board or the 
  4.24  community college board of trustees of the Minnesota state 
  4.25  colleges and universities under the terms of a professional or 
  4.26  technical services contract as defined in section 16B.17, 
  4.27  subdivision 1; 
  4.28     (h) employees of charitable hospitals as defined by section 
  4.29  179.35, subdivision 3; 
  4.30     (i) full-time undergraduate students employed by the school 
  4.31  which they attend under a work-study program or in connection 
  4.32  with the receipt of financial aid, irrespective of number of 
  4.33  hours of service per week; 
  4.34     (j) an individual who is employed for less than 300 hours 
  4.35  in a fiscal year as an instructor in an adult vocational 
  4.36  education program; 
  5.1      (k) an individual hired by a school district, or the 
  5.2   community college board, or the state university board, of 
  5.3   trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities to 
  5.4   teach one course for up to four credits for one quarter in a 
  5.5   year.  
  5.6      The following individuals are public employees regardless 
  5.7   of the exclusions of clauses (e) and (f):  
  5.8      (1) An employee hired by a school district, or the 
  5.9   community college board, or the state university board, of 
  5.10  trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities except 
  5.11  at the university established in section 136F.017 or for 
  5.12  community services or community education instruction offered on 
  5.13  a noncredit basis:  (i) to replace an absent teacher or faculty 
  5.14  member who is a public employee, where the replacement employee 
  5.15  is employed more than 30 working days as a replacement for that 
  5.16  teacher or faculty member; or (ii) to take a teaching position 
  5.17  created due to increased enrollment, curriculum expansion, 
  5.18  courses which are a part of the curriculum whether offered 
  5.19  annually or not, or other appropriate reasons; and 
  5.20     (2) An employee hired for a position under clause (f)(1) if 
  5.21  that same position has already been filled under clause (f)(1) 
  5.22  in the same calendar year and the cumulative number of days 
  5.23  worked in that same position by all employees exceeds 67 
  5.24  calendar days in that year.  For the purpose of this paragraph, 
  5.25  "same position" includes a substantially equivalent position if 
  5.26  it is not the same position solely due to a change in the 
  5.27  classification or title of the position. 
  5.28     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 179A.10, 
  5.29  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  5.30     Subdivision 1.  [EXCLUSIONS.] The commissioner of employee 
  5.31  relations shall meet and negotiate with the exclusive 
  5.32  representative of each of the units specified in this section, 
  5.33  except as provided in section 43A.06, subdivision 1, paragraph 
  5.34  (c).  The units provided in this section are the only 
  5.35  appropriate units for executive branch state employees.  The 
  5.36  following employees shall be excluded from any appropriate unit: 
  6.1      (1) the positions and classes of positions in the 
  6.2   classified and unclassified services defined as managerial by 
  6.3   the commissioner of employee relations in accordance with 
  6.4   section 43A.18, subdivision 3, and so designated in the official 
  6.5   state compensation schedules; 
  6.6      (2) unclassified positions in the state university system 
  6.7   and the community college system Minnesota state colleges and 
  6.8   universities defined as managerial by their respective boards; 
  6.9      (3) positions of physician employees compensated under 
  6.10  section 43A.17, subdivision 4; 
  6.11     (4) positions of all unclassified employees appointed by a 
  6.12  constitutional officer; 
  6.13     (5) positions in the bureau; 
  6.14     (6) positions of employees whose classification is pilot or 
  6.15  chief pilot; 
  6.16     (7) administrative law judge and compensation judge 
  6.17  positions in the office of administrative hearings; and 
  6.18     (8) positions of all confidential employees.  
  6.19     The governor may upon the unanimous written request of 
  6.20  exclusive representatives of units and the commissioner direct 
  6.21  that negotiations be conducted for one or more units in a common 
  6.22  proceeding or that supplemental negotiations be conducted for 
  6.23  portions of a unit or units defined on the basis of appointing 
  6.24  authority or geography.  
  6.25     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 179A.11, 
  6.26  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  6.27     Subdivision 1.  [UNITS.] The following are the appropriate 
  6.28  units of University of Minnesota employees.  All units shall 
  6.29  exclude managerial and confidential employees.  Supervisory 
  6.30  employees shall only be assigned to unit 13.  No additional 
  6.31  units of University of Minnesota employees shall be recognized 
  6.32  for the purpose of meeting and negotiating.  
  6.33     (1) The law enforcement unit consists of the positions of 
  6.34  all employees with the power of arrest.  
  6.35     (2) The craft and trades unit consists of the positions of 
  6.36  all employees whose work requires specialized manual skills and 
  7.1   knowledge acquired through formal training or apprenticeship or 
  7.2   equivalent on-the-job training or experience.  
  7.3      (3) The service, maintenance, and labor unit consists of 
  7.4   the positions of all employees whose work is typically that of 
  7.5   maintenance, service, or labor and which does not require 
  7.6   extensive previous training or experience, except as provided in 
  7.7   unit 4.  
  7.8      (4) The health care nonprofessional and service unit 
  7.9   consists of the positions of all nonprofessional employees of 
  7.10  the University of Minnesota hospitals, dental school, and health 
  7.11  service whose work is unique to those settings, excluding labor 
  7.12  and maintenance employees as defined in unit 3.  
  7.13     (5) The nursing professional unit consists of all positions 
  7.14  which are required to be filled by registered nurses.  
  7.15     (6) The clerical and office unit consists of the positions 
  7.16  of all employees whose work is typically clerical or 
  7.17  secretarial, including nontechnical data recording and retrieval 
  7.18  and general office work, except as provided in unit 4.  
  7.19     (7) The technical unit consists of the positions of all 
  7.20  employees whose work is not typically manual and which requires 
  7.21  specialized knowledge or skills acquired through two-year 
  7.22  academic programs or equivalent experience or on-the-job 
  7.23  training, except as provided in unit 4.  
  7.24     (8) The Twin Cities instructional unit consists of the 
  7.25  positions of all instructional employees with the rank of 
  7.26  professor, associate professor, assistant professor, including 
  7.27  research associate or instructor, including research fellow, 
  7.28  located on the Twin Cities campuses.  
  7.29     (9) The outstate instructional unit consists of the 
  7.30  positions of all instructional employees with the rank of 
  7.31  professor, associate professor, assistant professor, including 
  7.32  research associate or instructor, including research fellow, 
  7.33  located at the Duluth campus, provided that the positions of 
  7.34  instructional employees of the same ranks at the Morris, 
  7.35  Crookston, or Waseca campuses shall be included within this unit 
  7.36  if a majority of the eligible employees voting at a campus so 
  8.1   vote during an election conducted by the commissioner, provided 
  8.2   that the election shall not be held until the Duluth campus has 
  8.3   voted in favor of representation.  The election shall be held 
  8.4   when an employee organization or group of employees petitions 
  8.5   the commissioner stating that a majority of the eligible 
  8.6   employees at one of these campuses wishes to join the unit and 
  8.7   this petition is supported by a showing of at least 30 percent 
  8.8   support from eligible employees at that campus and is filed 
  8.9   between September 1 and November 1.  
  8.10     Should both units 8 and 9 elect exclusive bargaining 
  8.11  representatives, those representatives may by mutual agreement 
  8.12  jointly negotiate a contract with the regents, or may negotiate 
  8.13  separate contracts with the regents.  If the exclusive 
  8.14  bargaining representatives jointly negotiate a contract with the 
  8.15  regents, the contract shall be ratified by each unit.  
  8.16     (10) The graduate assistant unit consists of the positions 
  8.17  of all graduate assistants who are enrolled in the graduate 
  8.18  school and who hold the rank of research assistant, teaching 
  8.19  assistant, teaching associate I or II, project assistant, or 
  8.20  administrative fellow I or II.  
  8.21     (11) The academic professional and administrative staff 
  8.22  unit consists of all academic professional and administrative 
  8.23  staff positions that are not defined as included in an 
  8.24  instructional unit, the supervisory unit, the clerical unit, or 
  8.25  the technical unit. 
  8.26     (12) The noninstructional professional unit consists of the 
  8.27  positions of all employees meeting the requirements of section 
  8.28  179A.03, subdivision 14 13, clause (a) or (b), which are not 
  8.29  defined as included within an instructional unit, the academic 
  8.30  professional and administrative staff unit, or the supervisory 
  8.31  unit.  
  8.32     (13) The supervisory employees unit consists of the 
  8.33  positions of all supervisory employees. 
  8.34     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 179A.16, 
  8.35  subdivision 7, is amended to read: 
  8.36     Subd. 7.  [DECISION BY THE ARBITRATOR OR PANEL.] The 
  9.1   decision must be issued by the arbitrator or a majority vote of 
  9.2   the panel.  The decision must resolve the issues in dispute 
  9.3   between the parties as submitted by the commissioner.  For 
  9.4   principals and assistant principals, the arbitrator or panel is 
  9.5   restricted to selecting between the final offers of the parties 
  9.6   on each impasse item.  For firefighters, the arbitrator or panel 
  9.7   is restricted to selecting between the final offer total package 
  9.8   of one party or the other unless, before the commissioner 
  9.9   certifies issues in dispute:  (1) either party specifies in 
  9.10  writing that the arbitrator or panel is required to resolve the 
  9.11  issues in dispute between the parties as submitted by the 
  9.12  commissioner; or (2) the parties agree in writing to restrict 
  9.13  the arbitrator or panel to selecting between the final offers of 
  9.14  the parties on each impasse item.  For other employees, if the 
  9.15  parties agree in writing, the arbitrator or panel is restricted 
  9.16  to selecting between the final offers of the parties on each 
  9.17  impasse item, or the final offer of one or the other parties in 
  9.18  its entirety.  In considering a dispute and issuing its 
  9.19  decision, the arbitrator or panel shall consider the statutory 
  9.20  rights and obligations of public employers to efficiently manage 
  9.21  and conduct their operations within the legal limitations 
  9.22  surrounding the financing of these operations.  The decision is 
  9.23  final and binding on all parties.  
  9.24     The arbitrator or panel shall render its decision within 30 
  9.25  days from the date that all arbitration proceedings have 
  9.26  concluded.  The arbitrator or panel may not request that the 
  9.27  parties waive their right to have the decision rendered within 
  9.28  30 days, unless the commissioner grants an extension of the 
  9.29  deadline.  The commissioner shall remove from the roster for six 
  9.30  months the name of any arbitrator who does not render the 
  9.31  decision within 30 days or within the extension granted by the 
  9.32  commissioner.  The commissioner shall adopt rules establishing 
  9.33  criteria to be followed in determining whether an extension 
  9.34  should be granted.  The decision must be for the period stated 
  9.35  in the decision, except that decisions determining contracts for 
  9.36  teacher units are effective to the end of the contract period 
 10.1   determined by section 179A.20.  
 10.2      The arbitrator or panel shall send its decision to the 
 10.3   commissioner, the appropriate representative of the public 
 10.4   employer, and the employees.  If any issues submitted to 
 10.5   arbitration are settled voluntarily before the arbitrator or 
 10.6   panel issues a decision, the arbitrator or panel shall report 
 10.7   the settlement to the commissioner.  
 10.8      The parties may, at any time before or after issuance of a 
 10.9   decision of the arbitrator or panel, agree upon terms and 
 10.10  conditions of employment regardless of the terms and conditions 
 10.11  of employment determined by the decision.  The parties shall, if 
 10.12  so agreeing, execute a written contract or memorandum of 
 10.13  contract. 
 10.14     Sec. 7.  [RATIFICATIONS.] 
 10.15     Subdivision 1.  [STATE UNIVERSITY FACULTY.] The labor 
 10.16  agreement between the state of Minnesota and the interfaculty 
 10.17  organization, as approved by the legislative coordinating 
 10.18  commission joint subcommittee on employee relations on July 11, 
 10.19  1996, is ratified. 
 10.20     Subd. 2.  [UNREPRESENTED MANAGERS; MINNESOTA STATE COLLEGES 
 10.21  AND UNIVERSITIES.] The compensation plan for excluded 
 10.22  administrators of the Minnesota state colleges and universities, 
 10.23  as approved by the legislative coordinating commission joint 
 10.24  subcommittee on employee relations on July 11, 1996, is ratified.
 10.25     Subd. 3.  [SALARIES FOR CERTAIN HEADS OF STATE 
 10.26  AGENCIES.] The proposal by the governor to increase the salaries 
 10.27  of certain heads of state agencies, as approved by the 
 10.28  legislative coordinating commission joint subcommittee on 
 10.29  employee relations on July 11, 1996, is ratified. 
 10.30     Subd. 4.  [TECHNICAL COLLEGE FACULTY.] The labor agreement 
 10.31  between the state of Minnesota and the united technical college 
 10.32  educators, as recommended by the legislative coordinating 
 10.33  commission subcommittee on employee relations on April 28, 1997, 
 10.34  is ratified. 
 10.35     Subd. 5.  [MANAGERIAL PLAN AMENDMENT.] The amendment to the 
 10.36  managerial plan as recommended by the legislative coordinating 
 11.1   commission subcommittee on employee relations on April 28, 1997, 
 11.2   is ratified. 
 11.3      Sec. 8.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 11.4      Section 7 is effective the day following final enactment.