RE: Public Employee Collective Bargaining Laws
You asked for a summary and comparison of the statutory procedures and timetables under the collective bargaining laws for teachers, municipal employees, and state employees.
Connecticut has three collective bargaining laws covering teachers, municipal employees, and state employees respectively. The laws are similar in many ways but also contain significant differences.
The scope of collective bargaining is generally the same for all three groups and encompasses wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. The major difference in the scope of bargaining is that teachers do not bargain over retirement issues since the Teachers Retirement Fund is administered and funded by the state. all three groups are prohibited from going on strike.
As for the negotiations timetables, the municipal and state employee laws set their timetables based on a contract expiration date while the teacher law works back from the local budget submission date. The teacher law is the only one that requires a contract to be in place by a certain date. The municipal and state employee laws allow the parties to agree to waive all negotiation deadlines.
All three laws contain requirements for legislative approval of negotiated settlements. A negotiated agreement, together with a request for funds to implement it is submitted to the appropriate legislative body (local in the case of teachers and municipal employees; the General Assembly in the case of state employees) within a certain time after the agreement is concluded. The legislative body may approve or reject the agreement by a majority vote.
Impasse resolution procedures in the three laws are similar. All three provide for mediation and arbitration. All three require mandatory, last-best-offer binding arbitration but the statutory procedures are slightly different. For example, the municipal and teacher laws require a three-member arbitration panel or single arbitrators chosen from permanent panels while the state employee law requires a single arbitrator agreed to by the parties. There is no permanent state employee arbitration panel.
The biggest difference among the three laws with respect to arbitration is the finality of awards. Although all three allow legislative bodies to reject initial awards by a two-thirds vote, the municipal and teacher laws require a second, binding arbitration on a rejected award while the state employee law requires the parties to resume negotiations. If those negotiations reach impasse, there is a second arbitration. The second arbitration award is submitted to the General Assembly according to the regular timetable. The assembly can reject it again and the parties must resume negotiations again. Theoretically, this could happen an infinite number of times. Local legislative bodies may reject a first arbitration award on any grounds while the General Assembly may reject a state employee award only on the grounds of insufficient funds.
STATUTORY PROCESSES AND TIMETABLES
Table 1 below compares the statutory processes and timetables set forth in each of the three laws. Not all the laws contain all the steps. Where a articular part of the process is not applicable, it is noted in the table.
Table 1 shows the processes from beginning to end assuming impasses at all intermediate steps. Table 2 shows the three processes for legislative approval of collective bargaining agreements. This table is included to show what happens if the parties reach agreement at any point before arbitration begins.
BASIS OF ARBITRATION DECISIONS
All three laws require arbitrators to consider certain factors in arriving at their decisions. Like other provisions, the criteria in each law are similar but not always identical to those in the others. Table 3 compares the decision criteria listed in the three laws.
Table 1: Public Employee Collective Bargaining Timetables
Step in Process
Teachers
Municipal Employees
State Employees
Before negotiations begin
Local board of education meets with local financial authority 240 days prior to local budget submission date
Either party serves notice on other of desire to begin negotiations: 180-150 days prior to contract expiration or 60-30 days prior to effective date of wage reopener
Begin negotiations (if agreement is reached, see appropriate column of Table 2)
210 days prior to budget submission
120 days prior to contract expiration, or if an original contract for a new bargaining unit, 30 days after the unit is certified by the State Board of Labor Relations or recognized by the employer
Within 30 days of service of notice (20 days for wage reopener); 150-120 days prior to contract expiration
Begin mediation (if agreement, see Table 2)
160 days prior to budget submission
70 days prior to contract expiration or 80 days after unit certification or recognition (or earlier at the request of either party)
After negotiations have started, whenever parties jointly request
Education commissioner may recommend settlement
135 days prior to budget submission
Begin arbitration
135 days prior to budget submission
30 days after contract expires or after date specified for beginning of reopener negotiations or for reopener implementation; or 180 days after unit certification or recognition (or earlier at the request of either party)
After a reasonable negotiation period or, in the case of negotiations to revise an existing agreement concerning wages, hours, or other employment conditions, after 90 days
Parties select own arbitrators
135 days prior to budget submission
40 days after contract expires (10 days after arbitration begins)
Neutral arbitrator selected
130 days prior to budget submission (by education commissioner randomly from a panel of neutral arbitrators)
45 days after contract expires or 15 days after arbitration begins (two party arbitrators jointly select a third, neutral arbitrator from the MERA panel of neutral arbitrators)
Parties mutually select a single arbitrator within 10 days after filing for arbitration. If parties cannot agree, selection is made using voluntary labor arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association
Arbitrators send written notice of time and place of hearings
At least 5 days before hearing
50 days after contract expires or 20 days after arbitration begins
At least 10 days before hearing
Pre-hearing submissions
Parties submit proposed agreements to each other 53 days after contract expires or 23 days after arbitration begins
Parties file last best offers before hearing begins
Hearings begin
125-118 days prior to budget submission date (between the 5th and the 12th day after the selection of the neutral arbitrator)
55 days after contract expires or 25 days after arbitration begins. When hearings begin, each party files statement of which parts of the other party ' s proposal it will accept and which it rejects, together with alternatives to the rejected language
20 days after arbitrator is selected
Hearings end
100-93 days prior to budget submission (25 days after hearings begin)
75 days after contract expires or 45 days after arbitration begins (20 days after hearings begin)
30 days after start unless extended by parties ' joint request or by arbitrator
Arbitrators send parties a statement of resolved and unresolved issues
80 days after contract expires or 50 days after arbitration begins
Parties file last best offers
No specific time set
85 days after contract expires or 55 days after arbitration begins
(Before hearings, see above)
Parties file briefs on unresolved issues
92 days after contract expires or 62 days after arbitration begins
Parties file reply briefs
97 days after contract expires or 67 days after arbitration begins
7 days after receiving briefs
First award deadline
80-73 days prior to budget submission (20 days after hearing ends)
117 days after contract expires or 87 days after arbitration begins
20 days after reply brief filing
Award submitted to General Assembly with statement of funds necessary to implement
Within 10 days after award is distributed if the General Assembly is in session or within 10 days of first day of next regular or special session called to consider awards
Deadline for General Assembly to reject awards
Within 30 days of submission. If General Assembly fails to reject award by a two-thirds vote of one house, contract is considered approved. If rejected, parties return to negotiations.
Deadline for local legislative body to reject first award
55-48 days prior to budget submission (25 days after receiving award)
142 days after contract expires (25 days after receiving award)
Legislative body files written reasons for rejection with state and union
45-38 days prior to budget submission (10 days after vote to reject)
152 days after contract expires (10 days after vote to reject)
Union and school board (if applicable) file written response to rejection with state
35-28 days prior to budget submission (10 days after receiving notice of rejection)
162 days after contract expires (10 days after receiving notice of rejection)
Appointment of second arbitration panel
Review of prior arbitration completed
15-8 days prior to budget submission (20 days after second panel appointed)
182 days after contract expires (20 days after second panel appointed)
Second decision issued
10-3 days prior to budget submission (25 days after second panel appointed)
187 days after contract expires (25 days after second panel appointed)
Table 2: Collective Bargaining Agreement Approval Timetables
Teachers
Municipal Employees
State Employees
Collective bargaining agreements must be filed “forthwith” with the town clerk by the local board of education. Agreements may be rejected by the local legislative body at a regular or special meeting held within 30 days of the filing. If the agreement is rejected, mandatory binding arbitration ensues (see Table 1).
Collective bargaining agreements must be submitted by the municipal bargaining representative to the local legislative body within 14 days. Agreements are considered approved unless the legislative body rejects them within 30 days of submission. If rejected, mandatory binding arbitration ensues (see Table 1).
Collective bargaining agreements must be submitted to the General Assembly within 10 days if the assembly is in session. If not, within 10 days of the first day of the next regular or special session called to consider agreements. The general Assembly has 30 days to reject an agreement by majority vote of one house. If an agreement is rejected, parties resume negotiations.
Table 3: Statutory Bases for Arbitrators ' Decisions
State Employees
Municipal Employees
Teachers
1. State ' s ability to pay
1. Arbitrators must give priority to the public interest and financial capability of the municipal employer including other demands on its financial capability. All other factors must be evaluated in light of the town ' s financial capability.
1. Same as municipal employees
2. History of negotiations between the parties including those leading to the arbitration proceeding
2. Same, except must include the offers and discussion of issues
3. Existing employment conditions of similar groups of employees
3. Existing employment conditions of the employee group and that of similar groups
3. Same as municipal employees
4. Wages, fringe benefits, and working conditions prevailing in the labor market
4. Same, except must include developments in private sector wages and benefits
4. Same except specifies the “state labor market” and requires consideration to include terms of recent contract settlements or awards in the private sector and for other municipal employee groups
5. Overall compensation to the employee involved including direct wages, overtime, and premium pay; vacations; holidays, and other leave; insurance; pensions; medical and hospitalization benefits; food and apparel furnished; and other benefits received
5. No similar criterion
5. No similar criterion
6. Changes in cost of living
6. Same except changes must be averaged over preceding three years
7. The interest and welfare of the employees