Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Labor & Employment Law Blogs -> New York Public Personnel Law

Labor & Employment Law

: New York Public Personnel Law

General Municipal Law Section 209-m is operative only with respect to police departments having police officers in a negotiating unit

General Municipal Law Section 209-m is operative only with respect to police departments having police officers in a negotiating unit
Paradiso v Loeffler, 2009 NY Slip Op 01986, Decided on March 17, 2009,

The Village of Ocean Beach rejected Edward T. Paradiso?s application for, among other things, an increase in his annual compensation. Paradiso claimed he was entitled an increase in the amount of $2,174 pursuant to General Municipal Law Section 209-m(1) by reason of his being the head of the Village?s Police Department.

In pertinent part, GML 207-m(1) provides that "whenever the base salary or other compensation of the permanent full-time police officer who is a member of a negotiating unit and who is the highest ranking subordinate to the head of the police department in such unit, is increased, the salary . . . of the permanent full-time head of the police department shall be increased by at least the same dollar amount of the base salary increase received by the next subordinate police officer" (emphasis supplied).

Originally enacted in 1977, the purpose of Section 209-m "is to prevent the compression of salaries as between police department heads ? not members of negotiating units, and their subordinates who are [members of a negotiating unit]."

Although Supreme Court ruled that the Village was required to give Paradiso the $2174 salary increase, the Appellate Division reversed, holding that Section 209-m was not operative in Paradiso?s situation because his subordinate officers were not in a negotiating unit for the purposes of collective bargaining.

Section 207-m does not define the term "negotiating unit." The court, however, said that the legislative history of both the 1977 enactment, as well as 1999 amendments thereto, confirm that in seeking to avoid salary compression, the Legislature had in mind unionized police forces, whose members' salaries are the subject of collective bargaining within the meaning of the Taylor Law.

Noting that the Village?s police department ?is not unionized? and the salary paid to Paradiso?s ?highest paid subordinate? was not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the Appellate Division ruled that the Village had not violated Section 207-m when it rejected Paradiso?s request for the salary increase.

The full text of the decision is posted on the Internet at:
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_01986.htm

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on March 23, 2009 (boomark / email).