Labor & Employment Law

Decisions by the Public Employment Relations Board

Managerial positions: Incumbents of positions of Campus-wide Academic Deans at a community college are excluded from the faculty negotiating unit in view of their campus-wide responsibility for supervision and formulating policy notwithstanding the fact that other dean positions such as Dean of Students, Dean of Student Development and Dean of Retention Services are currently in the negotiating unit. [Matter of Administrators Association of Erie Community College, 33 PERB 3023]

Change in terms and conditions of employment: The fact that earlier executive orders did not specifically direct employees to report incidents involving criminal activity such as fraud and corruption under threat of disciplinary action for non-compliance now set out in newly promulgated executive orders does not constitute evidence of a change in the terms and conditions of employment subject to mandatory collective bargaining. [Public Employees Federation v State of New York, 33 PERB 3024]

Payroll deductions: Although a letter ruling by the Internal Revenue Service advised the employer that it had the discretion to withhold income tax from the wages of individuals on workers? compensation leave or receiving benefit pursuant to Section 207-c of the General Municipal Law bi-weekly and reimburse the employee for such deductions annually or elect not to make such deductions, it was an improper practice for the employer to change its procedure from not making such deductions to making bi-weekly deductions without first negotiating the change with the employee organization even where the claim for such benefits was controverted by the employer since the exercise of discretion is generally subject to a duty to bargain. [Matter of Westchester County Correction Officers Benevolent Association, 33 PERB 3025]

Statute of limitation: The statute of limitations begins to run on the date of the injury, here the date when the union first learned of the change in the disciplinary procedure rather than the date on which discipline against an individual was implemented. [Matter of Local 100 TWU, 33 PERB 3026]

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on January 13, 2011 (boomark / email).