Bill Text: CT SB00986 | 2015 | General Assembly | Introduced

Connecticut Senate Bill 986 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: An Act Requiring Employers To Enter Into Proprietary Interest Protection Agreements Prior To Receiving Financial Assistance From The State.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-27 - Public Hearing 03/03 [SB00986 Detail]

Download: Connecticut-2015-SB00986-Introduced.html


General Assembly		*Raised Bill No. 986*
*January Session, 2015*		LCO No. 3778
		03778_______LAB
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)

AN ACT REQUIRING EMPLOYERS TO ENTER INTO PROPRIETARY INTEREST PROTECTION AGREEMENTS PRIOR TO RECEIVING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM THE STATE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2015) (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Employer" means any individual or sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, trust, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, joint stock company, joint venture, association or other legal entity through which business for profit or not-for-profit is conducted that employs twenty-five or more employees in the state. Employer shall not include any municipal employer, as defined in subdivision (1) of section 7-467 of the general statutes;

(2) "State assistance" means any grant, loan, loan guarantee, tax benefit or contract, or combination thereof, that is made or awarded to an employer from the state or a state agent in an amount greater than one hundred thousand dollars and that shall be realized in a calendar year;

(3) "Labor organization" means any organization that exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment and currently represents employees in the state;

(4) "Proprietary interest protection agreement" means an agreement between an employer and a labor organization whereby the employer, labor organization and the labor organization's members agree to refrain from engaging in activities that may result in conflict or disruption of the employer's operations;

(5) "State" means the state of Connecticut, its executive and judicial branches, including without limitation, any board, department, commission, institution or agency of such branches or appropriate unit thereof and any board of trustees of a state-owned or supported college or university and branches thereof, public and quasi-public state corporation or authority established by state law; and

(6) "State agent" means any state official, state employee or other person authorized to enter into a contract or agreement or issue a grant on behalf of the state.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, on and after January 1, 2016, any employer that receives state assistance shall provide the state or state agent that awarded such assistance written confirmation that the employer has taken reasonable steps to avoid any labor conflict in the use of such state assistance. Such written confirmation shall include documentation that the employer has:

(1) If employees are represented by a labor organization, entered into a valid and binding collective bargaining agreement covering the terms and conditions of employment for all of its nonsupervisory employees that are responsible for executing any project funded in whole or in part through such state assistance;

(2) If the employees are represented by a labor organization, entered into a proprietary interest protection agreement covering the duration of the project funded in whole or in part through such state assistance. Such proprietary interest protection agreement shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(A) Employee preferences regarding whether to join or be represented by a labor organization for collective bargaining purposes, and if so, the identity of such labor organization. Any decision to be represented by a labor organization pursuant to this subparagraph shall be determined based on signed authorization cards in a card check procedure conducted by a neutral third party in lieu of a formal election;

(B) An agreement that the employer and the labor organization shall refrain from the use of intimidation, reprisal, threats of reprisal or other conduct intended to coerce or otherwise influence employees in their decision whether to join or be represented by any labor organization; and

(C) An agreement that the labor organization and its members shall refrain from engaging in any activity that may disrupt or interfere with the employer's operations, including, but not limited to, strikes, boycotts, work stoppages or picketing provided the employer complies with the terms of the proprietary interest protection agreement.

(c) The state or state agent that issues, reviews or approves any state assistance shall, prior to awarding such state assistance to an employer, notify such employer of the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.

(d) Nothing in this section shall require an employer to recognize a particular labor organization as the exclusive bargaining agent as a prerequisite of receiving state assistance.

(e) If an employer violates any provision of this section, the state or state agent that awarded such state assistance may modify or terminate the terms of the state assistance awarded to the employer.

(f) Any employer that knowingly or wilfully violates any provision of this section shall be disqualified from receiving any state assistance from the state or any state agent for not less than one year from the date such violation is discovered.


This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1	October 1, 2015	New section

Statement of Purpose:

To require employers who receive financial assistance of one hundred thousand dollars or more from the state or state agent to enter into preliminary agreements with labor organizations as a condition of receiving such financial assistance.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]