Bill Text: NY A00138 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to powers of the public employment relations board to assess damages; authorizes the board to assess exemplary damages upon a finding that an offending party has committed repeated improper practices or an egregious practice.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to governmental employees [A00138 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A00138-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 138 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to powers of the public employment relations board to assess damages The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 5 of section 205 of the civil 2 service law, as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 2006, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 (d) To establish procedures for the prevention of improper employer 5 and employee organization practices as provided in section two hundred 6 nine-a of this article, and to issue a decision and order directing an 7 offending party to cease and desist from any improper practice, and to 8 take such affirmative action as will effectuate the policies of this 9 article [(but not to assess exemplary damages)], including but not 10 limited to the reinstatement of employees with or without back pay and 11 the assessment of exemplary damages upon a finding that an offending 12 party has committed repeated improper practices or an egregious 13 practice; provided, however, that except as appropriate to effectuate 14 the policies of subdivision three of section two hundred nine-a of this 15 article, the board shall not have authority to enforce an agreement 16 between an employer and an employee organization and shall not exercise 17 jurisdiction over an alleged violation of such an agreement that would 18 not otherwise constitute an improper employer or employee organization 19 practice; provided further that, without limiting in any way the board's 20 general power to take affirmative action, including the provision to 21 make whole relief, the board's power to address employer violations of 22 cease and desist orders issued pursuant to this section in connection 23 with charges of unfair labor practices under paragraph (d) of subdivi- 24 sion one of section two hundred nine-a of this article shall include, to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01893-01-3A. 138 2 1 the extent the board deems appropriate, the authority to make employees 2 whole for the loss of pay and/or benefits resulting from the violation 3 of the cease and desist order and the underlying unfair labor practice 4 by providing that any agreement between the parties be given retroactive 5 effect to the date on which the unfair labor practice was found to have 6 commenced and by providing for appropriate interest from that date, 7 calculated using the short-term federal rate for the underpayment of 8 taxes as set out in 26 U.S.C. 6621.14, except that the make whole relief 9 provided for under this paragraph shall not be ordered when and to the 10 extent that the employee organization is also found to have refused to 11 bargain in good faith. When the board has determined that a duly recog- 12 nized or certified employee organization representing public employees 13 has breached its duty of fair representation in the processing or fail- 14 ure to process a claim alleging that a public employer has breached its 15 agreement with such employee organization, the board may direct the 16 employee organization and the public employer to process the contract 17 claim in accordance with the parties' grievance procedure. The board 18 may, in its discretion, retain jurisdiction to apportion between such 19 employee organization and public employer any damages assessed as a 20 result of such grievance procedure. The pendency of proceedings under 21 this paragraph shall not be used as the basis to delay or interfere with 22 determination of representation status pursuant to section two hundred 23 seven of this article or with collective negotiations. The board shall 24 exercise exclusive nondelegable jurisdiction of the powers granted to it 25 by this paragraph, in which connection, no finding of fact or law 26 contained in a report and recommendation of a hearing officer appointed 27 pursuant to subdivision two of section seventy-five of this chapter 28 shall preclude the resolution of any issue of fact or law in a subse- 29 quent proceeding held under procedures established by the board under 30 this paragraph; provided, however, that this sentence shall not apply to 31 the city of New York. The board of collective bargaining established by 32 section eleven hundred seventy-one of the New York city charter shall 33 establish procedures for the prevention of improper employer and employ- 34 ee organization practices as provided in section 12-306 of the adminis- 35 trative code of the city of New York, provided, however, that a party 36 aggrieved by a final order issued by the board of collective bargaining 37 in an improper practice proceeding may, within ten days after service of 38 the final order, petition the board for review thereof. Within twenty 39 days thereafter, the board, in its discretion, may assert jurisdiction 40 to review such final order. The failure or refusal of the board to 41 assert jurisdiction shall not be subject to judicial review. Upon the 42 refusal of the board to assert jurisdiction, an aggrieved party shall 43 have the right to seek review of the final order of the board of collec- 44 tive bargaining. Such proceeding to review shall be brought within thir- 45 ty days of the board's refusal and shall otherwise conform to the 46 requirements of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and 47 rules. If the board shall choose to review, it may affirm, or reverse in 48 whole or in part, or modify the final order, or remand the matter for 49 further proceedings, or make such other order as it may deem appropri- 50 ate, provided, however, that findings by the board of collective 51 bargaining regarding evidentiary matters and issues of credibility 52 regarding testimony of witnesses shall be final and not subject to board 53 review. 54 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
