Bill Text: NY A10371 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to the negotiability of disciplinary procedures affecting police officers; provides that "terms and conditions of employment" shall include for all employees who are police officers under law, alternatives to any statutory or regulatory disciplinary provisions relating to the adjudication and disposition of disciplinary charges; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-18 - print number 10371a [A10371 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A10371-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                        10371--A
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                     April 18, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Governmental  Employees  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to the  negotiability
          of disciplinary procedures affecting police officers
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Legislative  findings  and  declarations.  The  legislature
     2  hereby  finds,  declares  and  reaffirms that the 1967 public employees'
     3  fair employment act establishes that the public policy of the state, and
     4  the purpose of such  act,  is  to  promote  harmonious  and  cooperative
     5  relationships  between  government  and its employees and to protect the
     6  public by assuring, at all times, the orderly and  uninterrupted  opera-
     7  tion and functions of government. Included among the policies adopted in
     8  1967,  and  continuing to date, is the requirement that public employers
     9  negotiate and enter into agreements with  employee  organizations  about
    10  terms and conditions of employment. Over the many years since the public
    11  employees'  fair  employment  act became the law and the declared public
    12  policy of this state, matters pertaining to employee discipline, includ-
    13  ing disciplinary procedures, have been negotiated into  many  collective
    14  bargaining  agreements covering all types of public employees, including
    15  police officers. The legislature now  declares  that  this  practice  of
    16  allowing  and requiring the negotiation of fair disciplinary protections
    17  and procedures for all public employees  must  continue.    Despite  the
    18  clarity  of  this  state's  policy  and law requiring negotiations about
    19  terms and conditions of employment, a few  court  decisions  have  erro-
    20  neously held that the law and "public policy" of the state is to prohib-
    21  it  absolutely  the  negotiation  of  disciplinary procedures for police
    22  officers whenever there exists laws on the  subject  of  police  officer
    23  discipline  that  were  enacted before 1958 when section 75 of the civil
    24  service law was enacted. The legislature declares a  necessity  for  the
    25  enactment  of  this  act  to  ensure  that  disciplinary procedures will
    26  continue as a mandatory subject of collective  negotiations  for  police
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15390-03-8
        A. 10371--A                         2
     1  officers  to  enhance the prohibition against strikes and to protect the
     2  delivery of vital public services.
     3    § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 201 of the civil service law, as amended
     4  by chapter 606 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
     5    4.  (a)  The term "terms and conditions of employment" means salaries,
     6  wages, hours and other terms  and  conditions  of  employment  provided,
     7  however, that such term shall not include any benefits provided by or to
     8  be  provided  by  a  public  retirement system, or payments to a fund or
     9  insurer to provide an income for retirees, or  payment  to  retirees  or
    10  their  beneficiaries.  No  such  retirement benefits shall be negotiated
    11  pursuant to this article, and any benefits so negotiated shall be void.
    12    (b) (i) Notwithstanding any other general  or  special  law,  rule  or
    13  regulation  to  the contrary, "terms and conditions of employment" shall
    14  include for all employees who are police officers under law alternatives
    15  to any statutory or regulatory disciplinary provisions relating  to  the
    16  adjudication and disposition of disciplinary charges except those charg-
    17  es  alleging  a police officer has used unlawful, unauthorized or exces-
    18  sive force in the course of employment.
    19    (ii) Nothing in this subdivision shall impair the right  of  a  public
    20  employee  under any state law to elect coverage under either a statutory
    21  disciplinary system or an alternative disciplinary system established by
    22  collective negotiations, unless any such state law requires  or  author-
    23  izes exclusivity of a negotiated disciplinary system.
    24    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.