Bill Text: VA HB780 | 2024 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Collective bargaining by public employees; public transportation providers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-30 - Incorporated by Labor and Commerce [HB780 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB780-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§40.1-55, 40.1-57.2, and 40.1-57.3 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§40.1-55. Employee striking terminates, and becomes temporarily ineligible for, public employment.
A. Any employee of the Commonwealth, or of any county, city, town or other political subdivision thereof, or of any agency of any one of them, who, in concert with two or more other such employees, for the purpose of obstructing, impeding or suspending any activity or operation of his employing agency or any other governmental agency, strikes or willfully refuses to perform the duties of his employment shall, by such action, be deemed to have terminated his employment and shall thereafter be ineligible for employment in any position or capacity during the next 12 months by the Commonwealth, or any county, city, town or other political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or by any department or agency of any of them.
B. The provisions of subsection A shall apply to any employee
of any county, city, or
town, public transportation provider,
or local school board without regard to any local ordinance or resolution
adopted pursuant to §40.1-57.2 by such county, city, or
town, public transportation provider,
or school board that authorizes its employees to engage in collective
bargaining.
§40.1-57.2. Collective bargaining.
A. As used in this article, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"County, city, or town" includes any local school board and any public transportation provider.
"Public officers or employees" includes employees of a local school board or a public transportation provider.
"Public transportation provider" means:
1. A transportation district established pursuant to §33.2-1903;
2. A public service corporation as defined in §56-1 that is wholly owned by any county, city, or town or any combination thereof and provides public transportation services; or
3. Any other political subdivision comprising any county, city, or town or any combination thereof that provides public transportation services.
B.
No state, county, city, town, or like governmental officer, agent, or governing
body is vested with or possesses any authority to recognize any labor union or
other employee association as a bargaining agent of any public officers or
employees, or to collectively bargain or enter into any collective bargaining
contract with any such union or association or its agents with respect to any
matter relating to them or their employment or service unless, in the case of a
county, city, or town, such authority is provided for or permitted by a local
ordinance or by a resolution. Any such ordinance or resolution shall provide
for procedures for the certification and decertification of exclusive
bargaining representatives, including reasonable public notice and opportunity
for labor organizations to intervene in the process for designating an
exclusive representative of a bargaining unit. As
used in this section, "county, city, or town" includes any local
school board, and "public officers or employees" includes employees
of a local school board.
B. C. No ordinance or resolution
adopted pursuant to subsection A B shall include provisions
that restrict the governing body's authority to establish the budget or
appropriate funds.
C. D. For any governing body of a
county, city, or town that has not adopted an ordinance or resolution providing
for collective bargaining, such governing body shall, within 120 days of
receiving certification from a majority of public employees in a unit
considered by such employees to be appropriate for the purposes of collective
bargaining, take a vote to adopt or not adopt an ordinance or resolution to
provide for collective bargaining by such public employees and any other public
employees deemed appropriate by the governing body. For
the purposes of this section, the governing body of a public transportation provider
is (i) if
such public transportation provider is a transportation
district, the commission of such transportation district created pursuant to
Chapter 20 (§33.2-2000 et seq.) of Title 33.2; (ii) if
such public transportation provider is a public service corporation, the
board of directors of such public service corporation;
and (iii) if such public
transportation provider is a political subdivision, the governing body of such
political subdivision. Nothing in this subsection shall
require any governing body to adopt an ordinance or resolution authorizing
collective bargaining.
D. E. Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection A B regarding a local ordinance
or resolution granting or permitting collective bargaining, no officer elected
pursuant to Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution of Virginia or any
employee of such officer is vested with or possesses any authority to recognize
any labor union or other employee association as a bargaining agent of any
public officers or employees, or to collectively bargain or enter into any
collective bargaining contract with any such union or association or its
agents, with respect to any matter relating to them or their employment or
service.
§40.1-57.3. Certain activities permitted.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent
employees of the Commonwealth, of its political subdivisions, or of any
governmental agency of any of them from forming associations for the purpose of
promoting their interests before the employing agency and, if they are
employees of a county, city, or town or local school board
that has, by a local ordinance or resolution as provided in §40.1-57.2,
authorized its employees to engage in collective bargaining, from doing so as
provided in such ordinance or resolution.
