II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1611 

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed 

by States or their political subdivisions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2009 

Mr. GREGG (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. DODD, Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. HARKIN, Ms. SNOWE, and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety 

officers employed by States or their political subdivisions. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Em5 ployer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE AND POLICY. 

7 The Congress declares that the following is the policy 

8 of the United States: 


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1 (1) Labor-management relationships and part2 nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open 

3 communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, 

4 and shared accountability. Labor-management co5 operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties 

6 to best serve the interests of the public, operating as 

7 a team, to carry out the public safety mission in a 

8 quality work environment. In many public safety 

9 agencies, it is the union that provides the institu10 tional stability as elected leaders and appointees 

11 come and go. 

12 (2) State and local public safety officers play an 

13 essential role in the efforts of the United States to 

14 detect, prevent, and respond to terrorist attacks, and 

15 to respond to natural disasters, hazardous materials, 

16 and other mass casualty incidents. State and local 

17 public safety officers, as first responders, are a com18 ponent of our Nation’s National Incident Manage19 ment System, developed by the Department of 

20 Homeland Security to coordinate response to and re21 covery from terrorism, major natural disasters, and 

22 other major emergencies. Public safety employer-em23 ployee cooperation is essential in meeting these 

24 needs and is, therefore, in the National interest. 


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1 (3) The Federal Government needs to encour2 age conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitra3 tion to aid and encourage employers and the rep4 resentatives of their employees to reach and main5 tain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and 

6 working conditions, and to make all reasonable ef7 forts through negotiations to settle their differences 

8 by mutual agreement reached through collective bar9 gaining or by such methods as may be provided for 

10 in any applicable agreement for the settlement of 

11 disputes. 

12 (4) The absence of adequate cooperation be13 tween public safety employers and employees has im14 plications for the security of employees and can af15 fect interstate and intrastate commerce. The lack of 

16 such labor-management cooperation can detrimen17 tally impact the upgrading of police and fire services 

18 of local communities, the health and well-being of 

19 public safety officers, and the morale of the fire and 

20 police departments. Additionally, these factors could 

21 have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover, 

22 providing minimal standards for collective bar23 gaining negotiations in the public safety sector can 

24 prevent industrial strife between labor and manageVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:04 Aug 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 ment that interferes with the normal flow of com2 merce. 

3 (5) Many States and localities already provide 

4 public safety officers with collective bargaining 

5 rights comparable to or greater than the rights and 

6 responsibilities set forth in this Act, and such State 

7 and local laws should be respected. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 

11 the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 

12 (2) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 

13 ‘‘confidential employee’’ has the meaning given such 

14 term under applicable State law on the date of en15 actment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, 

16 the term means an individual, employed by a public 

17 safety employer, who— 

18 (A) is designated as confidential; and 

19 (B) is an individual who routinely assists, 

20 in a confidential capacity, supervisory employ21 ees and management employees. 

22 (3) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PER23 SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 

24 personnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of25 hospital emergency medical care, including an emerVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:04 Aug 07, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1611.IS S1611

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1 gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re2 sponder. 

3 (4) EMPLOYER; PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY.—The 

4 terms ‘‘employer’’ and ‘‘public safety agency’’ mean 

5 any State, or political subdivision of a State, that 

6 employs public safety officers. 

7 (5) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has 

8 the meaning given the term ‘‘employee engaged in 

9 fire protection activities’’ in section 3(y) of the Fair 

10 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)). 

11 (6) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 

12 organization’’ means an organization composed in 

13 whole or in part of employees, in which employees 

14 participate, and which represents such employees be15 fore public safety agencies concerning grievances, 

16 conditions of employment, and related matters. 

17 (7) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

18 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given 

19 such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 

20 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 

21 3796b). 

22 (8) MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE.—The term 

23 ‘‘management employee’’ has the meaning given 

24 such term under applicable State law in effect on 

25 the date of enactment of this Act. If no such State 


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1 law is in effect, the term means an individual em2 ployed by a public safety employer in a position that 

3 requires or authorizes the individual to formulate, 

4 determine, or influence the policies of the employer. 

5 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in6 dividual or a labor organization. 

7 (10) PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.—The term 

8 ‘‘public safety officer’’— 

9 (A) means an employee of a public safety 

10 agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire11 fighter, or an emergency medical services per12 sonnel; 

13 (B) includes an individual who is tempo14 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage15 ment position; and 

16 (C) does not include a permanent super17 visory, management, or confidential employee. 

18 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

19 the several States of the United States, the District 

20 of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the 

21 United States. 

22 (12) SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES.—The term 

23 ‘‘substantially provides’’, when used with respect to 

24 the rights and responsibilities described in section 


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1 4(b), means compliance with each right and respon2 sibility described in such section. 

3 (13) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su4 pervisory employee’’ has the meaning given such 

5 term under applicable State law in effect on the date 

6 of enactment of this Act. If no such State law is in 

7 effect, the term means an individual, employed by a 

8 public safety employer, who— 

9 (A) has the authority in the interest of the 

10 employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re11 ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus12 pend, discipline, or remove public safety offi13 cers, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively 

14 recommend such action, if the exercise of the 

15 authority is not merely routine or clerical in na16 ture but requires the consistent exercise of 

17 independent judgment; and 

18 (B) devotes a majority of time at work to 

19 exercising such authority. 

20 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL21 ITIES. 

22 (a) DETERMINATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author25 ity shall make a determination as to whether a State 


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1 substantially provides for the rights and responsibil2 ities described in subsection (b). 

3 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN4 IONS.—In making the determination described in 

5 paragraph (1), the Authority shall consider the opin6 ions of affected employers and labor organizations. 

7 In the case where the Authority is notified by an af8 fected employer and labor organization that both 

9 parties agree that the law applicable to such em10 ployer and labor organization substantially provides 

11 for the rights and responsibilities described in sub12 section (b), the Authority shall give such agreement 

13 weight to the maximum extent practicable in making 

14 the Authority’s determination under this subsection. 

15 (3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter16 mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 

17 shall be limited to the application of the criteria de18 scribed in subsection (b) and shall not require any 

19 additional criteria. 

20 (4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 

22 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef23 fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub24 sequent determination, in accordance with the 

25 procedures set forth in subparagraph (B). 


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1 (B) PROCEDURES FOR SUBSEQUENT DE2 TERMINATIONS.—Upon establishing that a ma3 terial change in State law or its interpretation 

4 has occurred, an employer or a labor organiza5 tion may submit a written request for a subse6 quent determination. If satisfied that a material 

7 change in State law or its interpretation has oc8 curred, the Authority shall issue a subsequent 

9 determination not later than 30 days after re10 ceipt of such request. 

11 (5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person or em12 ployer aggrieved by a determination of the Authority 

13 under this section may, during the 60-day period be14 ginning on the date on which the determination was 

15 made, petition any United States Court of Appeals 

16 in the circuit in which the person or employer re17 sides or transacts business or in the District of Co18 lumbia circuit, for judicial review. In any judicial re19 view of a determination by the Authority, the proce20 dures contained in subsections (c) and (d) of section 

21 7123 of title 5, United States Code, shall be fol22 lowed. 

23 (b) RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In making a 

24 determination described in subsection (a), the Authority 

25 shall consider a State’s law to substantially provide the 


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1 required rights and responsibilities unless such law fails 

2 to provide rights and responsibilities comparable to or 

3 greater than the following: 

4 (1) Granting public safety officers the right to 

5 form and join a labor organization, which may ex6 clude management employees, supervisory employ7 ees, and confidential employees, that is, or seeks to 

8 be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining represent9 ative of such employees. 

10 (2) Requiring public safety employers to recog11 nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen 

12 by a majority of the employees), to agree to bargain 

13 with the labor organization, and to commit any 

14 agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum 

15 of understanding. 

16 (3) Providing for the right to bargain over 

17 hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employ18 ment. 

19 (4) Making available an interest impasse resolu20 tion mechanism, such as fact-finding, mediation, ar21 bitration, or comparable procedures. 

22 (5) Requiring enforcement of all rights, respon23 sibilities, and protections provided by State law and 

24 enumerated in this section, and of any written con25 tract or memorandum of understanding between a 


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1 labor organization and a public safety employer, 

2 through— 

3 (A) a State administrative agency, if the 

4 State so chooses; and 

5 (B) at the election of an aggrieved party, 

6 the State courts. 

7 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.—If the Au8 thority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under 

9 subsection (a), that a State substantially provides rights 

10 and responsibilities described in subsection (b), then this 

11 Act shall not preempt State law. 

12 (d) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Authority determines, 

14 acting pursuant to its authority under subsection 

15 (a), that a State does not substantially provide for 

16 the rights and responsibilities described in sub17 section (b), then such State shall be subject to the 

18 regulations and procedures described in section 5 be19 ginning on the later of— 

20 (A) the date that is 2 years after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act; 

22 (B) the date that is the last day of the 

23 first regular session of the legislature of the 

24 State that begins after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act; or 


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1 (C) in the case of a State receiving a sub2 sequent determination under subsection (a)(4), 

3 the date that is the last day of the first regular 

4 session of the legislature of the State that be5 gins after the date the Authority made the de6 termination. 

7 (2) PARTIAL FAILURE.—If the Authority makes 

8 a determination that a State does not substantially 

9 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

10 in subsection (b) solely because the State law sub11 stantially provides for such rights and responsibil12 ities for certain categories of public safety officers 

13 covered by the Act but not others, the Authority 

14 shall identify those categories of public safety offi15 cers that shall be subject to the regulations and pro16 cedures described in section 5, pursuant to section 

17 8(b)(3) and beginning on the appropriate date de18 scribed in paragraph (1), and those categories of 

19 public safety officers that shall remain subject to 

20 State law. 

21 SEC. 5. ROLE OF FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue 

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1 gaining procedures for employers and public safety officers 

2 in States which the Authority has determined, acting pur3 suant to section 4(a), do not substantially provide for such 

4 rights and responsibilities. 

5 (b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU6 THORITY.—The Authority, to the extent provided in this 

7 Act and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 

8 Authority, shall— 

9 (1) determine the appropriateness of units for 

10 labor organization representation; 

11 (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine 

12 whether a labor organization has been selected as an 

13 exclusive representative by a voting majority of the 

14 employees in an appropriate unit; 

15 (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bar16 gain in good faith; 

17 (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of 

18 unfair labor practices; 

19 (5) resolve exceptions to the awards of arbitra20 tors; 

21 (6) protect the right of each employee to form, 

22 join, or assist any labor organization, or to refrain 

23 from any such activity, freely and without fear of 

24 penalty or reprisal, and protect each employee in the 

25 exercise of such right; and 


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1 (7) take such other actions as are necessary 

2 and appropriate to effectively administer this Act, 

3 including issuing subpoenas requiring the attendance 

4 and testimony of witnesses and the production of 

5 documentary or other evidence from any place in the 

6 United States, and administering oaths, taking or 

7 ordering the taking of depositions, ordering re8 sponses to written interrogatories, and receiving and 

9 examining witnesses. 

10 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

11 (1) AUTHORITY TO PETITION COURT.—The Au12 thority may petition any United States Court of Ap13 peals with jurisdiction over the parties, or the 

14 United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

15 Columbia Circuit, to enforce any final orders under 

16 this section, and for appropriate temporary relief or 

17 a restraining order. Any petition under this section 

18 shall be conducted in accordance with subsections 

19 (c) and (d) of section 7123 of title 5, United States 

20 Code. 

21 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Unless the 

22 Authority has filed a petition for enforcement as 

23 provided in paragraph (1), any party has the right 

24 to file suit in any appropriate district court of the 

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1 tions issued by the Authority pursuant to subsection 

2 (b), and to enforce compliance with any order issued 

3 by the Authority pursuant to this section. The right 

4 provided by this subsection to bring a suit to enforce 

5 compliance with any order issued by the Authority 

6 pursuant to this section shall terminate upon the fil7 ing of a petition seeking the same relief by the Au8 thority. 

9 SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), an em11 ployer, public safety officer, or labor organization may not 

12 engage in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any 

13 other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the 

14 delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel 

15 an employer, public safety officer, or labor organization 

16 to agree to the terms of a proposed contract. 

17 (b) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section shall 

18 be construed to preempt any law of any State or political 

19 subdivision of any State with respect to strikes by public 

20 safety officers. 

21 SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 

22 AGREEMENTS. 

23 A certification, recognition, election-held, collective 

24 bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding 

25 which has been issued, approved, or ratified by any public 


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1 employee relations board or commission or by any State 

2 or political subdivision or its agents (management offi3 cials) and is in effect on the day before the date of enact4 ment of this Act shall not be invalidated by the enactment 

5 of this Act. 

6 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

7 (a) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

8 construed— 

9 (1) to preempt or limit the remedies, rights, 

10 and procedures of any law of any State or political 

11 subdivision of any State that provides greater or 

12 comparable rights and responsibilities than the 

13 rights and responsibilities described in section 4(b); 

14 (2) to prevent a State from enforcing a right15 to-work law that prohibits employers and labor orga16 nizations from negotiating provisions in a labor 

17 agreement that require union membership or pay18 ment of union fees as a condition of employment; 

19 (3) to preempt or limit any State law in effect 

20 on the date of enactment of this Act that provides 

21 for the rights and responsibilities described in sec22 tion 4(b) solely because such State law permits an 

23 employee to appear on the employee’s own behalf 

24 with respect to the employee’s employment relations 

25 with the public safety agency involved; 


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1 (4) to preempt or limit any State law in effect 

2 on the date of enactment of this Act that provides 

3 for the rights and responsibilities described in sec4 tion 4(b) solely because such State law excludes 

5 from its coverage employees of a State militia or na6 tional guard; 

7 (5) to permit parties in States subject to the 

8 regulations and procedures described in section 5 to 

9 negotiate provisions that would prohibit an employee 

10 from engaging in part-time employment or volunteer 

11 activities during off-duty hours; 

12 (6) to prohibit a State from exempting from 

13 coverage under this Act a political subdivision of the 

14 State that has a population of less than 5,000 or 

15 that employs less than 25 full-time employees; or 

16 (7) to preempt or limit the laws or ordinances 

17 of any State or political subdivision of a State that 

18 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

19 in section 4(b) solely because such law or ordinance 

20 does not require bargaining with respect to pension, 

21 retirement, or health benefits. 

22 For purposes of paragraph (6), the term ‘‘employee’’ in23 cludes each and every individual employed by the political 

24 subdivision except any individual elected by popular vote 

25 or appointed to serve on a board or commission. 


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1 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

2 (1) ACTIONS OF STATES.—Nothing in this Act 

3 or the regulations promulgated under this Act shall 

4 be construed to require a State to rescind or pre5 empt the laws or ordinances of any of the State’s 

6 political subdivisions if such laws provide rights and 

7 responsibilities for public safety officers that are 

8 comparable to or greater than the rights and respon9 sibilities described in section 4(b). 

10 (2) ACTIONS OF THE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

11 this Act or the regulations promulgated under this 

12 Act shall be construed to preempt— 

13 (A) the laws or ordinances of any State or 

14 political subdivision of a State, if such laws pro15 vide collective bargaining rights for public safe16 ty officers that are comparable to or greater 

17 than the rights enumerated in section 4(b); 

18 (B) the laws or ordinances of any State or 

19 political subdivision of a State that provide for 

20 the rights and responsibilities described in sec21 tion 4(b) with respect to certain categories of 

22 public safety officers covered by this Act solely 

23 because such rights and responsibilities have 

24 not been extended to other categories of public 

25 safety officers covered by this Act; or 


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1 (C) the laws or ordinances of any State or 

2 political subdivision of a State that provide for 

3 the rights and responsibilities described in sec4 tion 4(b), solely because such laws or ordi5 nances provide that a contract or memorandum 

6 of understanding between a public safety em7 ployer and a labor organization must be pre8 sented to a legislative body as part of the proc9 ess for approving such contract or memo10 randum of understanding. 

11 (3) LIMITED ENFORCEMENT POWER.—In the 

12 case of a law described in paragraph (2)(B), the Au13 thority shall only exercise the powers provided in 

14 section 5 with respect to those categories of public 

15 safety officers who have not been afforded the rights 

16 and responsibilities described in section 4(b). 

17 (4) EXCLUSIVE ENFORCEMENT PROVISION.— 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of the Act, and 

19 in the absence of a waiver of a State’s sovereign im20 munity, the Authority shall have the exclusive power 

21 to enforce the provisions of this Act with respect to 

22 employees of a State. 


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1 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

3 as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this 

4 Act. 

Æ 


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