I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4846 

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed 

by States or their political subdivisions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 19, 2018 

Mr. KILDEE (for himself and Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND POLICY. 

7 Congress declares that the following is the policy of 

8 the United States: 

9 (1) Labor-management relationships and part10 nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open 


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1 communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, 

2 and shared accountability. Labor-management co3 operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties 

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

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

6 quality work environment. In many public safety 

7 agencies, it is the union that provides the institu8 tional stability as elected leaders and appointees 

9 come and go. 

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

11 essential role in the efforts of the United States to 

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

13 to respond to natural disasters, hazardous materials, 

14 and other mass casualty incidents. State and local 

15 public safety officers, as first responders, are a com16 ponent of our Nation’s National Incident Manage17 ment System, developed by the Department of 

18 Homeland Security to coordinate response to and re19 covery from terrorism, major natural disasters, and 

20 other major emergencies. Public safety employer-em21 ployee cooperation is essential in meeting these 

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

23 (3) The Federal Government needs to encour24 age conciliation, mediation, and arbitration to aid 

25 and encourage employers and the representatives of 


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1 their employees to reach and maintain agreements 

2 concerning rates of pay, hours, and working condi3 tions, and to make all reasonable efforts through ne4 gotiations to settle their differences by mutual agree5 ment reached through collective bargaining or by 

6 such methods as may be provided for in any applica7 ble agreement for the settlement of disputes. 

8 (4) The absence of adequate cooperation be9 tween public safety employers and employees has im10 plications for the security of employees and can af11 fect interstate and intrastate commerce. The lack of 

12 such labor-management cooperation can detrimen13 tally impact the upgrading of law enforcement, fire, 

14 and emergency medical services of local commu15 nities, the health and well-being of public safety offi16 cers, and the morale of law enforcement, fire, and 

17 EMS departments. Additionally, these factors could 

18 have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover, 

19 providing minimal standards for collective bar20 gaining negotiations in the public safety sector can 

21 prevent industrial strife between labor and manage22 ment that interferes with the normal flow of com23 merce. 

24 (5) Many States and localities already provide 

25 public safety officers with collective bargaining 


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1 rights comparable to or greater than the rights and 

2 responsibilities set forth in this Act, and such State 

3 and local laws should be respected. 

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

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

7 the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 

8 (2) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 

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

10 term under applicable State law on the date of en11 actment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, 

12 the term means an individual, employed by a public 

13 safety employer, who— 

14 (A) is designated as confidential; and 

15 (B) is an individual who routinely assists, 

16 in a confidential capacity, supervisory employ17 ees and management employees. 

18 (3) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PER19 SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 

20 personnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of21 hospital emergency medical care, including an emer22 gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re23 sponder. 

24 (4) EMPLOYER; PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY; PUB25 LIC SAFETY EMPLOYER.—The terms ‘‘employer,’’ 


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1 ‘‘public safety agency,’’ and ‘‘public safety em2 ployer’’ mean any State, or political subdivision of a 

3 State, that employs public safety officers. 

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

5 the meaning given the term ‘‘employee engaged in 

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

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

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

9 organization’’ means an organization of any kind, in 

10 which employees participate and which exists for the 

11 purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employ12 ers concerning grievances, conditions of employment, 

13 and related matters. 

14 (7) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

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

16 such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 

17 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

18 10284(6)). 

19 (8) MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE.—The term 

20 ‘‘management employee’’ has the meaning given 

21 such term under applicable State law in effect on 

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

23 law is in effect, the term means an individual em24 ployed by a public safety employer in a position that 


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1 requires or authorizes the individual to formulate, 

2 determine, or influence the policies of the employer. 

3 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in4 dividual or a labor organization. 

5 (10) PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.—The term 

6 ‘‘public safety officer’’— 

7 (A) means an employee of a public safety 

8 agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire9 fighter, and/or an emergency medical services 

10 personnel; 

11 (B) includes an individual who is tempo12 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage13 ment position; and 

14 (C) does not include a permanent super15 visory, management, or confidential employee. 

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

17 the several States of the United States, the District 

18 of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the 

19 United States. 

20 (12) SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES.—The term 

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

22 the rights and responsibilities described in section 

23 4(b), means comparable to or greater than each 

24 right and responsibility described in such section. 


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1 (13) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su2 pervisory employee’’ has the meaning given such 

3 term under applicable State law in effect on the date 

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

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

6 public safety employer, who— 

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

8 employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re9 ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus10 pend, discipline, or remove public safety offi11 cers, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively 

12 recommend such action, if the exercise of the 

13 authority is not merely routine or clerical in na14 ture but requires the consistent exercise of 

15 independent judgment; and 

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

17 exercising such authority. 

18 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL19 ITIES. 

20 (a) DETERMINATION.— 

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

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author23 ity shall make a determination as to whether a State 

24 substantially provides for the rights and responsibil25 ities described in subsection (b). 


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1 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN2 IONS.—In making the determination described in 

3 paragraph (1), the Authority shall consider the opin4 ions of affected employers and labor organizations. 

5 In the case where the Authority is notified by an af6 fected employer and labor organization that both 

7 parties agree that the law applicable to such em8 ployer and labor organization substantially provides 

9 for the rights and responsibilities described in sub10 section (b), the Authority shall give such agreement 

11 weight to the maximum extent practicable in making 

12 the Authority’s determination under this subsection. 

13 (3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter14 mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 

15 shall be limited to the application of the criteria de16 scribed in subsection (b) and shall not require any 

17 additional criteria. 

18 (4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 

20 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef21 fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub22 sequent determination, in accordance with the 

23 procedures set forth in subparagraph (B) of 

24 this section. 


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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. 

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

20 determination described in subsection (a), the Authority 

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

22 required rights and responsibilities unless such law fails 

23 to provide rights and responsibilities comparable to or 

24 greater than the following: 


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1 (1) Granting public safety officers the right to 

2 form and join a labor organization, which may ex3 clude management employees, supervisory employ4 ees, and confidential employees, that is, or seeks to 

5 be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining represent6 ative of such employees. 

7 (2) Requiring public safety employers to recog8 nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen 

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

10 with the labor organization, and to commit any 

11 agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum 

12 of understanding. 

13 (3) Providing for the right to bargain over 

14 hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employ15 ment. 

16 (4) Providing for binding interest arbitration as 

17 a mechanism to resolve an impasse in collective bar18 gaining negotiations. 

19 (5) Requiring enforcement of all rights, respon20 sibilities, and protections enumerated in this section, 

21 and of any written contract or memorandum of un22 derstanding between a labor organization and a pub23 lic safety employer, through— 

24 (A) a State administrative agency, if the 

25 State so chooses; and/or 


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1 (B) any court of competent jurisdiction. 

2 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.—If the Au3 thority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under 

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

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

6 Act shall not preempt State law. 

7 (d) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

9 acting pursuant to its authority under subsection 

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

11 the rights and responsibilities described in sub12 section (b), then such State shall be subject to the 

13 regulations and procedures described in section 5 be14 ginning on the later of— 

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

16 of enactment of this Act; 

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

18 first regular session of the legislature of the 

19 State that begins after the date the Authority 

20 makes a determination under subsection (a)(1); 

21 or 

22 (C) in the case of a State receiving a sub23 sequent determination under subsection (a)(4), 

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

25 session of the legislature of the State that beVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jan 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4846.IH H4846

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1 gins after the date the Authority made the de2 termination. 

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

4 a determination that a State does not substantially 

5 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

6 in subsection (b) solely because the State law sub7 stantially provides for such rights and responsibil8 ities for certain categories of public safety officers 

9 covered by the Act but not others, the Authority 

10 shall identify those categories of public safety offi11 cers that shall be subject to the regulations and pro12 cedures described in section 5, pursuant to section 

13 8(b)(3) and beginning on the appropriate date de14 scribed in paragraph (1), and those categories of 

15 public safety officers that shall remain solely subject 

16 to State law with respect to the rights and respon17 sibilities described in subsection (b). 

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

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

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

21 regulations, in accordance with the rights and responsibil22 ities described in section 4(b), establishing collective bar23 gaining procedures for employers and public safety officers 

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1 suant to section 4(a), do not substantially provide for such 

2 rights and responsibilities. 

3 (b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU4 THORITY.—The Authority, to the extent provided in this 

5 Act and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 

6 Authority, shall— 

7 (1) determine the appropriateness of units for 

8 labor organization representation; 

9 (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine 

10 whether a labor organization has been selected as an 

11 exclusive representative by a voting majority of the 

12 employees in an appropriate unit; 

13 (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bar14 gain in good faith; 

15 (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of 

16 unfair labor practices; 

17 (5) resolve exceptions to the awards of arbitra18 tors; 

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

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

21 from any such activity, freely and without fear of 

22 penalty or reprisal, and protect each employee in the 

23 exercise of such right; and 

24 (7) take such other actions as are necessary 

25 and appropriate to effectively administer this Act, 


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1 including issuing subpoenas requiring the attendance 

2 and testimony of witnesses and the production of 

3 documentary or other evidence from any place in the 

4 United States, and administering oaths, taking or 

5 ordering the taking of depositions, ordering re6 sponses to written interrogatories, and receiving and 

7 examining witnesses. 

8 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

9 (1) AUTHORITY TO PETITION COURT.—The Au10 thority may petition any United States Court of Ap11 peals with jurisdiction over the parties, or the 

12 United States Court of Appeals for the District of 

13 Columbia Circuit, to enforce any final orders under 

14 this section, and for appropriate temporary relief or 

15 a restraining order. 

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

17 Authority has filed a petition for enforcement as 

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

19 to file suit in any appropriate district court of the 

20 United States to enforce compliance with the regula21 tions issued by the Authority pursuant to this sec22 tion, and to enforce compliance with any order 

23 issued by the Authority pursuant to this section. 

24 The right provided by this subsection to bring a suit 

25 to enforce compliance with any order issued by the 


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1 Authority pursuant to this section shall terminate 

2 upon the filing of a petition seeking the same relief 

3 by the Authority. Enforcement against a State shall 

4 be pursuant to section 8(b)(4). 

5 SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), an em7 ployer, public safety officer, or labor organization may not 

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

9 other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the 

10 delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel 

11 an employer, public safety officer, or labor organization 

12 to agree to the terms of a proposed contract. 

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

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

15 subdivision of any State with respect to strikes by public 

16 safety officers. 

17 SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 

18 AGREEMENTS. 

19 A certification, recognition, election-held, collective 

20 bargaining agreement, or memorandum of understanding 

21 that has been issued, approved, or ratified by any public 

22 employee relations board or commission or by any State 

23 or political subdivision or its agents and is in effect on 

24 the day before the date of enactment of this Act shall not 

25 be invalidated by the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

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

3 construed— 

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

5 and procedures of any law of any State or political 

6 subdivision of any State that provides comparable or 

7 greater rights and responsibilities than the rights 

8 and responsibilities described in section 4(b); 

9 (2) to prevent a State from enforcing a right10 to-work law that prohibits employers and labor orga11 nizations from negotiating provisions in a labor 

12 agreement that require union membership or pay13 ment of union fees as a condition of employment; 

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

15 on the date of enactment of this Act that provides 

16 for the rights and responsibilities described in sec17 tion 4(b) solely because such State law permits an 

18 employee to appear on the employee’s own behalf 

19 with respect to the employee’s employment relations 

20 with the public safety agency involved; 

21 (4) to prohibit a State from exempting from 

22 coverage under this Act a political subdivision of the 

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

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

25 (5) to preempt or limit the laws or ordinances 

26 of any State or political subdivision of a State that 


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1 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

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

3 does not require bargaining with respect to pension, 

4 retirement, or health benefits. 

5 For purposes of paragraph (4), the term ‘‘employee’’ in6 cludes each and every individual employed by the political 

7 subdivision except any individual elected by popular vote 

8 or appointed to serve on a board or commission. 

9 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

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

11 or the regulations promulgated under this Act shall 

12 be construed to require a State to rescind or pre13 empt the laws or ordinances of any of the State’s 

14 political subdivisions if such laws provide rights and 

15 responsibilities for public safety officers that are 

16 comparable to or greater than the rights and respon17 sibilities described in section 4(b). 

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

19 this Act or the regulations promulgated under this 

20 Act shall be construed to preempt— 

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

22 political subdivision of a State, if such laws pro23 vide collective bargaining rights for public safe24 ty officers that are comparable to or greater 

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


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1 (B) 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) with respect to certain categories of 

5 public safety officers covered by this Act solely 

6 because such rights and responsibilities have 

7 not been extended to other categories of public 

8 safety officers covered by this Act; or 

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

10 political subdivision of a State that provide for 

11 the rights and responsibilities described in sec12 tion 4(b), solely because such laws or ordi13 nances provide that a contract or memorandum 

14 of understanding between a public safety em15 ployer and a labor organization must be pre16 sented to a legislative body as part of the proc17 ess for approving such contract or memo18 randum of understanding. 

19 (3) LIMITED ENFORCEMENT POWER.—In the 

20 case of a law described in paragraph (2)(B), the Au21 thority shall only exercise the powers provided in 

22 section 5 with respect to those categories of public 

23 safety officers who have not been afforded the rights 

24 and responsibilities described in section 4(b). 


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1 (4) EXCLUSIVE ENFORCEMENT PROVISION.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of the Act, and 

3 in the absence of a waiver of a State’s sovereign im4 munity, the Authority shall have the exclusive power 

5 to enforce the provisions of this Act with respect to 

6 employees of a State. 

7 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

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

10 Act. 

Æ 


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