I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1249

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed 

by States or their political subdivisions. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2005

Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. NEY, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BONNER, 

Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DICKS, Mr. ENGLISH

of Pennsylvania, Mr. FARR, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GREEN of 

Wisconsin, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. 

KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, 

Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER

of California, Mr. OLVER, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. SABO, Mr. 

SHAYS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. SIMMONS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, 

Ms. SOLIS, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. 

PETERSON of Minnesota, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WEINER, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, and Mr. KUHL of New York) 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Em3 ployer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE AND POLICY. 

5 Congress declares that the following is the policy of 

6 the United States: 

7 (1) Labor-management relationships and part8 nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open 

9 communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, 

10 and shared accountability. Labor-management co11 operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties 

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

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

14 quality work environment. In many public safety 

15 agencies it is the union that provides the institu16 tional stability as elected leaders and appointees 

17 come and go. 

18 (2) The health and safety of the Nation and the 

19 best interests of public safety employers and employ20 ees can be best protected by the settlement of issues 

21 through the processes of collective bargaining. 

22 (3) The Federal Government needs to encour23 age conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitra24 tion to aid and encourage employers and the rep25 resentatives of their employees to reach and main26 tain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and 
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1 working conditions, and to make all reasonable ef2 forts through negotiations to settle their differences 

3 by mutual agreement reached through collective bar4 gaining or by such methods as may be provided for 

5 in any applicable agreement for the settlement of 

6 disputes. 

7 (4) The absence of adequate cooperation be8 tween public safety employers and employees has im9 plications for the security of employees and can af10 fect interstate and intrastate commerce. Addition11 ally, the lack of such labor-management cooperation 

12 detrimentally impacts the upgrading of police and 

13 fire services of local communities, the health and 

14 well-being of public safety officers, and the morale of 

15 the fire and police departments. These factors could 

16 have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover, 

17 providing minimal standards for collective bar18 gaining negotiations in the public safety sector will 

19 prevent industrial strife between labor and manage20 ment that interferes with the normal flow of com21 merce. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) The term ‘‘Authority’’ means the Federal 

25 Labor Relations Authority. 
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1 (2) The term ‘‘public safety officer’’—

2 (A) means an employee of a public safety 

3 agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire4 fighter, or emergency medical services per5 sonnel; 

6 (B) includes an individual who is tempo7 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage8 ment position; and 

9 (C) does not include a permanent super10 visory or management employee. 

11 (3) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the same mean12 ing given the term ‘‘employee engaged in fire protec13 tion activities’’ defined in section 3 of the Fair 

14 Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 203(y)). 

15 (4) The term ‘‘emergency medical services per16 sonnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of17 hospital emergency medical care, including an emer18 gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re19 sponder. 

20 (5) The term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the 

21 same meaning given such term in section 1204(5) of 

22 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

23 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(5)). 

24 (6) The term ‘‘supervisory employee’’ has the 

25 meaning given such term under applicable State law 
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1 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. If no 

2 such State law is in effect, the term means an indi3 vidual, employed by a public safety employer, who—

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

5 employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re6 ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus7 pend, discipline, or remove public safety offi8 cers, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively 

9 recommend such action, if the exercise of the 

10 authority is not merely routine or clerical in na11 ture but requires the consistent exercise of 

12 independent judgment; and 

13 (B) devotes a majority of time at work ex14 ercising such authority. 

15 (7) The term ‘‘management employee’’ has the 

16 meaning given such term under applicable State law 

17 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. If no 

18 such State law is in effect, the term means an indi19 vidual employed by a public safety employer in a po20 sition that requires or authorizes the individual to 

21 formulate, determine, or influence the policies of the 

22 employer. 

23 (8) The terms ‘‘employer’’ and ‘‘public safety 

24 agency’’ mean any State, political subdivision of a 

25 State, the District of Columbia, or any territory or 
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1 possession of the United States that employs public 

2 safety officers. 

3 (9) The term ‘‘labor organization’’ means an 

4 organization composed in whole or in part of em5 ployees, in which employees participate, and which 

6 represents such employees before public safety agen7 cies concerning grievances, conditions of employment 

8 and related matters. 

9 (10) The term ‘‘substantially provides’’ means 

10 compliance with the essential requirements of this 

11 Act, specifically, the right to form and join a labor 

12 organization, the right to bargain over wages, hours 

13 and conditions of employment, the right to sign an 

14 enforceable contract, and availability of some form 

15 of mechanism to break an impasse, such as arbitra16 tion, mediation, or fact finding. 

17 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL18 ITIES. 

19 (a) DETERMINATION.—

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

21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author22 ity shall make a determination as to whether a State 

23 substantially provides for the rights and responsibil24 ities described in subsection (b). In making such de25 terminations, the Authority shall consider and give 
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1 weight, to the maximum extent practicable, to the 

2 opinion of affected employee organizations. 

3 (2) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.—(A) A 

4 determination made pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 

5 remain in effect unless and until the Authority 

6 issues a subsequent determination, in accordance 

7 with the procedures set forth in subparagraph (B). 

8 (B) Upon establishing that a material change in 

9 State law or its interpretation has occurred, an em10 ployer or a labor organization may submit a written 

11 request for a subsequent determination. If satisfied 

12 that a material change in State law or its interpreta13 tion has occurred, the Director shall issue a subse14 quent determination not later than 30 days after re15 ceipt of such request. 

16 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person aggrieved 

17 by a determination of the Authority under this sec18 tion may, during the 60-day period beginning on the 

19 date on which the determination was made, petition 

20 any United States Court of Appeals in the circuit in 

21 which the person resides or transacts business or in 

22 District of Columbia circuit, for judicial review. In 

23 any judicial review of a determination by the Au24 thority, the procedures contained in section 7123(c) 

25 and (d) of title 5, United States Code, shall be fol-
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1 lowed, except that any final determination of the Au2 thority with respect to questions of fact or law shall 

3 be found to be conclusive unless the court deter4 mines that the Authority’s decision was arbitrary 

5 and capricious. 

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

7 determination described in subsection (a), the Authority 

8 shall consider whether State law provides rights and re9 sponsibilities comparable to or greater than the following: 

10 (1) Granting public safety officers the right to 

11 form and join a labor organization, which may ex12 clude management and supervisory employees, that 

13 is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bar14 gaining representative of such employees. 

15 (2) Requiring public safety employers to recog16 nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen 

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

18 with the labor organization, and to commit any 

19 agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum 

20 of understanding. 

21 (3) Permitting bargaining over hours, wages, 

22 and terms and conditions of employment. 

23 (4) Requiring an interest impasse resolution 

24 mechanism, such as fact-finding, mediation, arbitra25 tion or comparable procedures. 
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1 (5) Requiring enforcement through State courts 

2 of—

3 (A) all rights, responsibilities, and protec4 tions provided by State law and enumerated in 

5 this section; and 

6 (B) any written contract or memorandum 

7 of understanding. 

8 (c) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.—

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

10 acting pursuant to its authority under subsection 

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

12 the rights and responsibilities described in sub13 section (b), such State shall be subject to the regula14 tions and procedures described in section 5. 

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 

16 take effect on the date that is 2 years after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 5. ROLE OF FLRA AUTHORITY. 

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

20 date of the 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 public safety employers and officers 

24 in States which the Authority has determined, acting pur-
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1 suant to its authority under section 4(a), do not substan2 tially provide for such 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 majority of the employ12 ees 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; and 

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) The Authority may petition any United 

10 States Court of Appeals with jurisdiction over the 

11 parties or the United States Court of Appeals for 

12 the District of Columbia Circuit to enforce any final 

13 orders under this section, and for appropriate tem14 porary relief or a restraining order. Any petition 

15 under this section shall be conducted in accordance 

16 with section 7123(c) and (d) of title 5, United 

17 States Code, except that any final order of the Au18 thority with respect to questions of fact or law shall 

19 be found to be conclusive unless the court deter20 mines that the Authority’s decision was arbitrary 

21 and capricious. 

22 (2) Unless the Authority has filed a petition for 

23 enforcement as provided in paragraph (1), any party 

24 has the right to file suit in a State court of com25 petent jurisdiction to enforce compliance with the 
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1 regulations issued by the Authority pursuant to sub2 section (b), and to enforce compliance with any 

3 order issued by the Authority pursuant to this sec4 tion. The right provided by this subsection to bring 

5 a suit to enforce compliance with any order issued 

6 by the Authority pursuant to this section shall ter7 minate upon the filing of a petition seeking the same 

8 relief by the Authority. 

9 SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED. 

10 A public safety employer, officer, or labor organiza11 tion may not engage in a lockout or strike. 

12 SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 

13 AGREEMENTS. 

14 A certification, recognition, election-held, collective 

15 bargaining agreement or memorandum of understanding 

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

17 employee relations board or commission or by any State 

18 or political subdivision or its agents (management offi19 cials) in effect on the day before the date of enactment 

20 of this Act shall not be invalidated by the enactment of 

21 this Act. 

22 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

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

24 construed—
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1 (1) to invalidate or limit the remedies, rights, 

2 and procedures of any law of any State or political 

3 subdivision of any State or jurisdiction that provides 

4 greater or equal collective bargaining rights for pub5 lic safety officers; 

6 (2) to prevent a State from enforcing a State 

7 law which prohibits employers and labor organiza8 tions from negotiating provisions in a labor agree9 ment that require union membership or payment of 

10 union fees as a condition of employment; 

11 (3) to invalidate any State law in effect on the 

12 date of enactment of this Act that substantially pro13 vides for the rights and responsibilities described in 

14 section 4(b) solely because such State law permits 

15 an employee to appear in his or her own behalf with 

16 respect to his or her employment relations with the 

17 public safety agency involved; or 

18 (4) to allow parties subject to FLRA regula19 tions promulgated under this Act to negotiate provi20 sions that would prohibit an employee from engaging 

21 in part-time employment or volunteer activities dur22 ing off-duty hours; or 

23 (5) to prohibit a State from exempting from 

24 coverage under this Act a political subdivision of the 
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1 State that has a population of less than 5,000 or 

2 that employs less than 25 full time employees. 

3 For purposes of paragraph (5), the term ‘‘employees’’ in4 cludes each individual employed by the political subdivi5 sion except any individual elected by popular vote or ap6 pointed to serve on a board or commission. 

7 (b) COMPLIANCE.—

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

9 shall be construed to require a State to rescind or 

10 preempt laws or ordinances of any of its political 

11 subdivisions if such laws provide collective bar12 gaining rights for public safety officers that are 

13 comparable to or greater than the rights provided 

14 under this Act. 

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

16 this Act shall be construed to require that the Au17 thority preempt the laws or ordinances of any polit18 ical subdivision of a State if such laws provide col19 lective bargaining rights for public safety officers 

20 that are comparable to or greater than the rights 

21 provided under this Act. 
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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