I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3225 

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed 

by States or their political subdivisions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2021 

Mr. STAUBER (for himself, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. VAN DREW, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mrs. 

TORRES of California, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. 

RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. KIM of New 

Jersey, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. BOST, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. SMITH of 

New Jersey, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or their political subdivisions, 

and for other purposes. 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND POLICY. 

2 Congress declares that the following is the policy of 

3 the United States: 

4 (1) Labor-management relationships and part5 nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open 

6 communication, bilateral consensual problem solving, 

7 and shared accountability. Labor-management co8 operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties 

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

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

11 quality work environment. In many public safety 

12 agencies, it is the union that provides the institu13 tional stability as elected leaders and appointees 

14 come and go. 

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

16 essential role in the efforts of the United States to 

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

18 to respond to natural disasters, hazardous materials, 

19 and other mass casualty incidents. State and local 

20 public safety officers, as first responders, are a com21 ponent of the National Incident Management Sys22 tem, developed by the Department of Homeland Se23 curity to coordinate response to and recovery from 

24 terrorism, major natural disasters, and other major 

25 emergencies. Public safety employer-employee coVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3225.IH H3225

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1 operation is essential in meeting these needs and is, 

2 therefore, in the National interest. 

3 (3) The Federal Government needs to encour4 age conciliation, mediation, and arbitration to aid 

5 and encourage employers and the representatives of 

6 their employees to reach and maintain agreements 

7 concerning rates of pay, hours, and working condi8 tions, and to make all reasonable efforts through ne9 gotiations to settle their differences by mutual agree10 ment reached through collective bargaining or by 

11 such methods as may be provided for in any applica12 ble agreement for the settlement of disputes. 

13 (4) The absence of adequate cooperation be14 tween public safety employers and employees has im15 plications for the security of employees and can af16 fect interstate and intrastate commerce. The lack of 

17 such labor-management cooperation can detrimen18 tally impact the upgrading of law enforcement, fire, 

19 and emergency medical services of local commu20 nities, the health and well-being of public safety offi21 cers, and the morale of law enforcement, fire, and 

22 EMS departments. Additionally, these factors could 

23 have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover, 

24 providing minimal standards for collective bar25 gaining negotiations in the public safety sector can 


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1 prevent industrial strife between labor and manage2 ment that interferes with the normal flow of com3 merce. 

4 (5) Many States and localities already provide 

5 public safety officers with collective bargaining 

6 rights comparable to or greater than the rights and 

7 responsibilities set forth in this Act, and such State 

8 and local laws should be respected. 

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

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

12 the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 

13 (2) CONFIDENTIAL EMPLOYEE.—The term 

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

15 term under applicable State law on the date of en16 actment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, 

17 the term means an individual, employed by a public 

18 safety employer, who— 

19 (A) is designated as confidential; and 

20 (B) is an individual who routinely assists, 

21 in a confidential capacity, supervisory employ22 ees and management employees. 

23 (3) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PER24 SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 

25 personnel’’ means an individual who provides out-ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3225.IH H3225

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1 hospital emergency medical care, including an emer2 gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re3 sponder. 

4 (4) EMPLOYER; PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY; PUB5 LIC SAFETY EMPLOYER.—The terms ‘‘employer’’, 

6 ‘‘public safety agency’’, and ‘‘public safety em7 ployer’’ mean any State, or political subdivision of a 

8 State, that employs public safety officers. 

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

10 the meaning given the term ‘‘employee engaged in 

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

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

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

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

15 which employees participate and which exists for the 

16 purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employ17 ers concerning grievances, conditions of employment, 

18 and related matters. 

19 (7) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

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

21 such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 

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

23 10284(6)). 

24 (8) MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEE.—The term 

25 ‘‘management employee’’ has the meaning given 


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1 such term under applicable State law in effect on 

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

3 law is in effect, the term means an individual em4 ployed by a public safety employer in a position that 

5 requires or authorizes the individual to formulate, 

6 determine, or influence the policies of the employer. 

7 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in8 dividual or a labor organization. 

9 (10) PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER.—The term 

10 ‘‘public safety officer’’— 

11 (A) means an employee of a public safety 

12 agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire13 fighter, or an emergency medical services per14 sonnel; 

15 (B) includes an individual who is tempo16 rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage17 ment position; and 

18 (C) does not include a permanent super19 visory, management, or confidential employee. 

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

21 the several States of the United States, the District 

22 of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the 

23 United States. 

24 (12) SUBSTANTIALLY PROVIDES.—The term 

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


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1 the rights and responsibilities described in section 

2 4(b), means comparable to or greater than each 

3 right and responsibility described in such section. 

4 (13) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su5 pervisory employee’’ has the meaning given such 

6 term under applicable State law in effect on the date 

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

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

9 public safety employer, who— 

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

11 employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re12 ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus13 pend, discipline, or remove public safety offi14 cers, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively 

15 recommend such action, if the exercise of the 

16 authority is not merely routine or clerical in na17 ture but requires the consistent exercise of 

18 independent judgment; and 

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

20 exercising such authority. 

21 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL22 ITIES. 

23 (a) DETERMINATION.— 

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

25 after the date of enactment of this Act, the AuthorVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3225.IH H3225

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1 ity shall make a determination as to whether a State 

2 substantially provides for the rights and responsibil3 ities described in subsection (b). 

4 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ADDITIONAL OPIN5 IONS.—In making the determination described in 

6 paragraph (1), the Authority shall consider the opin7 ions of affected employers and labor organizations. 

8 In the case where the Authority is notified by an af9 fected employer and labor organization that both 

10 parties agree that the law applicable to such em11 ployer and labor organization substantially provides 

12 for the rights and responsibilities described in sub13 section (b), the Authority shall give such agreement 

14 weight to the maximum extent practicable in making 

15 the Authority’s determination under this subsection. 

16 (3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter17 mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 

18 shall be limited to the application of the criteria de19 scribed in subsection (b) and shall not require any 

20 additional criteria. 

21 (4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 

23 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef24 fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub25 sequent determination, in accordance with the 


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1 procedures set forth in subparagraph (B) of 

2 this section. 

3 (B) PROCEDURES FOR SUBSEQUENT DE4 TERMINATIONS.—Upon establishing that a ma5 terial change in State law or its interpretation 

6 has occurred, an employer or a labor organiza7 tion may submit a written request for a subse8 quent determination. If satisfied that a material 

9 change in State law or its interpretation has oc10 curred, the Authority shall issue a subsequent 

11 determination not later than 30 days after re12 ceipt of such request. 

13 (5) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person or em14 ployer aggrieved by a determination of the Authority 

15 under this section may, during the 60-day period be16 ginning on the date on which the determination was 

17 made, petition any United States Court of Appeals 

18 in the circuit in which the person or employer re19 sides or transacts business or in the District of Co20 lumbia Circuit, for judicial review. 

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

22 determination described in subsection (a), the Authority 

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

24 required rights and responsibilities unless such law fails 


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1 to provide rights and responsibilities comparable to or 

2 greater than the following: 

3 (1) Granting public safety officers the right to 

4 form and join a labor organization, which may ex5 clude management employees, supervisory employ6 ees, and confidential employees, that is, or seeks to 

7 be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining represent8 ative of such employees. 

9 (2) Requiring public safety employers to recog10 nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen 

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

12 with the labor organization, and to commit any 

13 agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum 

14 of understanding. 

15 (3) Providing for the right to bargain over 

16 hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employ17 ment. 

18 (4) Providing for binding interest arbitration as 

19 a mechanism to resolve an impasse in collective bar20 gaining negotiations. 

21 (5) Requiring enforcement of all rights, respon22 sibilities, and protections enumerated in this section, 

23 and of any written contract or memorandum of un24 derstanding between a labor organization and a pub25 lic safety employer, through— 


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1 (A) a State administrative agency, if the 

2 State so chooses; and/or 

3 (B) any court of competent jurisdiction. 

4 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS.—If the Au5 thority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under 

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

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

8 Act shall not preempt State law. 

9 (d) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.— 

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

11 acting pursuant to its authority under subsection 

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

13 the rights and responsibilities described in sub14 section (b), then such State shall be subject to the 

15 regulations and procedures described in section 5 be16 ginning on the later of— 

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

18 of enactment of this Act; 

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

20 first regular session of the legislature of the 

21 State that begins after the date the Authority 

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

23 or 

24 (C) in the case of a State receiving a sub25 sequent determination under subsection (a)(4), 


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

2 session of the legislature of the State that be3 gins after the date the Authority made the de4 termination. 

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

6 a determination that a State does not substantially 

7 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

8 in subsection (b) solely because the State law sub9 stantially provides for such rights and responsibil10 ities for certain categories of public safety officers 

11 covered by the Act but not others, the Authority 

12 shall identify those categories of public safety offi13 cers that shall be subject to the regulations and pro14 cedures described in section 5, pursuant to section 

15 8(b)(3) and beginning on the appropriate date de16 scribed in paragraph (1), and those categories of 

17 public safety officers that shall remain solely subject 

18 to State law with respect to the rights and respon19 sibilities described in subsection (b). 

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

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

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

23 regulations, in accordance with the rights and responsibil24 ities described in section 4(b), establishing collective bar25 gaining procedures for employers and public safety officers 


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1 in States where the Authority has determined, acting pur2 suant to section 4(a), do not substantially provide for such 

3 rights and responsibilities. 

4 (b) ROLE OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AU5 THORITY.—The Authority, to the extent provided in this 

6 Act and in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 

7 Authority, shall— 

8 (1) determine the appropriateness of units for 

9 labor organization representation; 

10 (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine 

11 whether a labor organization has been selected as an 

12 exclusive representative by a voting majority of the 

13 employees in an appropriate unit; 

14 (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bar15 gain in good faith; 

16 (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of 

17 unfair labor practices; 

18 (5) resolve exceptions to the awards of arbitra19 tors; 

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

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

22 from any such activity, freely and without fear of 

23 penalty or reprisal, and protect each employee in the 

24 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. 

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

19 Authority has filed a petition for enforcement as 

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

21 to file suit in any appropriate district court of the 

22 United States to enforce compliance with the regula23 tions issued by the Authority pursuant to this sec24 tion, or to enforce compliance with any order issued 

25 by the Authority pursuant to this section. The right 


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1 provided by this subsection to bring a suit to enforce 

2 compliance with any order issued by the Authority 

3 pursuant to this section shall terminate upon the fil4 ing of a petition seeking the same relief by the Au5 thority. Enforcement against a State shall be pursu6 ant to section 8(b)(4). 

7 SEC. 6. STRIKES AND LOCKOUTS PROHIBITED. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), an em9 ployer, public safety officer, or labor organization may not 

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

11 other organized job action that will measurably disrupt the 

12 delivery of emergency services and is designed to compel 

13 an employer, public safety officer, or labor organization 

14 to agree to the terms of a proposed contract. 

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

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

17 subdivision of any State with respect to strikes by public 

18 safety officers. 

19 SEC. 7. EXISTING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING UNITS AND 

20 AGREEMENTS. 

21 A certification, recognition, election-held, collective 

22 bargaining agreement, or memorandum of understanding 

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

24 employee relations board or commission or by any State 

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


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

2 be invalidated by the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION AND COMPLIANCE. 

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

5 construed— 

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

7 and procedures of any law of any State or political 

8 subdivision of any State that provides comparable or 

9 greater rights and responsibilities than the rights 

10 and responsibilities described in section 4(b); 

11 (2) to prevent a State from enforcing a right12 to-work law that prohibits employers and labor orga13 nizations from negotiating provisions in a labor 

14 agreement that require union membership or pay15 ment of union fees as a condition of employment; 

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

17 on the date of enactment of this Act that provides 

18 for the rights and responsibilities described in sec19 tion 4(b) solely because such State law permits an 

20 employee to appear on the employee’s own behalf 

21 with respect to the employee’s employment relations 

22 with the public safety agency involved; 

23 (4) to prohibit a State from exempting from 

24 coverage under this Act a political subdivision of the 

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


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1 that employs less than 25 full-time employees, in2 cluding each individual employed by the political 

3 subdivision, except any individual elected by popular 

4 vote or appointed to serve on a board or commission; 

5 or 

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

7 of any State or political subdivision of a State that 

8 provide for the rights and responsibilities described 

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

10 does not require bargaining with respect to pension, 

11 retirement, or health benefits. 

12 (b) COMPLIANCE.— 

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

14 or the regulations promulgated under this Act shall 

15 be construed to require a State to rescind or pre16 empt the laws or ordinances of any of the State’s 

17 political subdivisions if such laws provide rights and 

18 responsibilities for public safety officers that are 

19 comparable to or greater than the rights and respon20 sibilities described in section 4(b). 

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

22 this Act or the regulations promulgated under this 

23 Act shall be construed to preempt— 

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

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1 vide collective bargaining rights for public safe2 ty officers that are comparable to or greater 

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

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

5 political subdivision of a State that provide for 

6 the rights and responsibilities described in sec7 tion 4(b) with respect to certain categories of 

8 public safety officers covered by this Act solely 

9 because such rights and responsibilities have 

10 not been extended to other categories of public 

11 safety officers covered by this Act; or 

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

13 political subdivision of a State that provide for 

14 the rights and responsibilities described in sec15 tion 4(b), solely because such laws or ordi16 nances provide that a contract or memorandum 

17 of understanding between a public safety em18 ployer and a labor organization must be pre19 sented to a legislative body as part of the proc20 ess for approving such contract or memo21 randum of understanding. 

22 (3) LIMITED ENFORCEMENT POWER.—In the 

23 case of a law described in paragraph (2)(B), the Au24 thority shall only exercise the powers provided in 

25 section 5 with respect to those categories of public 


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1 safety officers who have not been afforded the rights 

2 and responsibilities described in section 4(b). 

3 (4) EXCLUSIVE ENFORCEMENT PROVISION.— 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of the Act, and 

5 in the absence of a waiver of a State’s sovereign im6 munity, the Authority shall have the exclusive power 

7 to enforce the provisions of this Act with respect to 

8 employees of a State. 

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

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

12 Act. 

Æ 


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