ment that interferes with the normal flow of com-
merce. 
(5) Many States and localities already provide 
public safety officers with collective bargaining 
rights comparable to or greater than the rights and 
responsibilities set forth in this Act, and such State 
and local laws should be respected. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AUTHORITY.—The term ‘‘Authority’’ means 
the Federal Labor Relations Authority. 
(2) 
CONFIDENTIAL
EMPLOYEE.—The 
term 
‘‘confidential employee’’ has the meaning given such 
term under applicable State law on the date of en-
actment of this Act. If no such State law is in effect, 
the term means an individual, employed by a public 
safety employer, who— 
(A) is designated as confidential; and 
(B) is an individual who routinely assists, 
in a confidential capacity, supervisory employ-
ees and management employees. 
(3) EMERGENCY
MEDICAL
SERVICES
PER-
SONNEL.—The term ‘‘emergency medical services 
personnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of- 
hospital emergency medical care, including an emer-
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gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re-
sponder. 
(4) EMPLOYER; PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY; PUB-
LIC
SAFETY
EMPLOYER.—The terms ‘‘employer’’, 
‘‘public safety agency’’, and ‘‘public safety em-
ployer’’ mean any State, or political subdivision of a 
State, that employs public safety officers. 
(5) FIREFIGHTER.—The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has 
the meaning given the term ‘‘employee engaged in 
fire protection activities’’ in section 3(y) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(y)). 
(6) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘labor 
organization’’ means an organization of any kind, in 
which employees participate and which exists for the 
purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employ-
ers concerning grievances, conditions of employment, 
and related matters. 
(7) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 
‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10284(6)). 
(8) 
MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEE.—The 
term 
‘‘management employee’’ has the meaning given 
such term under applicable State law in effect on 
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the date of enactment of this Act. If no such State 
law is in effect, the term means an individual em-
ployed by a public safety employer in a position that 
requires or authorizes the individual to formulate, 
determine, or influence the policies of the employer. 
(9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in-
dividual or a labor organization. 
(10) PUBLIC
SAFETY
OFFICER.—The term 
‘‘public safety officer’’— 
(A) means an employee of a public safety 
agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire-
fighter, or an emergency medical services per-
sonnel; 
(B) includes an individual who is tempo-
rarily transferred to a supervisory or manage-
ment position; and 
(C) does not include a permanent super-
visory, management, or confidential employee. 
(11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States of the United States, the District 
of Columbia, and any territory or possession of the 
United States. 
(12) SUBSTANTIALLY
PROVIDES.—The term 
‘‘substantially provides’’, when used with respect to 
the rights and responsibilities described in section 
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4(b), means comparable to or greater than each 
right and responsibility described in such section. 
(13) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘su-
pervisory employee’’ has the meaning given such 
term under applicable State law in effect on the date 
of enactment of this Act. If no such State law is in 
effect, the term means an individual, employed by a 
public safety employer, who— 
(A) has the authority in the interest of the 
employer to hire, direct, assign, promote, re-
ward, transfer, furlough, lay off, recall, sus-
pend, discipline, or remove public safety offi-
cers, to adjust their grievances, or to effectively 
recommend such action, if the exercise of the 
authority is not merely routine or clerical in na-
ture but requires the consistent exercise of 
independent judgment; and 
(B) devotes a majority of time at work to 
exercising such authority. 
SEC. 4. DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES. 
(a) DETERMINATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Author-
ity shall make a determination as to whether a State 
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substantially provides for the rights and responsibil-
ities described in subsection (b). 
(2) CONSIDERATION
OF
ADDITIONAL
OPIN-
IONS.—In making the determination described in 
paragraph (1), the Authority shall consider the opin-
ions of affected employers and labor organizations. 
In the case where the Authority is notified by an af-
fected employer and labor organization that both 
parties agree that the law applicable to such em-
ployer and labor organization substantially provides 
for the rights and responsibilities described in sub-
section (b), the Authority shall give such agreement 
weight to the maximum extent practicable in making 
the Authority’s determination under this subsection. 
(3) LIMITED CRITERIA.—In making the deter-
mination described in paragraph (1), the Authority 
shall be limited to the application of the criteria de-
scribed in subsection (b) and shall not require any 
additional criteria. 
(4) SUBSEQUENT DETERMINATIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—A determination made 
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain in ef-
fect unless and until the Authority issues a sub-
sequent determination, in accordance with the 
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