I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1475
To provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed
by States or their political subdivisions.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 4, 2001
Mr. KILDEE (for himself, Mr. NEY, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SCOTT,
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. STARK, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. STUPAK,
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr.
UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. WATT of North Carolina, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr.
KENNEDY of Minnesota, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. RAN-
GEL, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. SHAYS,
Mr. PETERSON
of Minnesota, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BORSKI, Ms.
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr.
SHIMKUS, Mr. BARCIA, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr.
CRAMER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. BERMAN,
Mr. BOYD, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CONYERS, Mr.
COSTELLO, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Vir-
ginia, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. FARR of California,
Mr. FILNER, Mr. FLETCHER, Mr. FROST, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr.
GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. ANDREWS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BARRETT, Ms.
BERKLEY, Mr. GUTKNECHT, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr.
HOLT, Mr. HOYER, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. KENNEDY of
Rhode Island, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KING, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. LAFALCE,
Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. LOBIONDO, Ms.
LOFGREN, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LUTHER, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr.
MARKEY, Mr. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCARTHY
of Missouri, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCHUGH, Ms.
MCKINNEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr.
GEORGE MILLER of California, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. MOORE, Mr.
MORAN of Virginia, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr.
OLVER, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr.
PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. QUINN, Mr. RAHALL, Mr.
RAMSTAD, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. SABO, Ms.
SANCHEZ, and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety Em-
ployer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION OF PURPOSE AND POLICY.
The Congress declares that the following is the policy
of the United States:
(1) Labor-management relationships and part-
nerships are based on trust, mutual respect, open
communication, bilateral consensual problem solving,
and shared accountability. Labor-management co-
operation fully utilizes the strengths of both parties
to best serve the interests of the public, operating as
a team, to carry out the public safety mission in a
quality work environment. In many public safety
agencies it is the union that provides the institu-
tional stability as elected leaders and appointees
come and go.
(2) The health and safety of the Nation and the
best interests of public safety employers and employ-
ees can be best protected by the settlement of issues
through the processes of collective bargaining.
(3) The Federal Government needs to encour-
age conciliation, mediation, and voluntary arbitra-
tion to aid and encourage employers and the rep-
resentatives of their employees to reach and main-
tain agreements concerning rates of pay, hours, and
working conditions, and to make all reasonable ef-
forts through negotiations to settle their differences
by mutual agreement reached through collective bar-
gaining or by such methods as may be provided for
in any applicable agreement for the settlement of
disputes.
(4) The absence of adequate cooperation be-
tween public safety employers and employees has im-
plications for the security of employees and can af-
fect interstate and intrastate commerce. Addition-
ally, the lack of such labor-management cooperation
detrimentally impacts the upgrading of police and
fire services of local communities, the health and
well-being of public safety officers, and the morale of
the fire and police departments. These factors could
have significant commercial repercussions. Moreover,
providing minimal standards for collective bar-
gaining negotiations in the public safety sector will
prevent industrial strife between labor and manage-
ment that interferes with the normal flow of com-
merce.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘Authority’’ means the Federal
Labor Relations Authority.
(2) The term ‘‘public safety officer’’—
(A) means an employee of a public safety
agency who is a law enforcement officer, a fire-
fighter, or 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 or management employee.
(3) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the same mean-
ing given the term ‘‘employee engaged in fire protec-
tion activities’’ defined in section 3 of the Fair
Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 203(y)).
(4) The term ‘‘emergency medical services per-
sonnel’’ means an individual who provides out-of-
hospital emergency medical care, including an emer-
gency medical technician, paramedic, or first re-
sponder.
(5) The term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the
same meaning given such term in section 1204(5) of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(5)).
(6) The term ‘‘supervisory 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 indi-
vidual, 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 ex-
ercising such authority.
(7) The term ‘‘management 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 indi-
vidual employed by a public safety employer in a po-
sition that requires or authorizes the individual to
formulate, determine, or influence the policies of the
employer.
(8) The terms ‘‘employer’’ and ‘‘public safety
agency’’ mean any State, political subdivision of a
State, the District of Columbia, or any territory or
possession of the United States that employs public
safety officers.
(9) The term ‘‘labor organization’’ means an
organization composed in whole or in part of em-
ployees, in which employees participate, and which
represents such employees before public safety agen-
cies concerning grievances, conditions of employment
and related matters.
(10) The term ‘‘substantially provides’’ means
compliance with the essential requirements of this
Act, specifically, the right to form and join a labor
organization, the right to bargain over wages, hours
and conditions of employment, the right to sign an
enforceable contract, and availability of some form
of mechanism to break an impasse, such as arbitra-
tion, mediation, or fact finding.
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
substantially provides for the rights and responsibil-
ities described in subsection (b).
(2) SUBSEQUENT
DETERMINATIONS.—(A) A
determination made pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
remain in effect unless and until the Authority
issues a subsequent determination, in accordance
with the procedures set forth in subparagraph (B).
(B) Upon establishing that a material change in
State law or its interpretation has occurred, an em-
ployer or a labor organization may submit a written
request for a subsequent determination. If satisfied
that a material change in State law or its interpreta-
tion has occurred, the Director shall issue a subse-
quent determination not later than 30 days after re-
ceipt of such request.
(3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person aggrieved
by a determination of the Authority under this sec-
tion may, during the 60 day period beginning on the
date on which the determination was made, petition
any United States Court of Appeals in the circuit in
which the person resides or transacts business or in
District of Columbia circuit, for judicial review. In
any judicial review of a determination by the Au-
thority, the procedures contained in section 7123(c)
and (d) of title 5, United States Code, shall be fol-
lowed, except that any final determination of the Au-
thority with respect to questions of fact or law shall
be found to be conclusive unless the court deter-
mines that the Authority’s decision was arbitrary
and capricious.
(b) RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—In making a
determination described in subsection (a), the Authority
shall consider whether State law provides rights and re-
sponsibilities comparable to or greater than the following:
(1) Granting public safety officers the right to
form and join a labor organization, which may ex-
clude management and supervisory employees, that
is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bar-
gaining representative of such employees.
(2) Requiring public safety employers to recog-
nize the employees’ labor organization (freely chosen
by a majority of the employees), to agree to bargain
with the labor organization, and to commit any
agreements to writing in a contract or memorandum
of understanding.
(3) Permitting bargaining over hours, wages,
and terms and conditions of employment.
(4) Requiring an interest impasse resolution
mechanism, such as fact-finding, mediation, arbitra-
tion or comparable procedures.
(5) Requiring enforcement through State courts
of—
(A) all rights, responsibilities, and protec-
tions provided by State law and enumerated in
this section; and
(B) any written contract or memorandum
of understanding.
(c) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.—If the Au-
thority determines, acting pursuant to its authority under
subsection (a), that a State that does not substantially
provide for the rights and responsibilities described in sub-
section (b) such State shall be subject to the regulations
and procedures described in section 5.
SEC. 5. ROLE OF FLRA AUTHORITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Authority shall issue
regulations in accordance with the rights and responsibil-
ities described in section 4(b) establishing collective bar-
gaining procedures for public safety employers and officers
in States which the Authority has determined, acting pur-