CT Gen Stat § 5-278 (2020)
2020 Connecticut General Statutes|Title 5 - State Employees|Chapter 68 - Collective Bargaining for State Employees|Section 5-278 - Determination of employer representative. Negotiations and agreements with employee representative. Arbitration awards. Approval of agreements and awards by General Assembly. Conflicts with statutes, acts or agency regulations.

 (a) When an employee organization has been designated, in accordance with the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, as the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate unit, the employer shall be represented in collective bargaining with such employee organization in the following manner: (1) In the case of an executive branch employer, including the Division of Criminal Justice, by the chief executive officer whether elected or appointed, or his designated representative; who shall maintain a close liaison with the legislature relative to the negotiations and the potential fiscal ramifications of any proposed settlement; (2) in the case of a judicial branch employer, by the Chief Court Administrator or his designated representative; and (3) in the case of each segment of the system of higher education, the faculty and professional employees shall negotiate with their own board of trustees or its designated representative.(b) (1) Any agreement reached by the negotiators shall be reduced to writing. The agreement, together with a request for funds necessary to fully implement such agreement and for approval of any provisions of the agreement which are in conflict with any statute or any regulation of any state agency, and any arbitration award, issued in accordance with section 5-276a, together with a statement setting forth the amount of funds necessary to implement such award, shall be filed by the bargaining representative of the employer with the clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate within ten days after the date on which such agreement is reached or such award is distributed. The General Assembly may approve any such agreement as a whole by a majority vote of each house or may reject such agreement as a whole by a majority vote of either house. The General Assembly may reject any such award as a whole by a two-thirds vote of either house if it determines that there are insufficient funds for full implementation of the award.(2) (A) If an agreement is rejected, the matter shall be returned to the parties, who shall initiate arbitration in accordance with the provisions of section 5-276a. The parties may submit any award issued pursuant to such arbitration to the General Assembly for approval in the same manner as the rejected agreement. If the arbitration award is rejected by the General Assembly, the matter shall be returned again to the parties for further arbitration. Any award issued pursuant to such further arbitration shall be deemed approved by the General Assembly.(B) If an arbitration award, other than an award issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this subdivision, is rejected, the matter shall be returned to the parties for further arbitration. Any award issued pursuant to such further arbitration shall be deemed approved by the General Assembly.(3) Once approved by the General Assembly, any provision of an agreement or award need not be resubmitted by the parties to such agreement or award as part of a future contract approval process unless changes in the language of such provision are negotiated by such parties. Any supplemental understanding reached between such parties containing provisions which would supersede any provision of the general statutes or any regulation of any state agency or would require additional state funding shall be submitted to the General Assembly for approval in the same manner as agreements and awards. If the General Assembly is in session, it shall vote to approve or reject such agreement or award within thirty days after the date of filing. If the General Assembly is not in session when such agreement or award is filed, it shall be submitted to the General Assembly within ten days of the first day of the next regular session or special session called for such purpose. The agreement or award shall be deemed rejected if the General Assembly fails to vote to approve or reject such agreement or award within thirty days after such filing or submission. The thirty-day period shall not begin or expire unless the General Assembly is in regular session. For the purpose of this subsection, any agreement or award filed with the clerks within thirty days before the commencement of a regular session of the General Assembly shall be deemed to be filed on the first day of such session.(4) Each house of the General Assembly shall permit not more than six hours of total time for debate of a resolution to approve or reject an agreement or award filed with the clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate pursuant to this subsection. Those speaking in favor of such resolution shall be allocated not more than three hours of total time for debate, and those speaking in opposition to such resolution shall be allocated not more than three hours of total time for debate. A vote shall be taken on the resolution upon the conclusion of the debate.(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (4) of this subsection, if the debate on such resolution occurs during the last three days of the thirty-day period, each house of the General Assembly shall permit not more than four hours of total time for debate of such resolution. Those speaking in favor of such resolution shall be allocated not more than two hours of total time for debate and those speaking in opposition to such resolution shall be allocated not more than two hours of total time for debate. A vote shall be taken on the resolution upon the conclusion of the debate.(c) Notwithstanding any provision of any general statute or special act to the contrary, the legislature shall appropriate whatever funds are required to comply with a collective bargaining agreement, supplemental understanding or arbitration award, provided the request called for in subsection (b) of this section has been approved by the legislature.(d) No provision of any general statute or special act shall prevent negotiations between an employer and an employee organization which has been designated as the exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate unit, from continuing after the final date for setting the state budget. An agreement between an employer and an employee organization shall be valid and in force under its terms when entered into in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and signed by the chief executive officer or administrator as a ministerial act. Such terms may make any such agreement effective on a date prior to the date on which the agreement is entered. No publication thereof shall be required to make it effective. The procedure for the making of an agreement between the employer and an employee organization provided by sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, shall be the exclusive method for making a valid agreement for employees represented by an employee organization, and any provisions in any general statute or special act to the contrary shall not apply to such an agreement.(e) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, where there is a conflict between any agreement or arbitration award approved in accordance with the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, on matters appropriate to collective bargaining, as defined in said sections, and any general statute or special act, or regulations adopted by any state agency, the terms of such agreement or arbitration award shall prevail; provided if participation of any employees in a retirement system is effected by such agreement or arbitration award, the effective date of participation in said system, notwithstanding any contrary provision in such agreement or arbitration award, shall be the first day of the third month following the month in which a certified copy of such agreement or arbitration award is received by the Retirement Commission or such later date as may be specified in the agreement or arbitration award.(2) For any agreement or arbitration award approved before, on or after July 31, 2020, in accordance with the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, on matters appropriate to collective bargaining, as defined in said sections, where any provision in such agreement or award pertaining to the disclosure of disciplinary matters or alleged misconduct would prevent the disclosure of documents required to be disclosed under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, as defined in section 1-200, the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act shall prevail. The provisions of this subdivision shall not be construed to diminish a bargaining agent's access to information pursuant to state law.(f) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, collective bargaining negotiations concerning changes to the state employees retirement system to be effective on and after July 1, 1988, and collective bargaining negotiations concerning health and welfare benefits to be effective on and after July 1, 1994, shall be conducted between the employer and a coalition committee which represents all state employees who are members of any designated employee organization. (2) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be construed to prevent the employer and any designated employee organization from bargaining directly with each other on matters related to the state employees retirement system and health and welfare benefits whenever the parties jointly agree that such matters are unique to the particular bargaining unit. (3) The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be construed to prevent the employer and representatives of employee organizations from dealing with any state-wide issue using the procedure established in said subdivision.(g) (1) Nonmandatory subjects of bargaining shall not be subject to the impasse procedures of section 5-276a. In the case of higher education teaching faculty, the arbitrator shall not make a decision involving academic policy unless it affects the wages, hours or conditions of employment of such faculty. Any arbitration award issued on such matters shall be unenforceable. (2) Unless mutually agreed to by the parties, the impasse procedures of section 5-276a shall not be invoked during the pendency before the State Board of Labor Relations of any scope of bargaining question arising from the parties' negotiations. Any such question shall take precedence over all other matters pending before said board.(P.A. 75-566, S. 9; P.A. 76-435, S. 42, 82; P.A. 77-22, S. 2, 3; P.A. 80-483, S. 151, 186; P.A. 83-318; P.A. 86-411, S. 4, 8; P.A. 88-126, S. 1–3; P.A. 89-349, S. 1, 4; P.A. 91-265; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 163, 168; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2, S. 332; July Sp. Sess. P.A. 20-1, S. 8.)History: P.A. 76-435 replaced vague reference to “provisions of this law” with “provisions of this chapter” in Subsec. (d); P.A. 77-22 amended Subsec. (a) removing provision that chief administrative officer or his representative represent legislative branch employer in collective bargaining; P.A. 80-483 replaced references to personnel boards with references to any state agency; P.A. 83-318 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing the “chief administrative officer” with the “chief court administrator” as the representative of a judicial branch employer; P.A. 86-411 amended Subsec. (b) to remove the provision that failure to submit a request for funds within 14 days of the date an agreement is reached constitutes a prohibited practice, to allow previously approved provisions to be excluded from the submittal of any successor agreement, to require the legislature to vote on the request within 30 days of submittal, and to establish requirements for the submittal of arbitration awards to the legislature and added Subsecs. (f) and (g), establishing coalition bargaining for retirement issues and setting limitations on the use of the impasse procedures, effective July 1, 1986, and applicable to negotiations then in progress; P.A. 88-126 amended Subsec. (b) to require supplemental understandings containing provisions which supersede general statutes or state agency regulations or which require additional state funding to be submitted to general assembly for approval and made technical change in Subsec. (b) and amended Subsec. (c) to require appropriation of funds required to comply with a supplemental understanding, provided request called for in Subsec. (b) has been approved by legislature; P.A. 89-349 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by adding the provisions of Subpara. (B) requiring the appropriations committee to consider arbitration awards filed when the legislature is not in session, specified that arbitration awards be filed with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives and provided the procedures to be followed for the purposes of a special session; P.A. 91-265 amended Subsec. (f) to include collective bargaining for health and welfare benefits to be effective on and after July 1, 1994; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3 amended Subsec. (b) to establish identical filing procedures and time limits for collective bargaining agreements and arbitration awards and to provide that such agreements may be rejected by a majority vote of either house and such awards may be rejected by a two-thirds vote of either house; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 17-2 amended Subsec. (b) by designating existing provisions re agreement reduced to writing, filed with clerks of House and Senate and approval or rejection by General Assembly as Subdiv. (1), designating existing provisions re rejection of agreement as Subdiv. (2) and amending same to delete “for further bargaining” and add provisions re parties to initiate arbitration and submission of award to General Assembly for approval, designating existing provisions re resubmittal and supplemental understanding as Subdiv. (3) and amending same by replacing “agreement or award shall be deemed approved if the General Assembly fails to vote” with “agreement or award shall be deemed rejected if the General Assembly fails to vote”, adding Subdivs. (4) and (5) re time for debate, and made technical and conforming changes, effective October 31, 2017; July Sp. Sess. P.A. 20-1 amended Subsec. (e) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1), adding an exception to Subdiv. (1) and adding Subdiv. (2) re disclosure of disciplinary matters or alleged misconduct and conflict with the Freedom of Information Act, effective July 31, 2020.Cited. 179 C. 184; 183 C. 235, 238; 197 C. 91; 201 C. 685; 239 C. 32.Cited. 13 CA 461.Cited. 43 CS 1.Subsec. (e):Plaintiff's claim that he was laid off in violation of Sec. 5-241 is barred by doctrine of sovereign immunity because defendants acted in accordance with legislatively approved collective bargaining agreement provisions that superseded statute. 278 C. 204.