2023 New York Laws › CVS - Civil Service › Article 14 - Public Employees' Fair Employment Act › 201 - Definitions.

§ 201. Definitions. As used in this article:
1.  The  term  "board"  means  the  public  employment relations board
created by section two hundred five of this article.
2. (a) The term "membership dues deduction" means  the  obligation  or
practice  of a government to deduct from the salary of a public employee
with his consent an amount for the payment of his membership dues in  an
employee  organization.  Such term also means the obligation or practice
of a government  to  transmit  the  sums  so  deducted  to  an  employee
organization.
(b)  The  term  "agency  shop  fee  deduction" means the obligation or
practice of a government to deduct from the salary of a public  employee
who is not a member of the certified or recognized employee organization
which   represents   such   employee   for  the  purpose  of  collective
negotiations conducted pursuant to this article, an amount equivalent to
the amount of dues payable  by  a  member.  Such  term  also  means  the
obligation  or practice of a government to transmit the sums so deducted
to an employee organization.
3. The term "chief legal officer" means (a) in the case of  the  state
of  New  York  or  a state public authority, the attorney general of the
state of New York, (b) in the case of a county, city, town,  village  or
school   district,   the  county  attorney,  corporation  counsel,  town
attorney, village attorney or school district attorney, as the case  may
be,  and  (c)  in  the  case  of  any such government not having its own
attorney, or any other government or public  employer,  the  corporation
counsel  of the city in which such government or public employer has its
principal office, and if such principal office is not located in a city,
the county attorney of the county in which  such  government  or  public
employer has its principal office.
4. The term "terms and conditions of employment" means:
(a)   salaries,  wages,  hours  and  other  terms  and  conditions  of
employment provided, however, that  such  term  shall  not  include  any
benefits provided by or to be provided by a public retirement system, or
payments  to  a  fund  or  insurer to provide an income for retirees, or
payment to retirees or their beneficiaries. No such retirement  benefits
shall  be  negotiated  pursuant  to  this  article,  and any benefits so
negotiated shall be void.
(b)  in  addition,  the  terms  and  conditions  of   employment   for
firefighters   shall  include  discipline  and  disciplinary  procedures
including alternatives to any statutory disciplinary  system,  provided,
however, that any right of firefighters under the terms of any state law
to  elect  coverage  under  either  a statutory disciplinary system or a
disciplinary system established by collective negotiations shall not  be
impaired,  unless  any  such  state  law  authorizes  exclusivity  of  a
negotiated disciplinary system and provided further  that  no  provision
contained  in  the  town law, general city law, second class cities law,
general municipal law, municipal home rule law,  county  law,  or  other
state,  local,  special  law or charter provision, or any special police
act or other special act created by local law or  charter  or  otherwise
created, or this chapter shall prevent or impair the right to collective
bargaining for or modification of disciplinary procedures.
5.  The term "employee organization" means an organization of any kind
having as its primary purpose the improvement of terms and conditions of
employment of public employees, except that such term shall not  include
an  organization  (a)  membership  in which is prohibited by section one
hundred five of this chapter, (b) which discriminates with regard to the
terms or conditions of membership  because  of  race,  color,  creed  or
national  origin, or (c) which, in the case of public employees who hold
positions by appointment or employment in the service of the  board  and

who  are  excluded  from  the  application  of this article by rules and
regulations of the board, admits to membership or is affiliated directly
or indirectly with an organization which admits  to  membership  persons
not  in  the service of the board, for purposes of any provision of this
article other than sections two hundred ten and two  hundred  eleven  of
this article.
6.  (a) The term "government" or "public employer" means (i) the state
of New York, (ii) a county, city, town, village or any  other  political
subdivision  or  civil division of the state, (iii) a school district or
any  governmental  entity  operating  a  public   school,   college   or
university,  (iv) a public improvement or special district, (v) a public
authority, commission, or public benefit  corporation,  (vi)  any  other
public  corporation,  agency  or  instrumentality  or unit of government
which exercises governmental powers under the  laws  of  the  state,  or
(vii)  in  the case of a county sheriff's office in those counties where
the office of sheriff is an elected position, both the  county  and  the
sheriff, shall be designated as a joint public employer for all purposes
of this article.
(b)  Upon  the  application of any government, the board may determine
that the applicant shall be deemed to be  a  joint  public  employer  of
public  employees  in  an  employer-employee negotiating unit determined
pursuant to  section  two  hundred  seven  of  this  chapter  when  such
determination would best effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
7.  (a) The term "public employee" means any person holding a position
by appointment or employment in the service of a public employer, except
that such term shall not include for the purposes of  any  provision  of
this  article other than sections two hundred ten and two hundred eleven
of this article, judges  and  justices  of  the  unified  court  system,
persons  holding positions by appointment or employment in the organized
militia of the state and persons who may reasonably be  designated  from
time  to  time  as  managerial  or  confidential upon application of the
public employer to the appropriate board in accordance  with  procedures
established  pursuant  to section two hundred five or two hundred twelve
of  this  article,  which  procedures  shall  provide  that   any   such
designations   made  during  a  period  of  unchallenged  representation
pursuant to subdivision two of section two hundred eight of this chapter
shall only become effective upon  the  termination  of  such  period  of
unchallenged  representation.  Employees may be designated as managerial
only if they are persons (i)  who  formulate  policy  or  (ii)  who  may
reasonably  be  required  on  behalf  of  the  public employer to assist
directly in the preparation for and conduct of  collective  negotiations
or  to  have  a  major  role  in  the administration of agreements or in
personnel administration provided that such role is not of a routine  or
clerical  nature  and  requires  the  exercise  of independent judgment.
Employees may be designated as confidential only if they are persons who
assist and act  in  a  confidential  capacity  to  managerial  employees
described in clause (ii).
(b)  For  the  purposes  of this article, assistant attorneys general,
assistant district attorneys,  and  law  school  graduates  employed  in
titles  which  promote  to assistant district attorney upon admission to
the bar of  the  state  of  New  York  shall  be  designated  managerial
employees,  and confidential investigators employed in the department of
law shall be designated confidential employees.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general,  special  or  local
law  or  code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with
respect to the officers of a paid city fire department in a city of  one
million  or  more  inhabitants,  members  in  the  rank  of deputy chief
designated as deputy assistant chief and higher shall be  designated  as

managerial  and confidential employees and members in the rank of deputy
chief or lower shall not be so designated.
(d)  A  substitute  teacher  or  a person employed in a nonpedagogical
position  who  has  received  a  reasonable  assurance   of   continuing
employment  in accordance with subdivision ten or eleven of section five
hundred ninety of the labor law which is sufficient  to  disqualify  the
substitute  teacher or person employed in a nonpedagogical position from
receiving unemployment insurance benefits  shall  be  deemed  to  be  an
employee  of  the  school  district  or board of cooperative educational
services that has furnished  such  reasonable  assurance  of  continuing
employment; provided however that for the purposes of this article only,
the  determination  of  whether  such reasonable assurance was furnished
shall  be  made  as  if  such  determination  were  made  prior  to  the
promulgation  by the United States department of labor of program letter
number 4-87, dated December twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred eighty-six.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general,  special  or  local
law  or  code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with
respect to the officers of a paid city police department, in a  city  of
one  million  or  more  inhabitants,  members  in  the  rank  of captain
designated  as  assistant  chief  and  higher  shall  be  designated  as
managerial  and  confidential employees; members in the rank of captain,
deputy inspector, inspector and deputy chief or lower shall  not  be  so
designated,  unless a final determination to the contrary results from a
petition to decertify (or from an action to otherwise designate  any  or
all  such  members  as  managerial  or  confidential  employees),  which
petition or action is or was initiated at  any  time  prior  to  October
first,  nineteen  hundred eighty-four and such petition or action is not
withdrawn or otherwise discontinued.
(f) The term "public employee" means any person employed by  a  school
district  or  board  of  cooperative  educational services not otherwise
deemed to be a public  employee  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this
subdivision,  but who would be deemed a public employee under precedents
or standards utilized  or  promulgated  by  the  board  for  determining
whether a person employed in a part-time, seasonal or casual position by
a  public  employer other than a school district or board of cooperative
educational services would be a public employee under paragraph  (a)  of
this  subdivision,  taking into account the length of the school day and
school year.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general,  special  or  local
law  or  code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with
respect to employees of a city school district having  a  population  of
one  million  or  more  inhabitants,  members in a title of school plant
manager shall be designated as managerial and confidential employees  in
the noncompetitive classification.
8.   The   term  "state  public  authority"  means  a  public  benefit
corporation or public corporation, a majority of the  members  of  which
are  (i)  appointed by the governor or by another state officer or body,
(ii) designated as members by virtue of their  state  office,  or  (iii)
appointed or designated by any combination of the foregoing.
9.  The  term "strike" means any strike or other concerted stoppage of
work or slowdown by public employees.
10.  The  term  "chief  executive  officer"  in  the  case  of  school
districts,  means  the  superintendent  of  schools  in school districts
employing their own superintendents, and in school districts  under  the
jurisdiction  of  a  district  superintendent of schools, shall mean the
principal of the district.
11. The term "legislative body of the  government,"  in  the  case  of
school  districts,  means  the  board of education, board of trustees or
sole trustee, as the case may be.
12.  The  term  "agreement" means the result of the exchange of mutual
promises between the chief executive officer of a public employer and an
employee organization which becomes a binding contract, for  the  period
set  forth  therein,  except  as to any provisions therein which require
approval by a legislative body, and as to those provisions, shall become
binding when the appropriate legislative body gives its approval.