Opinion ID: 1349697
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Union Officer Leave

Text: Seventeen union members invoked their union officer leave to participate in the seminar. Union officer leave applies to union representatives who devote over twenty-five percent of work a year to union business. Because these union members are not full time employee[s] of an employee organization holding exclusive representation rights as required under the revised rule, they would be prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities while on leave. However, pursuant to article 7(D)(2) of the collective bargaining agreement, the union reimburses the employer for the gross total cost of the employee's wages and the employer's share of the insurance premiums and retirement. Therefore, the employer does not pay any compensation to these employees for the use of union officer leave. Because the revised rule is violative of the first prong of the test for the political freedom act, the rule is invalid as it applies to union officer leave.