Opinion ID: 550158
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Is SNEA a recognized representative?

Text: 42 The State argues that SNEA is not a recognized representative because Nevada state law prohibits recognition of any collective bargaining unit to represent State employees. We held in Nevada Highway Patrol Assoc. that any question of whether an entity was a representative for the FLSA should be resolved by reference to state law. Id. at 1554. The State cites the decisions in Abbott v. City of Virginia Beach, 879 F.2d 132 (4th Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 854, 107 L.Ed.2d 848 (1990), in which the Fourth Circuit held that because Virginia state law did not allow collective bargaining with a representative of public employees, there was no recognized representative for purposes of Sec. 7(o ). In Abbott, the district court held that the City of Virginia Beach was not in violation of the Sec. 7(o ) by offering police officers the choice between compensatory pay or leave for overtime work. Abbott v. City of Virginia Beach, 689 F.Supp. 600, 604 (E.D.Va.1988), aff'd, 879 F.2d 132 (4th Cir.1989), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 854, 107 L.Ed.2d 848 (1990). The City of Virginia Beach had reached no agreement with Virginia Beach Police Benevolent Association, the entity plaintiffs charged was the recognized representative of the police officers. Id. The district court concluded that because Virginia law specifically prohibited collective bargaining with representatives of the city's employees, citing Commonwealth v. City Board of Arlington County, 217 Va. 558, 232 S.E.2d 30 (1977), there could be no recognized representative of the City's employees. 689 F.Supp. at 603-604. 43 The State argues that similarly, because the State cannot enter into collective bargaining agreements with any representative of its employees, there is no recognized representative as a matter of Nevada state law. However, we recognized in Nevada Highway Patrol Assoc. that whether Nevada state employees were barred from collective bargaining was unclear and that even if barred from collective bargaining, there was no prohibition against designating a representative to enter into agreements with the State. Nevada Highway Patrol Assoc., 899 F.2d at 1554, n. 6. 44 The district court held that SNEA is a recognized representative under Nevada law because the Nevada legislature recognized SNEA in Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 29 and in subsequent legislation appointing SNEA to the Merit Award Board and the group insurance committee. Nevada Revised Statutes Sec. 285.030 and Sec. 287.041. 45 The State argues that these resolutions and statutes merely recognized SNEA for the purposes of discussion, not bargaining, and thus cannot constitute recognition for the purposes of Sec. 7(o ) of the FLSA. Abbott, 689 F.Supp. at 603 (recognition of a representative group for the purposes of discussion only did not define that group as a recognized representative for purposes of Sec. 7(o )). 46 The State's arguments are not supported by the legislative history or the regulations. There is no definition of recognized representative which supports the State's position that the recognized representative must be an agent authorized by law to act as a collective bargaining agent. The House Report and the Secretary of Labor's comments specifically state that the representative need not be an agent authorized for collective bargaining. H.R.Rep. 331; 29 CFR Sec. 553.23(h)(1). Even the Senate Report, which specifically refers to a recognized representative, does not define a recognized representative as an agent authorized to participate in collective bargaining in the state. 47 The Secretary of Labor's further comments support the district court's finding that the recognized representative is not necessarily an agent authorized for collective bargaining: 48 In addition, to clarify the fact that the representative of the employees need not be formal or recognized collective bargaining agent, the Department has modified Sec. 553.23(c)(1), as suggested by the National Education Association (NEA) to add the words or otherwise designated between the words recognized and representative since collective bargaining is not a necessary condition for establishing an agreement between an employer and an employee representative. 52 Fed.Reg. at 2014. 49 In conclusion, the language of the legislative history and the examination of Nevada law indicate that SNEA is a recognized representative for the purposes of Sec. 7(o ) of the FLSA. Therefore, we AFFIRM the ruling of the District Court in finding that the State was in violation of section 7(o ) of the FLSA by offering compensatory leave for overtime work without a memorandum of understanding or agreement between the State and SNEA. 50