(a) Duty to bargain; matters subject to bargaining. A certified employee organization and the employer must bargain collectively on the following subjects:
(1) Salary and wages, provided, however, that salaries and wages shall be uniform for all employees in the same classification;
(2) Pension and retirement benefits for active employees only;
(3) Employee benefits such as, but not limited to, insurance, leave, holidays and vacation;
(4) Hours and working conditions, including the availability and use of personal patrol vehicles;
(5) Provisions for the orderly processing and settlement of grievances concerning the interpretation and implementation of the collective bargaining agreement, which may include binding third party arbitration and provisions for exclusivity of forum;
(6) Matters affecting the health and safety of employees; and
(7) Amelioration of the effect on employees when the employer’s exercise of rights listed in subsection (b) causes a loss of existing jobs in the unit.
(b) Employer rights. This article and any agreement pursuant hereto shall not impair the right and responsibility of the employer.
(1) To determine the overall budget and mission of the employer and any agency of county government;
(2) To maintain and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of operations;
(3) To determine the services to be rendered and the operations to be performed;
(4) To determine the overall organizational structure, methods, processes, means, job classifications or personnel by which operations are to be conducted and the location of facilities;
(5) To direct or supervise employees;
(6) To hire, select and establish the standards governing promotion of employees and to classify positions;
(7) To relieve employees from duties because of lack of work or funds, or under conditions when the employer determines continued work would be inefficient or nonproductive;
(8) To make and enforce rules and regulations not inconsistent with this law or a collective bargaining agreement;
(9) To take actions to carry out the mission of government in situations of emergency;
(10) To transfer, assign and schedule employees.
(1) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to limit the discretion of the employer voluntarily to discuss with the representatives of its employees any matter concerning the employer’s exercise of any of the enumerated rights set forth in subsection
33-80(b) above, but such matters shall not be subject to bargaining.
(2) The minimum standards of the policies adopted by the Police Chief under Section 35-22 must not be subject to bargaining.
(d) Time limits. Collective bargaining shall commence no later than November 1 preceding a fiscal year for which there is no contract between the employer and the certified representative and shall be concluded by January 20. The resolution of an impasse in collective bargaining shall be completed by February 1. These time limits may be waived only by prior written consent of the parties.
(e) Term of agreement. Any provision of automatic renewal or extension of a collective bargaining agreement shall be void. No agreement shall be valid if it extends for less than one year or for more than three years. All agreements shall become effective July 1 and end June 30.
(f) Effective date of agreement. Any collective bargaining agreement shall become effective only after ratification of the agreement by the employer and the certified representative, except as provided in subsection 33-81(b)(7). A certified representative may provide its own rules for ratification procedures.
(g) Submission to Council. A ratified agreement shall be binding on the employer and the certified representative, and shall be reduced to writing and executed by both parties. In each proposed annual operating budget, the County Executive shall describe any collective bargaining agreement or amendment to an agreement that is scheduled to take effect in the next fiscal year and estimate the cost of implementing that agreement. Any term or condition of a collective bargaining agreement which requires an appropriation of funds or enactment, repeal or modification of a County law shall be timely submitted to the County Council by the employer by April 1, unless extenuating circumstances require a later date. If a later submission is necessary, the employer shall specify the submission date and the reasons for delay to the Council President by April 1. The employer shall make a good faith effort to have such term or condition implemented by Council action. Each submission to the Council shall include:
(1) all proposed legislation and regulations necessary to implement the collective bargaining agreement;
(2) all changes from the previous collective bargaining agreement, indicated by brackets and underlines or a similar notation system; and
(3) all side letters or other extraneous documents that are binding on the parties.
(h) Council review. On or before May 1, the County Council shall indicate by resolution its intention to appropriate funds for or otherwise implement the agreement or its intention not to do so, and shall state its reasons for any intent to reject any part of the agreement. The Council, by majority vote taken on or before May 1, may defer the May 1 deadline to any date not later than May 15. If the Council indicates its intention to reject any part, it shall designate a representative to meet with the parties and present the Council's views in their further negotiations. This representative shall also participate fully in stating the Council's position in any ensuing impasse procedure. The parties shall thereafter meet as promptly as possible and attempt to negotiate an agreement acceptable to the Council. Either of the parties may initiate the impasse procedure set forth in Section 33-81. The results of the negotiation or impasse procedure shall be submitted to the Council on or before May 10. If the Council has deferred the May 1 deadline, that action automatically postpones the May 10 deadline by the same number of days.
(i) Adjustments. Any agreement shall provide either for automatic reduction or elimination of conditional wage or benefits adjustments if:
(1) the Council does not take action necessary to implement the agreement, or
(2) sufficient funds are not appropriated for any fiscal year when the agreement is in effect.
(j) Later years. The process and timetable in subsection (h) apply to Council review of wage or benefits adjustments after the first year of any multi-year agreement.
(k) Out-of-cycle amendments. The process in subsection (h) applies to Council review of any amendment to a collective bargaining agreement that the Council receives after May 15 of any year, but the deadlines in subsection (h) do not apply. The Council President shall set action deadlines which result, to the extent feasible, in a similar timetable relative to the date the Council received the amendment. (1982 L.M.C., ch. 53, § 3.; 1993 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; , § 1; , § 1; , § 1; 2020 L.M.C., ch. 24, §1.)
Editor’s note—See County Attorney Opinion dated regarding a union’s authority to engage in collective bargaining on behalf of current employees, but not on behalf of future employees. See County Attorney Opinion dated comparing the limits on Council authority to make changes to retirement benefits with its ability to modify health benefits. See County Attorney Opinion dated regarding the steps in the out-of-cycle collective bargaining process. See County Attorney Opinion dated regarding the steps in the collective bargaining process. See County Attorney Opinion dated regarding collective bargaining negotiations of benefits for current employees and future retirees. See County Attorney Opinion dated analyzing that, although permitted under personnel and collective bargaining principles, a grant program to cover closing costs for public safety employees would be taxable income to the employees receiving the benefit.
, was petitioned to referendum and was approved by a majority of the registered voters on November 6, 2012.
2011 L.M.C., ch. 13, §§ 2 and 3, effective July 2, 2012, state in part:
Sec. 2. Implementation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including § 33-80(a)(7) and § 33- 107(a)(7), the implementation of any amendment to County Code Chapter 33 in Section 1 of this Act concerning disability retirement is not subject to collective bargaining with a certified representative of employees in any bargaining unit.
Sec. 3. The amendments to County Code Chapter 33 made in Section 1 of this Act apply to any disability occurring on or after the date this Act takes effect [July 1, 2012].
