Sec. 7-471. Powers of State Board of Labor Relations. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 7-471. Powers of State Board of Labor Relations. The State Board of Labor Relations shall have the following power and authority in relation to collective bargaining in municipal employment:

      (1) Whenever, in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed by the board, a petition has been filed (A) by an employee or group of employees or any employee organization acting in their behalf alleging that a substantial number of employees (i) wish to be represented for collective bargaining by an employee organization as exclusive representative, or (ii) assert that the employee organization which has been certified or is currently being recognized by their municipal employer as the bargaining representative is no longer the representative of a majority of employees in the unit; (B) by a municipal employer alleging that one or more employee organizations have presented to him a claim to be recognized as the representative of a majority of employees in an appropriate unit; or (C) by either an employee organization or a municipal employer in accordance with subdivision (4) of this section, the board shall refer the petition to its agent who shall investigate the petition and issue a direction of election and conduct a secret ballot election to determine whether and by which employee organization the employees desire to be represented if he has reasonable cause to believe that a question of representation exists, or issue a recommendation to dismiss the petition if he finds that there is not such reasonable cause, or refer the petition to the board for a hearing without having conducted an election or issuing a recommendation of dismissal, in which event the board shall conduct an appropriate hearing upon due notice. The agent shall report his action to the board. The board shall issue an order confirming the agent's direction of election and certifying the results of the election, or issue an order confirming the agent's recommendation for dismissal, or order a further investigation, or provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. Before taking any of the aforesaid actions, the board shall provide the parties with an opportunity to file briefs on the questions at issue and shall fully consider any such briefs filed. After a hearing, the board shall order any of the aforesaid actions on the petition or shall, upon good cause, order any other suitable method to determine whether and by which employee organization the employees desire to be represented. The board shall certify the results. No election shall be directed in any bargaining unit or any subdivision thereof within which in the preceding twelve-month period a valid election has been held. No election shall be directed by the board during the term of a written collective bargaining agreement, except for good cause. In any election where none of the choices on the ballot receives a majority, a runoff shall be conducted, the ballot providing for a selection between the two choices receiving the largest and the second largest number of valid votes cast in the election. An employee organization which receives a majority of votes cast in an election confirmed or ordered by the board shall be designated by the board as exclusive representative of the employees in the unit.

      (2) The board shall have the power to determine whether a position is covered by sections 7-467 to 7-477, inclusive, in the event of a dispute between the municipal employer and an employee organization. In determining whether a position is supervisory the board shall consider, among other criteria, whether the principal functions of the position are characterized by not fewer than two of the following: (A) Performing such management control duties as scheduling, assigning, overseeing and reviewing the work of subordinate employees; (B) performing such duties as are distinct and dissimilar from those performed by the employees supervised; (C) exercising judgment in adjusting grievances, applying other established personnel policies and procedures and in enforcing the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement; and (D) establishing or participating in the establishment of performance standards for subordinate employees and taking corrective measures to implement those standards. The above criteria for supervisory positions shall not necessarily apply to police or fire departments.

      (3) The board shall decide in each case whether, in order to insure to employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by sections 7-467 to 7-477, inclusive, and in order to insure a clear and identifiable community of interest among employees concerned, the unit appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining shall be the municipal employer unit or any other unit thereof, provided no unit shall include both supervisory and nonsupervisory employees except there shall be a single unit for each fire department consisting of the uniformed and investigatory employees of each such fire department and a single unit for each police department consisting of the uniformed and investigatory employees of each such police department. No existing units shall be altered or modified to conform to this provision. No unit shall include both professional and nonprofessional employees unless a majority of such professional employees vote for inclusion in such unit, provided employees who are members of a profession may be included in a unit which includes nonprofessional employees if an employee organization has been designated by the board or has been recognized by the municipal employer as the exclusive representative of such unit and a majority of the employees in such profession vote for inclusion in such unit, in which event all of the employees in such profession shall be included in such unit. The term "professional employee" means: (A) Any employee engaged in work (i) predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical or physical work; (ii) involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance; (iii) of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given time period; (iv) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine mental, manual or physical processes; or (B) any employee who (i) has completed the courses of specialized intellectual instruction and study described in subparagraph (A)(iv) of this subdivision, and (ii) is performing related work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify himself or herself to become a professional employee as defined in subparagraph (A) of this subdivision.

      (4) An employee organization or a municipal employer may file a petition with the board seeking a clarification or modification of an existing unit. The power of the board to make such clarifications and modifications shall be limited to those times when a petition for clarification or modification is filed by either an employee organization or a municipal employer. No petition seeking a clarification or modification of an existing unit shall be considered to be timely by the board during the term of a written collective bargaining agreement, except that a petition for clarification or modification filed by an employee organization concerning either (A) a newly created position, or (B) any employee who is not represented by an employee organization, may be filed at any time.

      (5) Whenever a question arises as to whether a practice prohibited by sections 7-467 to 7-477, inclusive, has been committed by a municipal employer or employee organization, the board shall consider that question in accordance with the following procedure: (A) When a complaint has been made to the board that a prohibited practice has been or is being committed, the board shall refer such complaint to its agent. Upon receiving a report from the agent, the board may issue an order dismissing the complaint or may order a further investigation or a hearing thereon. When a hearing is ordered, the board shall set the time and place for the hearing, which time and place may be changed by the board at the request of one of the parties for cause shown. Any complaint may be amended with the permission of the board. The municipal employer, the employee organization and the person so complained of shall have the right to file an answer to the original or amended complaint within five days after the service of such complaint or within such other time as the board may limit. Such municipal employer, such employee organization and such person shall have the right to appear in person or otherwise to defend against such complaint. In the discretion of the board any person may be allowed to intervene in such proceeding. In any hearing the board shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence prevailing in the courts. A transcript of the testimony taken at any hearing before the board shall be filed with the board. (B) If, upon all the testimony, the board determines that a prohibited practice has been or is being committed, it shall state its findings of fact and shall issue and cause to be served on the party committing the prohibited practice an order requiring it or him to cease and desist from such prohibited practice, and shall take such further affirmative action as will effectuate the policies of sections 7-467 to 7-477, inclusive, including but not limited to: (i) Withdrawal of certification of an employee organization established or assisted by any action defined in said sections as a prohibited practice, (ii) reinstatement of an employee discriminated against in violation of said sections with or without back pay, or (iii) if either party is found to have refused to bargain collectively in good faith, ordering arbitration and directing the party found to have refused to bargain to pay the full costs of arbitration under section 7-473c, resulting from the negotiations in which the refusal to bargain occurred. (C) If, upon all of the testimony, the board determines that a prohibited practice has not been or is not being committed, it shall state its finding of fact and shall issue an order dismissing the complaint. (D) For the purposes of hearings and enforcement of orders under sections 7-467 to 7-477, inclusive, the board shall have the same power and authority as it has in sections 31-107, 31-108 and 31-109, and the municipal employer and the employee organization shall have the right of appeal as provided therein. (E) If, by the thirtieth day following the date on which a complaint citing a violation of section 7-470 was made to the board, said board has not determined whether a prohibited practice has been or is being committed and if the violation is of an ongoing nature, said board may issue and cause to be served on the party committing the act or practice cited in such complaint an order requiring such party to cease and desist from such act or practice until said board has made its determination.

      (February, 1965, P.A. 159, S. 5; 1967, P.A. 491, S. 3, 4; P.A. 78-375, S. 2; P.A. 79-313; P.A. 81-29, S. 3; P.A. 91-255, S. 2; P.A. 92-170, S. 16, 26; P.A. 07-217, S. 28.)

      History: 1967 act amended Subdiv. (2) to require that at least two of the criteria enumerating characteristics of supervisory positions apply in determining exclusion from coverage and amended Subdiv. (3) to clarify that "single unit" refers to fire department and police department units rather than to uniformed and investigatory units within each and to set forth conditions in which professional and nonprofessional employees may be in same unit; P.A. 78-375 deleted reference to "supervisory" positions in Subdiv. (2) and amended Subdiv. (3) to prohibit units from including both supervisory and nonsupervisory employees except in police and fire departments and to exempt existing units from conformity with provision re supervisory and nonsupervisory employees; P.A. 79-313 added Subdiv. (4)(E) re cease and desist orders; P.A. 81-29 transferred certain powers of board to its agent re petitions concerning the election of representatives but rested final action with the board; P.A. 91-255 added Subdiv. (1)(C) re petitions filed by employee organizations or municipal employers, added new Subdiv. (4) re petitions seeking clarification or modification of existing units and redesignated existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (5); P.A. 92-170 amended Subdiv. (5) to replace references to fact finding with arbitration, effective May 26, 1992, and applicable to arbitration proceedings commencing on or after that date; P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subdivs. (3) and (4), effective July 12, 2007.

      There is no direct appeal from decision of board determining a bargaining unit and directing an election. National Labor Relations Act compared. 154 C. 530. Appeals to supreme court under this section shall be taken and prosecuted in same manner as other appeals to supreme court. 159 C. 46. Cited. 171 C. 347, 351; Id., 553, 564. One employee does not constitute an appropriate bargaining unit for purposes of the Municipal Employees Relations Act. 175 C. 349. Standing to test constitutionality of binding arbitration provisions of Municipal Employees Relations Act discussed. 181 C. 421. Cited. 182 C. 93. Cited. 185 C. 88. Municipal Employees Relations Act cited. 196 C. 192. Cited. 200 C. 38. Cited. 201 C. 577. Cited 204 C. 746. Municipal Employees Relations Act cited. 205 C. 116. Municipal Employees Relations Act (MERA) cited. 210 C. 549; 212 C. 294. Sec. 7-467 et seq. cited. Id. Cited. 215 C. 14. Municipal Employees Relations Act (MERA) cited. 221 C. 244. Municipal Employees Relations Act (MERA) (Sec. 7-467 et seq.) cited. 225 C. 297. Cited. 232 C. 57. Municipal Employees Relations Act (MERA) Sec. 7-467 et seq. cited. 234 C. 123.

      Cited. 3 CA 1. Cited. 16 CA 232. It is within board's discretion to award costs and expenses to the employer. 49 CA 513.

      A public announcement of the plaintiff's intention to file a prohibited practice complaint against a union is protected by the Municipal Employees Relations Act when the complaint is actually filed at a later date. 31 CS 7. Cited. Id., 15; Id., 212. Cited. 36 CS 18. Secs. 7-467 through 7-477 cited; Sec. 7-468 et seq. cited. 42 CS 227. Cited. 43 CS 340. Sec. 7-467 et seq. Municipal Employees Relations Act (MERA) cited. Id., 470.

      Subdiv. (1):

      Section 1-1(f) is directory not mandatory, does not "require" singular and plural forms to be interchangeable and therefore where statute sets forth "a substantial number of employees" "employees" cannot be construed as singular. 175 C. 349.

      One year rule does not apply to designations by employer recognition agreements. Union's status must be recognized for a reasonable period. 39 CS 338.

      Subdiv. (2):

      Cited. 225 C. 297.

      Subdiv. (3):

      There can be no community of interest where there is only a single employee. 175 C. 349.

      Subdiv. (4):

      Cited. 171 C. 344, 355. Standing to test constitutionality of binding arbitration provisions of Municipal Employees Relations Act discussed. 181 C. 421. Subpara. (B) cited. 210 C. 597.

      Cited. 33 CA 541.

      Cited. 39 CS 338. Cited. 40 CS 365.