HB 518: "An Act amending the Public Employment Relations Act to exclude from collective bargaining individuals who perform confidential or managerial duties for a public employer and relating to those exclusions; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 518 01 "An Act amending the Public Employment Relations Act to exclude from collective 02 bargaining individuals who perform confidential or managerial duties for a public 03 employer and relating to those exclusions; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) The legislature finds that 08 (1) public employers require the undivided loyalty of confidential employees 09 and managers to implement policy initiatives and to bargain and administer public employee 10 labor agreements effectively; 11 (2) participation in collective bargaining can create a conflict between an 12 employee's loyalty to an employer and to a labor or employee organization; 13 (3) national labor relations laws governing private sector employers avoid 14 conflicting loyalties by excluding confidential employees and managers from bargaining;
01 (4) the public interest will be better served if the Public Employment Relations 02 Act follows the example set in the national labor relations laws. 03 (b) The purpose of this Act is to change the definition of "employee" in 04 AS 23.40.070 - 23.40.260 (the Public Employment Relations Act) to exclude from collective 05 bargaining confidential employees and managers of public employers in the same manner that 06 29 U.S.C. 151 - 169 (National Labor Relations Act) excludes them from bargaining, and to 07 require the courts and the Alaska labor relations agency to rely on precedent decided under 29 08 U.S.C. 151 - 169 when applying similar provisions in the Public Employment Relations Act. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 23.40 is amended by adding a new section to read: 10 Sec. 23.40.142. Other authority. The courts of this state and the labor 11 relations agency shall give great weight to relevant decisions of the National Labor 12 Relations Board and federal courts in the orders and decisions made under 13 AS 23.40.070 - 23.40.260. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 23.40.250(6) is amended to read: 15 (6) "public employee" means any employee of a public employer, 16 regardless of whether [OR NOT] in the classified service of the public employer, 17 except 18 (A) an elected or appointed official [OFFICIALS] or 19 superintendent [SUPERINTENDENTS] of schools; 20 (B) a person employed as a confidential employee or 21 manager; 22 * Sec. 4. AS 23.40.250 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 23 (10) "confidential employee" means an employee of a public employer 24 who assists and acts in a confidential capacity to a person who formulates, determines, 25 and effectuates management policies in labor relations matters for the public 26 employer; 27 (11) "manager" means an employee of a public employer who 28 formulates and effectuates management policy by expressing and making operative 29 the decisions of the public employer and who has discretion in the performance of the 30 job independent of the public employer's established policy. 31 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to
01 read: 02 APPLICABILITY. (a) This Act does not invalidate a collective bargaining 03 agreement in effect on the effective date of secs. 1 - 4 of this Act between the state, the 04 University of Alaska, or a political subdivision of the state, and a labor or employee 05 organization. 06 (b) For a collective bargaining agreement that expires before the effective date of 07 secs. 1 - 4 of this Act, a new agreement may not contain provisions contrary to this Act. 08 * Sec. 6. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 09 read: 10 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Alaska labor relations agency may proceed to 11 adopt regulations necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. The regulations take 12 effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the 13 respective statutory change. 14 * Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 15 read: 16 TRANSITION: EFFECT ON SALARY OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. (a) 17 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for a state employee who becomes excluded 18 from a collective bargaining unit, and becomes subject to the salary schedules in 19 AS 39.27.011, as a result of this Act taking effect, 20 (1) the employee's salary on the day before the effective date of secs. 1 - 4 of 21 this Act may not be reduced solely as a result of the employee's being excluded from the 22 collective bargaining unit and becoming subject to the salary schedules in AS 39.27.011; this 23 paragraph does not apply in the case of a voluntary or involuntary demotion of a state 24 employee; 25 (2) the employee's established merit anniversary date as it existed on the day 26 before the effective date of secs. 1 - 4 of this Act is not affected as a result of this Act taking 27 effect; 28 (3) for the employee's first merit anniversary date on or after the effective date 29 of secs. 1 - 4 of this Act on which the employee is otherwise entitled to a merit increase, the 30 step increase given shall be at least the next step that results in an increase in the employee's 31 salary under the salary schedule.
01 (b) The salaries of employees of the University of Alaska whose collective bargaining 02 status is affected by this Act are set in accordance with the compensation policy of the Board 03 of Regents of the University of Alaska. 04 * Sec. 8. Sections 5(b) and 6 of this Act take effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 05 * Sec. 9. Except as provided in sec. 8 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 2004.