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Public Act 098-0535
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| SB1830 Enrolled | LRB098 08153 JDS 38246 b |
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AN ACT concerning government.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is |
amended by changing Sections 12 and 14 as follows:
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(5 ILCS 315/12) (from Ch. 48, par. 1612)
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Sec. 12. Mediation.
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(a) The State and Local Panels in joint session
shall |
establish a Public Employees Mediation Roster, the services of |
which
shall be available to public employers and to labor |
organizations upon request
of the parties for the purposes of |
mediation of grievances or contract
disputes. Upon the request |
of either party, services of the Public Employees
Mediation |
Roster shall be available for purposes of arbitrating disputes |
over
interpretation or application of the terms of an agreement |
pursuant to Section
8. The members of the Roster shall be |
appointed by majority vote of the
members of both panels. |
Members shall be impartial, competent,
and reputable citizens |
of the United States, residents of the State of
Illinois, and |
shall qualify by taking and subscribing to the constitutional
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oath or affirmation of office. The function of the mediator
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shall be to communicate with the employer and exclusive |
representative or
their representatives and to endeavor to |
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bring about an amicable and voluntary
settlement. Compensation |
of Roster members for services performed as mediators
shall be |
paid equally by the parties to a mediated labor dispute. The |
Board
shall have authority but not the obligation to promulgate |
regulations setting compensation levels for
members of the |
Roster, and establishing procedures for suspension or |
dismissal
of mediators for good cause shown following hearing.
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(b) A mediator in a mediated labor dispute shall be |
selected by the Board
from among the members of the Roster.
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(c) Nothing in this Act or any other law prohibits the use |
of other
mediators selected by the parties for the resolution |
of disputes over
interpretation or application of the terms or |
conditions of the collective
bargaining agreements between a |
public employer and a labor organization.
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(d) If requested by the parties to a labor dispute, a |
mediator may perform
fact-finding as set forth in Section 13.
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(Source: P.A. 91-798, eff. 7-9-00.)
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(5 ILCS 315/14) (from Ch. 48, par. 1614)
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Sec. 14. Security Employee, Peace Officer and Fire Fighter |
Disputes.
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(a) In the case of collective bargaining agreements |
involving units of
security employees of a public employer, |
Peace Officer Units, or units of
fire fighters or paramedics, |
and in the case of disputes under Section 18,
unless the |
parties mutually agree to some other time limit, mediation
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shall commence 30 days prior to the expiration date of such |
agreement or
at such later time as the mediation services |
chosen under subsection (b) of
Section 12 can be provided to |
the parties. In the case of negotiations
for an initial |
collective bargaining agreement, mediation shall commence
upon |
15 days notice from either party or at such later time as the
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mediation services chosen pursuant to subsection (b) of Section |
12 can be
provided to the parties. In mediation under this |
Section, if either party
requests the use of mediation services |
from the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service, the other |
party shall either join in such request or
bear the additional |
cost of mediation services from another source. The
mediator |
shall have a duty to keep the Board informed on the progress of
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the mediation. If any dispute has not been resolved within 15 |
days after
the first meeting of the parties and the mediator, |
or within such other
time limit as may be mutually agreed upon |
by the parties, either the
exclusive representative or employer |
may request of the other, in writing,
arbitration, and shall |
submit a copy of the request to the Board.
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(b) Within 10 days after such a request for arbitration has |
been
made, the employer shall choose a delegate and
the |
employees' exclusive representative shall choose a delegate to |
a panel
of arbitration as provided in this Section. The |
employer and employees
shall forthwith advise the other and the |
Board of their selections.
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(c) Within 7 days after the request of either party, the |
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parties shall request a panel of impartial arbitrators from |
which they shall select the neutral chairman according to the |
procedures provided in this Section. If the parties have agreed |
to a contract that contains a grievance resolution procedure as |
provided in Section 8, the chairman shall be selected using |
their agreed contract procedure unless they mutually agree to |
another procedure. If the parties fail to notify the Board of |
their selection of neutral chairman within 7 days after receipt |
of the list of impartial arbitrators, the Board shall appoint, |
at random, a neutral chairman from the list. In the absence of |
an agreed contract procedure for selecting an impartial |
arbitrator, either party may request a panel from the Board. |
Within 7 days of the request of either party, the Board shall |
select
from the Public Employees Labor Mediation Roster 7 |
persons who are on the
labor arbitration panels of either the |
American Arbitration Association or
the Federal Mediation and |
Conciliation Service, or who are members of the
National |
Academy of Arbitrators, as nominees for
impartial arbitrator of |
the arbitration panel. The parties may select an
individual on |
the list provided by the Board or any other individual
mutually |
agreed upon by the parties. Within 7 days following the receipt
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of the list, the parties shall notify the Board of the person |
they have
selected. Unless the parties agree on an alternate |
selection procedure,
they shall alternatively strike one name |
from the list provided by the
Board until only one name |
remains. A coin toss shall determine which party
shall strike |
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the first name. If the parties fail to notify the Board in a
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timely manner of their selection for neutral chairman, the |
Board shall
appoint a neutral chairman from the Illinois Public |
Employees
Mediation/Arbitration Roster.
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(d) The chairman shall call a hearing to begin within 15 |
days and give
reasonable notice of the time and place of the |
hearing. The hearing
shall be held at the offices of the Board |
or at such other location as the
Board deems appropriate. The |
chairman shall preside over the hearing and
shall take |
testimony. Any oral or documentary evidence and other data
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deemed relevant by the arbitration panel may be received in |
evidence. The
proceedings shall be informal. Technical rules of |
evidence shall not apply
and the competency of the evidence |
shall not thereby be deemed impaired. A
verbatim record of the |
proceedings shall be made and the arbitrator shall
arrange for |
the necessary recording service. Transcripts may be ordered at
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the expense of the party ordering them, but the transcripts |
shall not be
necessary for a decision by the arbitration panel. |
The expense of the
proceedings, including a fee for the |
chairman, established in advance by
the Board, shall be borne |
equally by each of the parties to the dispute.
The delegates, |
if public officers or employees, shall continue on the
payroll |
of the public employer without loss of pay. The hearing |
conducted
by the arbitration panel may be adjourned from time |
to time, but unless
otherwise agreed by the parties, shall be |
concluded within 30 days of the
time of its commencement. |
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Majority actions and rulings shall constitute
the actions and |
rulings of the arbitration panel. Arbitration proceedings
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under this Section shall not be interrupted or terminated by |
reason of any
unfair labor practice charge filed by either |
party at any time.
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(e) The arbitration panel may administer oaths, require the |
attendance
of witnesses, and the production of such books, |
papers, contracts, agreements
and documents as may be deemed by |
it material to a just determination of
the issues in dispute, |
and for such purpose may issue subpoenas. If any
person refuses |
to obey a subpoena, or refuses to be sworn or to testify,
or if |
any witness, party or attorney is guilty of any contempt while |
in
attendance at any hearing, the arbitration panel may, or the |
attorney general
if requested shall, invoke the aid of any |
circuit court within the jurisdiction
in which the hearing is |
being held, which court shall issue an appropriate
order. Any |
failure to obey the order may be punished by the court as |
contempt.
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(f) At any time before the rendering of an award, the |
chairman of the
arbitration panel, if he is of the opinion that |
it would be useful or
beneficial to do so, may remand the |
dispute to the parties for further
collective bargaining for a |
period not to exceed 2 weeks. If the dispute
is remanded for |
further collective bargaining the time provisions of this
Act |
shall be extended for a time period equal to that of the |
remand. The
chairman of the panel of arbitration shall notify |
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the Board of the remand.
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(g) At or before the conclusion of the hearing held |
pursuant to subsection
(d), the arbitration panel shall |
identify the economic issues in dispute,
and direct each of the |
parties to submit, within such time limit as the
panel shall |
prescribe, to the arbitration panel and to each other its last
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offer of settlement on each economic issue. The determination |
of the
arbitration panel as to the issues in dispute and as to |
which of these
issues are economic shall be conclusive. The |
arbitration panel, within 30
days after the conclusion of the |
hearing, or such further additional
periods to which the |
parties may agree, shall make written findings of fact
and |
promulgate a written opinion and shall mail or otherwise |
deliver a true
copy thereof to the parties and their |
representatives and to the Board. As
to each economic issue, |
the arbitration panel shall adopt the last offer of
settlement |
which, in the opinion of the arbitration panel, more nearly
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complies with the applicable factors prescribed in subsection |
(h). The
findings, opinions and order as to all other issues |
shall be based upon the
applicable factors prescribed in |
subsection (h).
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(h) Where there is no agreement between the parties, or |
where there is
an agreement but the parties have begun |
negotiations or discussions looking
to a new agreement or |
amendment of the existing agreement, and wage rates
or other |
conditions of employment under the proposed new or amended |
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agreement
are in dispute, the arbitration panel shall base its |
findings, opinions
and order upon the following factors, as |
applicable:
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(1) The lawful authority of the employer.
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(2) Stipulations of the parties.
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(3) The interests and welfare of the public and the |
financial ability
of the unit of government to meet those |
costs.
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(4) Comparison of the wages, hours and conditions of |
employment of the
employees involved in the arbitration |
proceeding with the wages, hours and
conditions of |
employment of other employees performing similar services
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and with other employees generally:
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(A) In public employment in comparable |
communities.
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(B) In private employment in comparable |
communities.
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(5) The average consumer prices for goods and services, |
commonly known
as the cost of living.
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(6) The overall compensation presently received by the |
employees,
including
direct wage compensation, vacations, |
holidays and other excused time, insurance
and pensions, |
medical and hospitalization benefits, the continuity and
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stability of employment and all other benefits received.
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(7) Changes in any of the foregoing circumstances |
during the pendency
of the arbitration proceedings.
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(8) Such other factors, not confined to the foregoing, |
which are normally
or traditionally taken into |
consideration in the determination of wages,
hours and |
conditions of employment through voluntary collective |
bargaining,
mediation, fact-finding, arbitration or |
otherwise between the parties, in
the public service or in |
private employment.
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(i) In the case of peace officers, the arbitration decision |
shall be
limited to wages, hours, and conditions of employment |
(which may include
residency requirements in municipalities |
with a population under 1,000,000, but
those residency |
requirements shall not allow residency outside of Illinois)
and |
shall not include
the following: i) residency requirements in |
municipalities with a population
of at least 1,000,000; ii) the |
type of equipment, other
than uniforms, issued or used; iii) |
manning; iv) the total number of
employees employed by the |
department; v) mutual aid and assistance
agreements to other |
units of government; and vi) the criterion pursuant to
which |
force, including deadly force, can be used; provided, nothing |
herein
shall preclude an arbitration decision regarding |
equipment or manning
levels if such decision is based on a |
finding that the equipment or manning
considerations in a |
specific work assignment involve a serious risk to the
safety |
of a peace officer beyond that which is inherent in the normal
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performance of police duties. Limitation of the terms of the |
arbitration
decision pursuant to this subsection shall not be |
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construed to limit the
factors upon which the decision may be |
based, as set forth in subsection (h).
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In the case of fire fighter, and fire department or fire |
district paramedic
matters, the arbitration decision shall be |
limited to wages, hours, and
conditions of employment (which |
may include residency requirements in
municipalities with a |
population under 1,000,000, but those residency
requirements |
shall not allow residency outside of Illinois) and shall not
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include the
following matters: i) residency requirements in |
municipalities with a
population of at least 1,000,000; ii) the |
type of equipment (other than
uniforms and fire fighter turnout |
gear) issued or used; iii) the total
number of employees |
employed by the department; iv) mutual aid and
assistance |
agreements to other units of government; and v) the criterion
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pursuant to which force, including deadly force, can be used; |
provided,
however, nothing herein shall preclude an |
arbitration decision regarding
equipment levels if such |
decision is based on a finding that the equipment
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considerations in a specific work assignment involve a serious |
risk to the
safety of a fire fighter beyond that which is |
inherent in the normal
performance of fire fighter duties. |
Limitation of the terms of the
arbitration decision pursuant to |
this subsection shall not be construed to
limit the facts upon |
which the decision may be based, as set forth in
subsection |
(h).
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The changes to this subsection (i) made by Public Act |
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90-385 (relating to residency requirements) do not
apply to |
persons who are employed by a combined department that performs |
both
police and firefighting services; these persons shall be |
governed by the
provisions of this subsection (i) relating to |
peace officers, as they existed
before the amendment by Public |
Act 90-385.
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To preserve historical bargaining rights, this subsection |
shall not apply
to any provision of a fire fighter collective |
bargaining agreement in effect
and applicable on the effective |
date of this Act; provided, however, nothing
herein shall |
preclude arbitration with respect to any such provision.
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(j) Arbitration procedures shall be deemed to be initiated |
by the
filing of a letter requesting mediation as required |
under subsection (a)
of this Section. The commencement of a new |
municipal fiscal year after the
initiation of arbitration |
procedures under this Act, but before the
arbitration decision, |
or its enforcement, shall not be deemed to render a
dispute |
moot, or to otherwise impair the jurisdiction or authority of |
the
arbitration panel or its decision. Increases in rates
of |
compensation awarded by the arbitration panel may be effective |
only at
the start of the fiscal year next commencing after the |
date of the arbitration
award. If a new fiscal year has |
commenced either since the initiation of
arbitration |
procedures under this Act or since any mutually agreed
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extension of the statutorily required period of mediation
under |
this Act by the parties to the labor dispute causing a
delay in |
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the initiation of arbitration, the foregoing limitations shall |
be
inapplicable, and such awarded increases may be retroactive |
to the
commencement of the fiscal year, any other statute or |
charter provisions to
the contrary, notwithstanding. At any |
time the parties, by stipulation, may
amend or modify an award |
of arbitration.
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(k) Orders of the arbitration panel shall be reviewable, |
upon
appropriate petition by either the public employer or the |
exclusive
bargaining representative, by the circuit court for |
the county in which the
dispute arose or in which a majority of |
the affected employees reside, but
only for reasons that the |
arbitration panel was without or exceeded its
statutory |
authority; the order is arbitrary, or capricious; or the order
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was procured by fraud, collusion or other similar and unlawful |
means. Such
petitions for review must be filed with the |
appropriate circuit court
within 90 days following the issuance |
of the arbitration order. The
pendency of such proceeding for |
review shall not automatically stay the
order of the |
arbitration panel. The party against whom the final decision
of |
any such court shall be adverse, if such court finds such |
appeal or
petition to be frivolous, shall pay reasonable |
attorneys' fees and costs to
the successful party as determined |
by said court in its discretion. If said
court's decision |
affirms the award of money, such award, if retroactive,
shall |
bear interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from the |
effective
retroactive date.
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(l) During the pendency of proceedings before the |
arbitration panel,
existing wages, hours, and other conditions |
of employment shall not be
changed by action of either party |
without the consent of the other but a
party may so consent |
without prejudice to his rights or position under
this Act. The |
proceedings are deemed to be pending before the arbitration
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panel upon the initiation of arbitration procedures under this |
Act.
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(m) Security officers of public employers, and Peace |
Officers, Fire
Fighters and fire department and fire protection |
district paramedics,
covered by this Section may not withhold |
services, nor may public employers
lock out or prevent such |
employees from performing services at any time.
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(n) All of the terms decided upon by the arbitration panel |
shall be included
in an agreement to be submitted to the public |
employer's governing body
for ratification and adoption by law, |
ordinance or the equivalent
appropriate means.
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The governing body shall review each term decided by the |
arbitration panel.
If the governing body fails to reject one or |
more terms of the
arbitration panel's decision by a 3/5 vote of |
those duly elected and
qualified members of the governing body, |
within 20 days of issuance, or
in the case of firefighters |
employed by a state university, at the next
regularly scheduled |
meeting of the governing body after issuance, such
term or |
terms shall become a part of the collective bargaining |
agreement of
the parties. If the governing body affirmatively |
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rejects one or more terms
of the arbitration panel's decision, |
it must provide reasons for such
rejection with respect to each |
term so rejected, within 20 days of such
rejection and the |
parties shall return to the arbitration panel
for further |
proceedings and issuance of a supplemental decision with |
respect
to the rejected terms. Any supplemental decision by an |
arbitration panel
or other decision maker agreed to by the |
parties shall be submitted to
the governing body for |
ratification and adoption in accordance with the
procedures and |
voting requirements set forth in this Section.
The voting |
requirements of this subsection shall apply to all disputes
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submitted to arbitration pursuant to this Section |
notwithstanding any
contrary voting requirements contained in |
any existing collective
bargaining agreement between the |
parties.
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(o) If the governing body of the employer votes to reject |
the panel's
decision, the parties shall return to the panel |
within 30 days from the
issuance of the reasons for rejection |
for further proceedings and issuance
of a supplemental |
decision. All reasonable costs of such supplemental
proceeding |
including the exclusive representative's reasonable attorney's
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fees, as established by the Board, shall be paid by the |
employer.
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(p) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section the |
employer and
exclusive representative may agree to submit |
unresolved disputes concerning
wages, hours, terms and |