Public Act 90-0202 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0202
SB753 Enrolled LRB9003196EGfg
AN ACT in relation to negotiation of firefighter
residency requirements, amending a named Act.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Public Labor Relations Act is
amended by changing Section 14 as follows:
(5 ILCS 315/14) (from Ch. 48, par. 1614)
Sec. 14. Security Employee, Peace Officer and Fire
Fighter Disputes.
(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
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 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 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.
(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.
(c) 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 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 the first name. If the
parties fail to notify the Board in a timely manner of their
selection for neutral chairman, the Board shall appoint a
neutral chairman from the Illinois Public Employees
Mediation/Arbitration Roster.
(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 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 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.
Majority actions and rulings shall constitute the actions and
rulings of the arbitration panel. Arbitration proceedings
under this Section shall not be interrupted or terminated by
reason of any unfair labor practice charge filed by either
party at any time.
(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.
(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 the Board of the remand.
(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 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 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).
(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
agreement are in dispute, the arbitration panel shall base
its findings, opinions and order upon the following factors,
as applicable:
(1) The lawful authority of the employer.
(2) Stipulations of the parties.
(3) The interests and welfare of the public and the
financial ability of the unit of government to meet those
costs.
(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 and with other employees generally:
(A) In public employment in comparable
communities.
(B) In private employment in comparable
communities.
(5) The average consumer prices for goods and
services, commonly known as the cost of living.
(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 stability of employment and all other
benefits received.
(7) Changes in any of the foregoing circumstances
during the pendency of the arbitration proceedings.
(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.
(i) In the case of peace officers, the arbitration
decision shall be limited to wages, hours and conditions of
employment and shall not include the following: i) residency
requirements; 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 performance of police duties.
Limitation of the terms of the arbitration decision pursuant
to this subsection shall not be construed to limit the
factors upon which the decision may be based, as set forth in
subsection (h).
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
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 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
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).
For the purposes of this subsection (i), persons who are
employed by a combined department that performs both police
and fire fighting services shall be governed by the
provisions relating to peace officers rather than the
provisions relating to fire fighters.
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.
(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 extension of the statutorily
required period of mediation under this Act by the parties to
the labor dispute causing a delay in 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.
(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 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.
(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 panel upon the initiation of arbitration
procedures under this Act.
(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.
(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.
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 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 submitted to
arbitration pursuant to this Section notwithstanding any
contrary voting requirements contained in any existing
collective bargaining agreement between the parties.
(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 fees, as established
by the Board, shall be paid by the employer.
(p) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section the
employer and exclusive representative may agree to submit
unresolved disputes concerning wages, hours, terms and
conditions of employment to an alternative form of impasse
resolution.
(Source: P.A. 89-195, eff. 7-21-95.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.