Bill Text: IA HF549 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to collective bargaining arbitration proceedings involving individuals employed by school districts and area education agencies and including applicability provisions. (Formerly HSB 204)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-01-12 - Subcommittee, Dearden, Bisignano, and Shipley. S.J. 46. [HF549 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF549-Introduced.html

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House File 549 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON LABOR

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 204)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to collective bargaining arbitration
  2    proceedings involving teachers employed by school districts
  3    and area education agencies and including applicability
  4    provisions.
  5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 20.22, subsections 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, and
  1  2 11, Code 2015, are amended to read as follows:
  1  3    3.  The submission of the impasse items to the arbitrator
  1  4 shall be limited to those items upon which the parties have
  1  5 not reached agreement. With respect to each such item, the
  1  6 arbitrator's award shall be restricted to the final offers on
  1  7 each impasse item submitted by the parties to the arbitrator.
  1  8 However, in an arbitration in which the public employees are
  1  9 teachers licensed under chapter 272 who are employed by a
  1 10 public employer which is a school district or area education
  1 11 agency, the arbitrator's award with respect to each such item
  1 12 shall not be restricted to the final offers on each impasse
  1 13 item submitted by the parties to the arbitrator.
  1 14    6.  From the time the board notifies the arbitrator of the
  1 15 selection of the arbitrator until such time as the arbitrator's
  1 16 selection or decision on each impasse item is made, there shall
  1 17 be no discussion concerning recommendations for settlement of
  1 18 the dispute by the arbitrator with parties other than those who
  1 19 are direct parties to the dispute.
  1 20    7.  The arbitrator shall consider, in addition to any other
  1 21 relevant factors, the following factors:
  1 22    a.  Past collective bargaining contracts between the parties
  1 23 including the bargaining that led up to such contracts.
  1 24    b.  Comparison of wages, hours and conditions of employment
  1 25 of the involved public employees with those of other public
  1 26 employees doing comparable work, giving consideration to
  1 27 factors peculiar to the area and the classifications involved.
  1 28 In an arbitration in which the public employees are teachers
  1 29 licensed under chapter 272 who are employed by a public
  1 30 employer which is a school district or area education agency,
  1 31 the comparison shall also include comparison of wages, hours,
  1 32 and conditions of employment of the involved public employees
  1 33 with those of private sector employees doing comparable work,
  1 34 giving consideration to factors peculiar to the area and the
  1 35 classifications involved.
  2  1    c.  The interests and welfare of the public, the ability
  2  2 of the public employer to finance economic adjustments and
  2  3 the effect of such adjustments on the normal standard of
  2  4 services.  The ability of the public employer to finance
  2  5 economic adjustments and the effect of such adjustments on
  2  6 the normal standard of services shall not be considered in an
  2  7 arbitration in which the public employees are teachers licensed
  2  8 under chapter 272 who are employed by a public employer which
  2  9 is a school district or area education agency.
  2 10    d.  The power of the public employer to levy taxes and
  2 11 appropriate funds for the conduct of its operations.  This
  2 12 factor shall not be considered in an arbitration in which the
  2 13 public employees are teachers licensed under chapter 272 who
  2 14 are employed by a public employer which is a school district or
  2 15 area education agency.
  2 16    9.  a.  The For an arbitration in which the public employees
  2 17 are not teachers licensed under chapter 272 who are employed by
  2 18 a public employer which is a school district or area education
  2 19 agency, the arbitrator shall select within fifteen days after
  2 20 the hearing the most reasonable offer, in the arbitrator's
  2 21 judgment, of the final offers on each impasse item submitted
  2 22 by the parties.
  2 23    b.  For an arbitration in which the public employees are
  2 24 teachers licensed under chapter 272 who are employed by a
  2 25 public employer which is a school district or area education
  2 26 agency, the arbitrator shall render a decision within fifteen
  2 27 days after the hearing consisting of the arbitrator's award on
  2 28 each impasse item submitted by the parties. The arbitrator may
  2 29 select one of the final offers on an impasse item submitted by
  2 30 the parties or the arbitrator may make any award which stays
  2 31 within the confines of the final offers on an impasse item
  2 32 submitted by the parties.
  2 33    10.  The selections or decisions by the arbitrator and
  2 34 items agreed upon by the public employer and the employee
  2 35 organization, shall be deemed to be the collective bargaining
  3  1 agreement between the parties.
  3  2    11.  The determination selections or decisions of the
  3  3 arbitrator shall be final and binding subject to the provisions
  3  4 of section 20.17, subsection 6. The arbitrator shall give
  3  5 written explanation for the arbitrator's selections or
  3  6 decisions and inform the parties of the decision.
  3  7    Sec. 2.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to binding
  3  8 arbitrations to which parties submit pursuant to chapter 20 on
  3  9 or after the effective date of this Act.
  3 10                           EXPLANATION
  3 11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3 12 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3 13    This bill provides that, in an arbitration pursuant to Code
  3 14 chapter 20, the public employment relations Act, in which the
  3 15 public employees are teachers licensed under Code chapter
  3 16 272 who are employed by a public employer which is a school
  3 17 district or area education agency, the arbitrator's award with
  3 18 respect to each impasse item shall not be restricted to the
  3 19 final offers on each such item submitted by the parties to the
  3 20 arbitrator. The arbitrator may select one of the final offers
  3 21 on an impasse item or may make an award which stays within the
  3 22 confines of the final offers on an impasse item. Under current
  3 23 law, an arbitrator is only permitted to choose between the
  3 24 final offers of the parties on each impasse item.
  3 25    The bill modifies the factors that an arbitrator in an
  3 26 arbitration in which the public employees are teachers licensed
  3 27 under Code chapter 272 who are employed by a public employer
  3 28 which is a school district or area education agency may
  3 29 consider when making a decision on an impasse item.
  3 30    The bill requires an arbitrator to consider a comparison
  3 31 of wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the involved
  3 32 public employees with those of private sector employees doing
  3 33 comparable work, giving consideration to factors peculiar to
  3 34 the area and the classifications involved.
  3 35    The bill prohibits an arbitrator from considering the
  4  1 ability of the public employer to finance economic adjustments
  4  2 and the effect of such adjustments on the normal standard
  4  3 of services. The bill also prohibits an arbitrator from
  4  4 considering the power of the public employer to levy taxes and
  4  5 appropriate funds for the conduct of its operations.
  4  6    The bill applies to binding teacher contract arbitrations to
  4  7 which parties submit pursuant to Code chapter 20 on or after
  4  8 the effective date of the bill.
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