CHAPTER 6
NEGOTIATIONS AND NEGOTIABILITY DISPUTES
621—6.1(20) Scope of negotiations. The scope of negotiations shall include the mandatory subjects of collective bargaining as provided in Iowa Code section 20.9. “Permissive” matters are all other subjects upon which bargaining is not prohibited. Either party may introduce permissive matters for negotiation, and negotiation on these matters may continue until resolved by mutual agreement of the parties or until negotiations reach the arbitration stage of impasse; however, no party is required to negotiate on permissive subjects of bargaining. Unresolved permissive matters shall be excluded from arbitration unless submission of the matter has been mutually agreed upon by the parties. Such an agreement is applicable only to negotiations toward the collective bargaining agreement then sought and is not binding upon the parties for future negotiations.
[ARC 8953B, IAB 7/28/10, effective 9/1/10; ARC 2308C, IAB 12/9/15, effective 1/13/16]
621—6.2(20) Consolidated negotiations. Nothing in these rules shall prohibit, by agreement of the parties, more than one certified bargaining representative from bargaining jointly with a common public employer, or more than one public employer from bargaining jointly with a common certified bargaining representative, or any other combination thereof.
621—6.3(20) Negotiability disputes.
	6.3(1) Defined. A “negotiability dispute” is a dispute arising in good faith during the course of collective bargaining as to whether a proposal made during bargaining is a mandatory, permissive, or prohibited subject of collective bargaining under Iowa Code section 20.9.
	6.3(2) Petitions for expedited resolution.
	a. 	In the event that a negotiability dispute arises between the employer and the certified employee organization, either party may petition the agency for expedited resolution of the dispute. The petition shall be filed and set forth the following:
	(1)	The name and address of the petitioner and the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the petitioner’s representative;
	(2)	The name and address of the respondent and the name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the respondent’s representative;
	(3)	The material facts of the dispute; and
	(4)	The verbatim text of the proposal at issue.
	b. 	The petitioner shall promptly serve the other party with a copy of the petition and file proof thereof with the agency in accordance with 621—subrules 2.15(3) and 16.10(1).
	6.3(3) Preliminary ruling. The agency will give priority to a petition for expedited resolution of a negotiability dispute. Parties may file briefs in support of their positions within the time specified by the agency, and the agency may set the matter for oral argument. The agency may issue a preliminary ruling, without analysis, that the proposal is mandatory, permissive, or prohibited.
	6.3(4) Final ruling. Within 20 days following the issuance of a preliminary ruling, either party may request the agency to issue a final ruling, which will set forth the agency’s analysis and conclusions.
	6.3(5) Arbitration. Unless the dispute is resolved prior to the arbitration hearing, the parties shall present evidence on all items to the arbitrator, including the item which is the subject of the negotiability dispute. A negotiability dispute raised at the arbitration hearing shall be upon written objection to the submission of the proposal to the arbitrator. The objection shall state that the objecting party will file a petition for resolution of the dispute with the agency, which petition shall be filed within five days of the making of the objection. Arbitrators shall rule on all items submitted to them including the item which is the subject of the negotiability dispute, unless explicitly stayed by the agency. Arbitration awards issued prior to the final determination of the negotiability dispute are contingent upon the agency’s determination.
	6.3(6) Negotiability outside of bargaining. Questions of negotiability which do not arise during the course of bargaining are not negotiability disputes within the scope of this rule but may be posed to the agency by a petition for declaratory order filed pursuant to 621—Chapter 10.
[ARC 8953B, IAB 7/28/10, effective 9/1/10; ARC 1583C, IAB 8/20/14, effective 9/24/14; ARC 2308C, IAB 12/9/15, effective 1/13/16]
621—6.4(20) Voluntary settlement procedures.
	6.4(1) Terms made public. Where the parties have reached a proposed (or “tentative”) collective bargaining agreement, the public employer shall make the terms of the agreement public.
	6.4(2) Ratification or rejection by employee organization. Within seven days of the date of the tentative agreement, the employee organization shall conduct a ratification election on the tentative agreement. The employee organization shall give reasonable notice of the date, time and place of the election to the public employees; however, such notice shall be at least 24 hours prior to the election. The vote shall be by secret ballot, and the majority of votes cast will determine acceptance or rejection of the tentative agreement. Only members of the employee organization shall be entitled to vote; however, the employee organization may, pursuant to its internal procedures, extend voting rights to nonmember bargaining unit employees. The employee organization shall, within 24 hours of the conclusion of the election, serve notice on the public employer as to whether or not the proposed agreement has been ratified.
	6.4(3) Acceptance or rejection by public employer. The public employer shall, within ten days of the tentative agreement, likewise meet to accept or reject the agreement, and shall within 24 hours of the acceptance or rejection serve notice on the employee organization of its acceptance or rejection of the proposed agreement; however, the public employer shall not be required to either accept or reject the tentative agreement if it has been rejected by the employee organization.
	6.4(4) Time limits.
	a. 	The above time limits may be modified by a written mutual agreement between the public employer and the employee organization.
	b. 	The above time limits shall not apply to proposed agreements between the state and any bargaining unit of state employees.
[ARC 8953B, IAB 7/28/10, effective 9/1/10; ARC 2308C, IAB 12/9/15, effective 1/13/16]
621—6.5(20) Filing of agreement. Not later than 60 days after ratification and acceptance of a tentative agreement or the issuance of an interest arbitration award, the public employer shall submit the collective bargaining agreement to the agency.
[ARC 2308C, IAB 12/9/15, effective 1/13/16]
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code chapter 20.
[Filed 3/4/75]
[Filed 10/29/76, Notice 9/22/76—published 11/17/76, effective 12/22/76]
[Filed 10/26/77, Notice 9/21/77—published 11/16/77, effective 12/21/77]
[Filed 2/3/78, Notice 12/28/77—published 2/22/78, effective 3/29/78]
[Filed 9/11/79, Notice 7/11/79—published 10/3/79, effective 11/12/79]
[Filed 11/7/80, Notice 9/17/80—published 11/26/80, effective 12/31/80]
[Filed 10/22/82, Notice 9/15/82—published 11/10/82, effective 12/15/82]
[Filed emergency 7/23/85—published 8/14/85, effective 7/23/85]
[Filed 10/9/86, Notice 8/27/86—published 11/5/86, effective 12/10/86]
[Filed Without Notice ARC 8953B, IAB 7/28/10, effective 9/1/10]
[Filed ARC 1583C (Notice ARC 1507C, IAB 6/25/14), IAB 8/20/14, effective 9/24/14]
[Filed ARC 2308C (Notice ARC 2191C, IAB 10/14/15), IAB 12/9/15, effective 1/13/16]