HF 549 (LSB 2589HV (1) 86)

HOUSE FILE 549

BY  COMMITTEE ON LABOR

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 204)

A BILL FOR

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

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

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill provides that, in an arbitration pursuant to Code chapter 20, the public employment relations Act, in which the public employees are teachers licensed under Code chapter 272 who are employed by a public employer which is a school district or area education agency, the arbitrator’s award with respect to each impasse item shall not be restricted to the final offers on each such item submitted by the parties to the arbitrator. The arbitrator may select one of the final offers on an impasse item or may make an award which stays within the confines of the final offers on an impasse item. Under current law, an arbitrator is only permitted to choose between the final offers of the parties on each impasse item.
   The bill modifies the factors that an arbitrator in an arbitration in which the public employees are teachers licensed under Code chapter 272 who are employed by a public employer which is a school district or area education agency may consider when making a decision on an impasse item.
   The bill requires an arbitrator to consider a comparison of wages, hours, and conditions of employment of the involved public employees with those of private sector employees doing comparable work, giving consideration to factors peculiar to the area and the classifications involved.
   The bill prohibits an arbitrator from considering the ability of the public employer to finance economic adjustments and the effect of such adjustments on the normal standard of services. The bill also prohibits an arbitrator from considering the power of the public employer to levy taxes and appropriate funds for the conduct of its operations.
   The bill applies to binding teacher contract arbitrations to which parties submit pursuant to Code chapter 20 on or after the effective date of the bill.