S 636119th CongressIn Committee

Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act

Introduced: Feb 19, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act would establish a federal framework to give public safety officers (law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel) employed by states or their political subdivisions the right to form or join labor organizations and to bargain with their employers over wages, hours, and working conditions. The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) would determine within 180 days (with some flexibility for subsequent changes) whether each state substantially provides the rights and responsibilities described in the bill. If a state is found to substantially provide these rights, the act would not apply to that state; if not, federal procedures would apply, including unit determinations, elections to select exclusive bargaining representatives, good-faith bargaining, writing of contracts, and binding interest arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses. The bill also prohibits strikes and other disruptive job actions by public safety personnel involved, while preserving existing state laws and agreements to the extent they provide comparable or greater rights. The act would authorize funding and establish enforcement mechanisms through the FLRA and federal courts.

Key Points

1Rights and responsibilities for public safety officers
2- Public safety officers would have the right to form and join labor organizations (with certain exclusions) and to bargain with their public safety employer over hours, wages, and terms and conditions of employment.
3- They would have a right to binding interest arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses and a right to enforcement of these rights and any contracts through a state administrative agency or a court.
4Determination and implementation by the FLRA
5- The FLRA must determine, within 180 days after enactment, whether each state substantially provides the described rights and responsibilities.
6- If a state does not substantially provide them, federal regulatory procedures would apply starting no earlier than two years after enactment (or later, as specific timing in the bill dictates), with possible adjustments if the state’s law later changes.
7Two-track system for states
8- Substantial provisions: If a state substantially provides the rights, this Act does not preempt or alter that state’s laws.
9- Inadequate provisions: If a state does not substantially provide the rights, federal bargaining procedures (via FLRA regulations) apply to public safety officers in that state (or to specified categories if partial adequacy is found).
10Strikes, lockouts, and enforcement
11- Strikes, lockouts, sickouts, and other job actions intended to disrupt emergency services are generally prohibited, though state law protections may apply at the local level.
12- Enforcement can occur through FLRA procedures, federal courts, and, where chosen by a state, a state administrative agency.
13Preservation of existing agreements and state prerogatives
14- The act does not invalidate preexisting collective bargaining agreements or recognized units existing on enactment.
15- The act respects state laws that already provide equal or greater rights and does not preempt those laws.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Public safety officers (law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel) employed by states or their political subdivisions who would gain or be governed by collective bargaining rights and processes.Secondary group/area affected- Public safety employers (state and local governments, and their agencies), labor organizations representing public safety officers, and the Federal Labor Relations Authority (as the regulatory and enforcement body).Additional impacts- Potential administrative and budgeting implications for state and local governments implementing new bargaining structures, elections, and arbitration processes.- Changes in how labor relations are conducted at the state and local level, including the creation of formal negotiation procedures, exclusive bargaining representatives, and dispute resolution mechanisms.- Interaction with existing state laws; the Act is designed to be nonpreemptive where states provide equal or greater rights, but it would impose federal processes in states that do not meet the core rights and responsibilities.The bill defines several terms (e.g., public safety officer, public safety employer, labor organization, etc.) to tailor federal labor-relations concepts to the public safety context.The Act contemplates a significant role for the FLRA in unit determinations, elections, and enforcement, with court-access provisions for compliance.Timing provisions create a transition: states not deemed to substantially provide the rights would face federal procedures beginning in the 2-year window or at the date specified by the act’s rules, with possible adjustments for changes in state law.

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