January 23, 2013 Managerial and Confidential Employees

KEEPING YOU INFORMED…

With the New Year upon us, it may be a good time to review the composition of your bargaining units to ascertain whether there are any employees who should not be in a union due to their “managerial” and/or “confidential” status.  These individuals are not considered public employees and, therefore, cannot be included in a bargaining unit.  A “managerial” employee formulates employer-wide policy and/or may reasonably be required by the employer to conduct collective negotiations or have a major role in the administration of collective bargaining agreements or personnel administration provided that this role is not of a routine or clerical nature and requires the exercise of independent judgment (e.g., a Superintendent or an Assistant Superintendent of Schools, a Director of Labor Relations or Operations, and some department heads).

A “confidential” employee (e.g., usually clerical personnel) assists a managerial employee on a regular basis in a confidential capacity in confidential matters involving personnel or labor relations.

The procedure for removing an employee from a bargaining unit due to the employee’s “managerial” and/or “confidential” status is to file an application with the Public Employment Relations Board (“PERB”). The application can be filed at any time and includes, among other things: the affected employees’ name(s) and job title(s); whether the job title(s) are within a bargaining unit; all relevant job descriptions; and a factual statement in support of the application. A copy of the application is sent to the union, which has the right to dispute the application all the way through a formal hearing at PERB.

If you have any questions regarding managerial and/or confidential employees or regarding filing a managerial/confidential application with PERB, please do not hesitate to contact us.