Title 03, Title 03: Executive

§ 1005. Administrative procedure laws; application Laws of this State relating to administrative procedure including chapter 25 of this title are not applicable to the Labor Relations Board except as set forth in this chapter. (Added 1969, No. 113, § 1.)

§ 1006. Short title This chapter may be cited as “State Employee Labor Relations Act.” (Added 1969, No. 113, § 1.)

§ 1007. Separability If any provision of this chapter, or the application of such provision to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this chapter, or the application of that provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is he…

§ 1008. Contract ratification; annual vote Annually, the employees of the bargaining unit shall meet and discuss whether employees who have chosen not to join the employee organization shall be allowed to vote on the ratification of any collective bargaining agreement entered int…

§ 901. Purpose It is the purpose and policy of this chapter to prescribe the legitimate rights of both State employees and the State of Vermont and of Vermont State Colleges and the University of Vermont in their relations with each other; to provide orderly and peaceful procedur…

§ 902. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Board” means the State Labor Relations Board established under section 921 of this title. (2) “Collective bargaining” or “bargaining collectively” means the process of negotiating terms, tenure, or conditions of employment between …

§ 903. Employees’ rights and duties; prohibited acts (a) Employees shall have the right to self-organization; to form, join, or assist employee organizations; to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choice; and to engage in concerted activities for the purpos…

§ 904. Subjects for bargaining (a) All matters relating to the relationship between the employer and employees shall be the subject of collective bargaining except those matters that are prescribed or controlled by statute. The matters appropriate for collective bargaining to the…

§ 905. Management rights (a) The Governor or designee for the State of Vermont, the Chancellor or designee for the Vermont State Colleges, the President or designee for the University of Vermont, and the Executive Director or designee for the Department of State’s Attorneys and S…

§ 906. Designation of managerial, supervisory, and confidential employees (a) The Commissioner of Human Resources shall determine those positions in the classified service whose incumbents the Commissioner believes should be designated as managerial, supervisory, or confidential …

§ 907. Designation of supervisory employees Classified employees in the management unit certified by the Board, who are determined to be supervisory employees as defined by section 902 of this title and who are not determined to be managerial or confidential employees as defined …

§ 908. Designation of State’s Attorneys’ employees; statewide bargaining rights Employees of the State’s Attorneys’ offices shall be part of one or more statewide bargaining units, as determined to be appropriate by the Board pursuant to sections 927 and 941 of this title, for th…

§ 909. Access to new employees in bargaining unit (a) An employer shall provide the employee organization that is the exclusive representative of the employees in a bargaining unit with an opportunity to meet with each newly hired employee in the bargaining unit to present inform…

§ 910. Annual list of employees in bargaining unit (a) Annually, or on a more frequent basis if mutually agreed to by the employer and the employee organization, the employer shall provide the employee organization that is the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit with a …

§ 911. Designation of deputy sheriffs paid by State; statewide bargaining rights (a) Deputy sheriffs paid by the State pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 290(b) shall be part of a single, separate statewide bargaining unit, as determined to be appropriate by the Board pursuant to section 94…

§ 921. Creation; membership; compensation (a) There is hereby created a State Labor Relations Board composed of six members. The Governor shall appoint the members with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of six years or for the member’s unexpired term from a list of …

§ 922. Office space; employees (a) The Secretary of Administration shall, upon request by the State Labor Relations Board, allow the Board the responsible use of public buildings under his or her control and furnish heat, light, and furniture for any meeting or hearing called by …

§ 923. Legal counsel The Board may retain an attorney or attorneys qualified in labor law to represent it in all matters under this chapter. (Added 1969, No. 113, § 1.)

§ 924. Powers and duties (a) [Repealed.] (b) In all proceedings under this chapter, no evidence shall be admitted or considered that relates to conduct or statements made in compromise negotiations, including mediation, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. This subsection d…

§ 925. Mediation; fact finding (a) Whenever the representatives of a collective bargaining unit and the representative of the employer, after a reasonable period of negotiation reach an impasse during the course of collective bargaining on subjects defined in section 904 of this …

§ 926. Grievances (a) The Board shall hear and make a final determination on the grievances of all employees who are eligible to appeal grievances to the Board. Grievance hearings at the Board level shall be conducted in accordance with the rules adopted by the Board. The right t…

§ 927. Appropriate unit (a) The Board shall decide the unit appropriate for the purpose of collective bargaining in each case and those employees to be included in that unit, in order to ensure the employees the fullest freedom in exercising the rights guaranteed by this chapter.…

§ 928. Rules (a) The Board, as necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, shall adopt and may amend and rescind rules consistent with this chapter. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, rules adopted by the Board as they relate to griev…

§ 929. Records to be public All findings, conclusions, and determinations of the Board and the records of all hearings and other proceedings, unless otherwise provided by law, shall be public records. (Added 1969, No. 113, § 1.)

§ 941. Unit determination, certification, and representation (a) The Board shall determine issues of unit determination, certification, and representation in accordance with this chapter. (b) No bargaining unit or collective bargaining representative shall be recognized by the em…

§ 942. Election conduct Any interested person may file with the Board a charge that employees eligible to vote in an election under this chapter have been coerced or restrained in the exercise of this right. The Board shall investigate and conduct hearings into the validity of th…

§ 961. Employers It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer: (1) to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed by section 903 of this title, or by any other law, rule, or regulation; (2) to dominate or interfere with the for…

§ 962. Employees It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employee organization or its agents: (1) To restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed to them by law, rule, or regulation. However, this subdivision shall not impair the right of an employee …

§ 963. Membership; employees’ rights An employee organization entering into an agreement shall not: (1) discriminate against a person seeking or holding membership therein on account of race, color, creed, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or na…

§ 964. Business and products of other employers It shall be an unfair labor practice for any employee organization and any employer to enter into any contract or agreement, express or implied, whereby the employer ceases or refrains or agrees to cease or refrain from handling, us…

§ 965. Prevention of unfair practices (a) The Board may prevent any person from engaging in any unfair labor practice listed in sections 961–962 of this title. Whenever a charge is made that any person has engaged in or is engaging in any unfair labor practice, the Board may issu…

§ 966. Freedom of expression The expressing of any views, argument or opinion, or the dissemination thereof, whether in written, printed, graphic, oral or visual form, shall not constitute or be evidence of an unfair labor practice under this chapter, if such expression contains …

§ 971. Intent of subchapter A State employee, as a trustee and servant of the people, shall be free to report, in good faith and with candor, waste, fraud, abuse of authority, violations of law, or a threat to the health of employees, the public, or persons under the care of the …

§ 972. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Department head” means a secretary of an agency, commissioner of a department, director of an office, or any other appointing authority in charge of an agency of State government. (2) “Illegal order” means a directive to violate…

§ 973. Protected activity (a) A State agency, department, appointing authority, official, or employee shall not engage in retaliatory action against a State employee because the State employee refuses to comply with an illegal order or engages in any of the following: (1) providi…

§ 974. Communication with General Assembly (a) No entity of State government may prohibit a State employee from engaging in discussion with a member of the General Assembly or from testifying before a legislative committee; provided, however, that an employee may not divulge conf…

§ 975. Enforcement and preemption (a) Nothing in this subchapter shall be deemed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of a State employee under other federal or State law or under any collective bargaining agreement or employment contract, except the limitation on mult…

§ 976. Remedies A State employee who brings a claim in Superior Court may be awarded the following remedies: (1) reinstatement of the employee to the same position, seniority, and work location held prior to the retaliatory action; (2) back pay, lost wages, benefits, and other re…

§ 977. Posting Every State agency and department shall distribute a copy of this law by August 1, 2008 and shall post and display notices of State employee protection under this subchapter in a prominent and accessible location in the workplace. (Added 2007, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.),…

§ 978. Limitations of actions An action alleging a violation of this subchapter brought under a grievance procedure or similar process shall be brought within the period allowed by that process or procedure. An action brought in Superior Court shall be brought within 180 days of …

§ 981. Good faith; failure to agree For the purpose of this chapter to bargain collectively is the performance of the mutual obligation of the employer and the representative of the employees to meet at reasonable times and confer in good faith with respect to all matters bargain…

§ 982. Agreements; limitations, renegotiation, and renewal (a) Collective bargaining agreements, except those affecting the Vermont State Colleges and the University of Vermont, shall be for a maximum term of two years and shall not be subject to cancellation or renegotiation dur…