BILL NUMBER: S5726

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to employee represen-
tation of state employees designated managerial or confidential; and to
repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide that any state employee designated managerial or confidential
receive certain protections comparable to union-represented employees
under the Taylor Law

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill amends Section 204 of the Civil Service Law to provide that an
organization representing management/confidential (M/C) employees be
granted certain recognitions under Article 14 of Civil Service Law (also
known as the Taylor Law).
              

Section two of this bill repeals section 214 of the civil service law
which prohibits M/Cs from holding membership in an organization seeking
certification or recognition under the Taylor Law.

Section three provides for an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The rights and privileges afforded recognized and certified employee
organizations under Article 14 of the NYS Civil Service Law are consid-
erable. While Article 14, also known as the Public Employees Fair
Employment Act or the Taylor Law, specifically excludes employees desig-
nated as either "managerial" or "confidential" from organizing for
purposes of collective negotiations, such employees have formed volun-
tary associations to mutually address workplace issues, defend employee
rights, and offer group benefit programs. For managerial or confidential
employees of the state of New York, the Organization of New York State
Management Confidential Employees (NYS OMCE) has been the sole associ-
ation for more than 40 years. OMCE works with the Governor's Office of
Employee Relations (GOER) to ensure that managerial or confidential
employees have a voice in state government and are treated no worse than
their union-represented coworkers.

In seeking treatment comparable to that of "recognized and certified"
employee organizations with the express exclusion of collective negoti-
ations, the legislation seeks to formalize the existing relationship
that OMCE enjoys with New York State. This bill would allow OMCE to
continue to collect certain membership information and receive automatic
payroll dues deductions while also allowing them to obtain addresses and
contact information for new employees, access to employees during orien-
tation, distribute organizational materials at the worksite, and meet
with members during the work day for purposes of representation in
administrative matters. In other words, this bill helps provide some
parity between the widely enjoyed rights of unionized state employees
and M/Cs. This bill will allow this critical employee organization to
more effectively represent the needs and interests of non-unionized

employees who nonetheless should be subject to some protections and
privileges under the Taylor Law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate