June 27, 2008
Another test for Paterson
Will Governor David Paterson say "yes" to a union-giveaway that Governors Eliot Spitzer, George Pataki and Mario Cuomo vetoed eight times?
The bill approved unanimously in the Senate and by a 126-15 vote in the Assembly, requires the use of independent hearing officers in disciplinary proceedings when government employers want to fire unionized employees.
The bill applies only when the employer believes the situation may warrant dismissal. That may be impossible to determine prior to hearing all the evidence. If a case is first heard internally and new evidence emerges supporting a dismissal, the case would have to be re-heard by an outside hearing officer.
Under existing law, disciplinary hearings are conducted by an individual or body with power to appoint the employee, or a designated hearing officer. Through the collective bargaining process, the employer and union can negotiate a different procedure.
The state Conference of Mayors says the mandate:
circumvents that [existing] process and delivers to unions a major bargaining goal at no cost to them...[ and is] a giveaway of the right of public employers to gain concessions when major union objectives are agreed to in the course of collective negotiations.
The state Association of Counties (NYSAC) says the bill puts disciplinary authority "in the hands of an independent individual not answerable to the public.
The bill memo is vague about the added cost of hiring hearing officers, saying only that it "shall be divided equally between the parties" and that hearing officers could penalize those bringing frivolous claims. But NYSAC predicts:
Additional costs will also be imposed...when lengthy delays in disciplinary hearings require employers to return suspended employees to the payroll, since suspensions without pay for more than 30 days are prohibited by current statute.
As a senator, Paterson voted for earlier versions of the bill. As governor, he may have a different perspective. Ninety-four percent of executive branch employees are unionized and the Governor's Office of Employee Relations urged Spitzer to veto the bill last year.
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