Legislature passes 29 PEF-supported bills in ’06 session
By SHERRY HALBROOK
In the final days and hours of the 2006 state legislative session, lawmakers
acted on many of PEF’s high priority bills.
The Senate passed the Cost-Benefit Analysis bill, which had already been passed
by the Assembly. And the two remaining Workplace Violence Prevention bills were
passed by both houses. (See related articles, pages 4 and 5.)
An early retirement bill was at the top of the wish list for many PEF members,
and the Legislature did pass a bill that, while weak on incentive, should be
available to a much wider group of state employees than the incentives of recent
years. (See related article page 13.)
All of these bills still have to go before the governor for his signature or
veto.
Unfortunately, bills to end mandatory overtime for nurses were not passed in
either house.
PEF 29-0 for the season
According to PEF Legislative Director Brian Curran, 29 of the bills supported by
PEF passed in both the Senate and the Assembly, and no bill opposed by PEF made
it through both houses.
While the regular 2006 legislative session ended June 24, the Legislature could
return briefly to Albany later this year for a special session to deal with a
few issues.
“We can be very proud of our accomplishments,” said PEF President Roger Benson.
“They were achieved by carefully planned and well executed campaigns that
involved our members calling and writing to legislators and the governor, print
and TV advertising, and coordinated lobbying with other organizations that
shared our views.
“It’s disappointing that we still do not have a limit on mandatory overtime for
our nurses, but we are zeroing in on that target and PEF will keep fighting for
this until we achieve it,” Benson added.
Retiree health bill vetoed
The governor has vetoed bill A.9722/S.6397 that would have restricted public
employers from diminishing retiree health insurance benefits through May 2007.
However, the governor signed bill S.3593A/A.3828B which increases from $27,500
to $30,000 the amount a retired public employee can earn without affecting his
or her pension in 2007.
He has yet to act on two other pension-related bills passed by the Legislature.
Bill S.8001/A.11611 would allow employees of the state Thruway Authority and
Canal Corporation to get pension service credit for up to 200 days of unused
sick leave upon retirement. This is a benefit other NY state employees already
have.
Bill S.2566A/A.5392A would establish a 25-year pension plan for police and peace
officers employed by the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
Taylor Law reforms passed
The Legislature passed several amendments to the state Taylor Law, which sets
the rules for union representation, collective bargaining and labor relations
for public employees in New York state. These bills are:
• S.7441/A.5397 which would simplify and broaden the grounds upon which a court
can grant injunctive relief in the case of certain types of improper labor
practices;
• S.8318/A.11674 which would level the playing field between unions and
employers by narrowing the time period for challenging employee-representation
rights during contract negotiations. This would reduce the incentive for
employers to delay the collective-bargaining process;
• S.4295/A.9845 which would require persons appointed to the Public Employment
Relations Board to have served in a neutral capacity for at least three years
prior to appointment; and
• S.7503A/A.11088A which would clarify the Taylor Law to provide that discipline
of employees is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining.
Job security enhanced
Several bills were passed that would enhance the job security of PEF members.
These are:
• S.6477/A.10274 which would require involuntarily reassigned employees be given
12 months prior notice and the opportunity to transfer to other state jobs for
which they are qualified;
• S.6854/A.9846 which would extend from one year to 18 months the leave
guaranteed to a public employee injured on the job;
• S.3522/A.5385 which would require the state Office of Mental Retardation and
Developmental Disabilities to provide employees, their unions and others 12
months of notice and a planning process before closing or significantly reducing
a facility;
• S.5376B/A.8630B which would strengthen the protection of public employees who
disclose violations of law or regulations that pose a danger to public health or
safety or that endanger the welfare of a child; and
• S.7387/A.11087 which would include noncompetitive and labor classes in
provisions of state Civil Service Law that govern the process for reductions in
workforce, layoff and recall, requiring the use of seniority within affected
titles in the same jurisdictional class.
Workers’ Comp changed
Two amendments to the state Workers’ Compensation Law supported by PEF that
passed are:
• S.8348/A.11944 which would remove statutory obstacles to timely claims filing
and notice for people who worked in rescue, recovery or cleanup following the
2001 attack on the World Trade Center and later develop conditions that result
from exposure to hazardous substances. To be eligible, the workers would have to
register with the Workers’ Compensation Board within one year from the adoption
of this bill; and
• S.5612B/A.8713B which would improve the system for funding certain special
funds within the Workers’ Compensation system, and would increase from $500 to
$1,200 the level of costs for certain medical services not requiring the prior
authorization of the employer.
Civil Service law amended
Bills to improve or protect the state civil service system that PEF supported
which passed are:
• S.7436/A.9928A which would require the state Department of Civil Service to
report annually the number of employees in state jobs who are appointed on a
temporary or provisional basis, how many have been employed more than nine
months, and how many more than 18 months;
• S.7591/A.9929A which would establish a commission to recommend ways to
increase diversity within the state government workforce; and
• S.8387/A.11928 which would protect the rights of employees of the state School
for the Blind whose positions were transferred to the state Office of Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities in 2005. It would grant them
permanent civil service status and seniority to their original date of hire, and
would protect them from a reduction in basic salary as a result of the change in
job title.
Parole officers affected
Two bills relating to state parole officers that PEF supported passed:
• S.6640/A.10085 would provide that parole supervision fees shall be collected
by state Division of Parole employees other than the parole officers assigned to
those cases; and
• S.6531/A.9934 would create a presumption for parole officers that any
disability they suffer caused by a heart condition is causally related to the
performance of their officer’s duties.
Penalty added to FOIL
PEF sought and got legislation passed to put some teeth in the state Freedom of
Information Law.
Bill S.7011A/A.11449A would allow someone who sues a government agency to obtain
documents under the Freedom of Information Law to recover attorneys’ fees if the
agency’s failure to disclose the documents was unreasonable.
The Communicator July/Aug. '06
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