Sec. 5-278. Determination of employer representative. Negotiations and agreements with employee representative. Arbitration awards. Conflicts with statutes, acts or agency regulations.
Sec. 5-278. Determination of employer representative. Negotiations and
agreements with employee representative. Arbitration awards. Conflicts with statutes, acts or agency regulations. (a) When an employee organization has been designated, in accordance with the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, as the
exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate unit, the employer shall be
represented in collective bargaining with such employee organization in the following
manner: (1) In the case of an executive branch employer, including the Division of
Criminal Justice, by the chief executive officer whether elected or appointed, or his
designated representative; who shall maintain a close liaison with the legislature relative
to the negotiations and the potential fiscal ramifications of any proposed settlement;
(2) in the case of a judicial branch employer, by the Chief Court Administrator or his
designated representative; and (3) in the case of each segment of the system of higher
education, the faculty and professional employees shall negotiate with their own board
of trustees or its designated representative.
(b) Any agreement reached by the negotiators shall be reduced to writing. The
agreement, together with a request for funds necessary to fully implement such
agreement and for approval of any provisions of the agreement which are in conflict
with any statute or any regulation of any state agency, and any arbitration award, issued
in accordance with section 5-276a, together with a statement setting forth the amount
of funds necessary to implement such award, shall be filed by the bargaining representative of the employer with the clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate
within ten days after the date on which such agreement is reached or such award is
distributed. The General Assembly may approve any such agreement as a whole by a
majority vote of each house or may reject such agreement as a whole by a majority vote
of either house. The General Assembly may reject any such award as a whole by a
two-thirds vote of either house if it determines that there are insufficient funds for full
implementation of the award. If rejected, the matter shall be returned to the parties
for further bargaining. Once approved by the General Assembly, any provision of an
agreement or award need not be resubmitted by the parties to such agreement or award
as part of a future contract approval process unless changes in the language of such
provision are negotiated by such parties. Any supplemental understanding reached between such parties containing provisions which would supersede any provision of the
general statutes or any regulation of any state agency or would require additional state
funding shall be submitted to the General Assembly for approval in the same manner
as agreements and awards. If the General Assembly is in session, it shall vote to approve
or reject such agreement or award within thirty days after the date of filing. If the General
Assembly is not in session when such agreement or award is filed, it shall be submitted
to the General Assembly within ten days of the first day of the next regular session or
special session called for such purpose. The agreement or award shall be deemed approved if the General Assembly fails to vote to approve or reject such agreement or
award within thirty days after such filing or submission. The thirty-day period shall not
begin or expire unless the General Assembly is in regular session. For the purpose of
this subsection, any agreement or award filed with the clerks within thirty days before
the commencement of a regular session of the General Assembly shall be deemed to be
filed on the first day of such session.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of any general statute or special act to the contrary, the legislature shall appropriate whatever funds are required to comply with a
collective bargaining agreement, supplemental understanding or arbitration award, provided the request called for in subsection (b) of this section has been approved by the
legislature.
(d) No provision of any general statute or special act shall prevent negotiations
between an employer and an employee organization which has been designated as the
exclusive representative of employees in an appropriate unit, from continuing after the
final date for setting the state budget. An agreement between an employer and an employee organization shall be valid and in force under its terms when entered into in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter and signed by the chief executive officer
or administrator as a ministerial act. Such terms may make any such agreement effective
on a date prior to the date on which the agreement is entered. No publication thereof
shall be required to make it effective. The procedure for the making of an agreement
between the employer and an employee organization provided by sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, shall be the exclusive method for making a valid agreement for employees
represented by an employee organization, and any provisions in any general statute or
special act to the contrary shall not apply to such an agreement.
(e) Where there is a conflict between any agreement or arbitration award approved
in accordance with the provisions of sections 5-270 to 5-280, inclusive, on matters
appropriate to collective bargaining, as defined in said sections, and any general statute
or special act, or regulations adopted by any state agency, the terms of such agreement or
arbitration award shall prevail; provided if participation of any employees in a retirement
system is effected by such agreement or arbitration award, the effective date of participation in said system, notwithstanding any contrary provision in such agreement or arbitration award, shall be the first day of the third month following the month in which a
certified copy of such agreement or arbitration award is received by the Retirement
Commission or such later date as may be specified in the agreement or arbitration award.
(f) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, collective bargaining
negotiations concerning changes to the state employees retirement system to be effective
on and after July 1, 1988, and collective bargaining negotiations concerning health and
welfare benefits to be effective on and after July 1, 1994, shall be conducted between
the employer and a coalition committee which represents all state employees who are
members of any designated employee organization. (2) The provisions of subdivision
(1) of this subsection shall not be construed to prevent the employer and any designated
employee organization from bargaining directly with each other on matters related to
the state employees retirement system and health and welfare benefits whenever the
parties jointly agree that such matters are unique to the particular bargaining unit. (3)
The provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection shall not be construed to prevent
the employer and representatives of employee organizations from dealing with any state-wide issue using the procedure established in said subdivision.
(g) (1) Nonmandatory subjects of bargaining shall not be subject to the impasse
procedures of section 5-276a. In the case of higher education teaching faculty, the arbitrator shall not make a decision involving academic policy unless it affects the wages,
hours or conditions of employment of such faculty. Any arbitration award issued on
such matters shall be unenforceable. (2) Unless mutually agreed to by the parties, the
impasse procedures of section 5-276a shall not be invoked during the pendency before
the State Board of Labor Relations of any scope of bargaining question arising from the
parties' negotiations. Any such question shall take precedence over all other matters
pending before said board.
(P.A. 75-566, S. 9; P.A. 76-435, S. 42, 82; P.A. 77-22, S. 2, 3; P.A. 80-483, S. 151, 186; P.A. 83-318; P.A. 86-411, S.
4, 8; P.A. 88-126, S. 1-3; P.A. 89-349, S. 1, 4; P.A. 91-265; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3, S. 163, 168.)
History: P.A. 76-435 replaced vague reference to "provisions of this law" with "provisions of this chapter" in Subsec.
(d); P.A. 77-22 amended Subsec. (a) removing provision that chief administrative officer or his representative represent
legislative branch employer in collective bargaining; P.A. 80-483 replaced references to personnel boards with references
to any state agency; P.A. 83-318 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing the "chief administrative officer" with the "chief court
administrator" as the representative of a judicial branch employer; P.A. 86-411 amended Subsec. (b) to remove the provision
that failure to submit a request for funds within 14 days of the date an agreement is reached constitutes a prohibited practice,
to allow previously approved provisions to be excluded from the submittal of any successor agreement, to require the
legislature to vote on the request within 30 days of submittal, and to establish requirements for the submittal of arbitration
awards to the legislature and added Subsecs. (f) and (g), establishing coalition bargaining for retirement issues and setting
limitations on the use of the impasse procedures, effective July 1, 1986, and applicable to negotiations then in progress;
P.A. 88-126 amended Subsec. (b) to require supplemental understandings containing provisions which supersede general
statutes or state agency regulations or which require additional state funding to be submitted to general assembly for
approval and made technical change in Subsec. (b) and amended Subsec. (c) to require appropriation of funds required to
comply with a supplemental understanding, provided request called for in Subsec. (b) has been approved by legislature;
P.A. 89-349 amended Subsec. (b)(2) by adding the provisions of Subpara. (B) requiring the appropriations committee to
consider arbitration awards filed when the legislature is not in session, specified that arbitration awards be filed with the
clerks of the senate and the house of representatives and provided the procedures to be followed for the purposes of a
special session; P.A. 91-265 amended Subsec. (f) to include collective bargaining for health and welfare benefits to be
effective on and after July 1, 1994; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 91-3 amended Subsec. (b) to establish identical filing procedures
and time limits for collective bargaining agreements and arbitration awards and to provide that such agreements may be
rejected by a majority vote of either house and such awards may be rejected by a two-thirds vote of either house.
Cited. 179 C. 184. Cited. 197 C. 91. Cited. 201 C. 685.
Cited. 43 CS 1.
Subsec. (b):
Cited. 183 C. 235, 238. Cited. 239 C. 32.
Cited. 13 CA 461.
Subsec. (e):
Plaintiff's claim that he was laid off in violation of Sec. 5-241 is barred by doctrine of sovereign immunity because
defendants acted in accordance with legislatively approved collective bargaining agreement provisions that superseded
the statute. 278 C. 204.
Cited. 13 CA 461.