44-819. Agricultural employment relations; definitions.
44-819
44-819. Agricultural employment relations; definitions.As used in this act:
(a) "Person" means one or more individuals, employee organizations,partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives,trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers.
(b) "Agricultural employee" means any individual employed to performagricultural work, including any individual whose work has ceased as aconsequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute orbecause of any prohibited labor practice, who has not obtained any othersubstantially equivalent employment. A parent, spouse, or an immediaterelative may be considered an "agricultural employee." However,"agricultural employee" does not include any individual:
(1) Who has not reached the age of 16 years;
(2) Who has the status of an independent contractor. An independentcontract relationship does not exist if the person for whom services areperformed reserves the right to control the manner and means by which ajob is accomplished, even though this right is not exercised;
(3) Who is employed as a supervisor, or crew boss, or in aconfidential capacity, or as a clerical employee, or as a guard, or as adomestic employee;
(4) Who is employed as an executive, professional or technicalemployee;
(5) Who has quit, been discharged, or who is on strike in violationof any of the provisions of this act; or
(6) Who is a tenant or sharecropper and directs or shares in themanagement of an enterprise engaged in agriculture.
(c) "Agricultural employer" shall mean any employer engaged incultivating the soil or in raising or harvesting any agricultural orhorticultural commodity including custom harvesting operators operatingwholly within the state of Kansas, and employers engaged in operatingstock, dairy, poultry, fruit, furbearing animal, wildlife and truckfarms, plantations, ranches, feedlots, ranges, orchards, or othersimilar agricultural enterprises and who employed six or moreemployees for 20 or more days of any calendar month in the six months precedingthe filing for recognition by such employees as anemployee organization as provided for in K.S.A. 44-823, and amendments thereto.
"Agricultural employers" employing less than six employees mayelect to come within the provisions of this act by filing a writtenstatement of election with the board and upon filing such a statementsuch employer shall become an agricultural employer as defined herein.
(d) "Farm" means an agricultural operation out of one headquartersand may include separate tracts of land within the state of Kansas.
(e) "Employee organization" means any organization which includesemployees of an agricultural employer and which has as one of itsprimary purposes representing such employees in dealings with thatagricultural employer over conditions of employment and grievances.
(f) "Recognized employee organization" means an employeeorganization which has been certified by election as representing amajority of the employees of an appropriate unit.
(g) "Board" means the agricultural labor relations board establishedpursuant to this act.
(h) "Meet and confer in good faith" is the process whereby therepresentatives of an agricultural employer and representatives ofrecognized employee organizations have the mutual obligation personallyto meet and confer in order to exchange freely information, opinions andproposals to endeavor to reach agreement on conditions of employment,but such obligation shall not compel either party to agree to a proposalor require the making of a concession.
(i) "Memorandum of agreement" means a written memorandum ofunderstanding arrived at by the representatives of the agriculturalemployers and a recognized employee organization.
(j) The term, "strike," includes concerted action resulting in: (1)failure to report for duty; (2) the willful absence from one's position;(3) the stoppage of work; or (4) the abstinence in whole or in part fromthe full, faithful and proper performance of the duties of employment byan agricultural employee, for the purpose of inducing, influencing orcoercing a change in the conditions, or compensation, or the rights,privileges or obligations of employment. Nothing contained in this actshall be construed to limit, impair or affect the right of anyagricultural employee to the expression or communication of a view,grievance, complaint or opinion on any matter related to the conditionsor compensation of agricultural employment or their betterment, so longas the same is not designed to and does not interfere, directly orindirectly, with the full, faithful and proper performance of anyemployee's duties of employment.
(k) "Lockout" means action taken by the employer to provokeinterruptions or to prevent the continuity of work normally and usuallyperformed by the employees for the purpose of coercing the employeesinto relinquishing rights guaranteed by this act.
(l) "Secondary boycott" means to encourage, coerce, contract orconspire with any person where the object of such action is to force orpersuade any person, not a party to the labor dispute, to refuse to use,sell, handle or transport any agricultural commodity, or where theobject of such action is to require any agriculture employer torecognize, bargain with or resolve any dispute with a labororganization.
(m) "Organizational picketing" means the patrolling or picketing ofan agricultural employer's business establishment or the situs of suchagricultural employer's product, where an object thereof is to requirean agricultural employer to recognize, or agricultural employees toaccept, an employee organization as bargaining agent for said employees,and includes carrying of placards, distribution of leaflets or affixingof stationary signs at said premises.
(n) "Conditions of employment" means salaries, wages, hours of work,vacation allowances, sick and injury leave, number of holidays,retirement benefits, insurance benefits, wearing apparel, premium payfor overtime, shift differential pay, jury duty and grievanceprocedures.
(o) "Grievance" means a statement of dissatisfaction by anagricultural employee, employee organization or agricultural employerconcerning interpretation of a memorandum of agreement or traditionalwork practice.
(p) "Membership dues deduction" or "dues check-off" means thepractice of an employer to deduct from the salary of an employee, withhis consent, an amount for the payment of such employee'smembership dues in anemployee organization. Such terms also mean the practice of an employerto transmit the sums so deducted to an employee organization.
History: L. 1972, ch. 193, § 2;L. 1989, ch. 152, § 1; July 1.