208 - Rights accompanying certification or recognition.
§ 208. Rights accompanying certification or recognition. 1. A public employer shall extend to an employee organization certified or recognized pursuant to this article the following rights: (a) to represent the employees in negotiations notwithstanding the existence of an agreement with an employee organization that is no longer certified or recognized, and in the settlement of grievances; and (b) to membership dues deduction, upon presentation of dues deduction authorization cards signed by individual employees. 2. An employee organization certified or recognized pursuant to this article shall be entitled to unchallenged representation status until seven months prior to the expiration of a written agreement between the public employer and said employee organization determining terms and conditions of employment. For the purposes of this subdivision, (a) any such agreement for a term covering other than the fiscal year of the public employer shall be deemed to expire with the fiscal year ending immediately prior to the termination date of such agreement, (b) any such agreement having a term in excess of three years shall be treated as an agreement for a term of three years, provided, however, any such agreement between the state and an employee organization representing employees in the executive or judicial branches which commences in the calendar year two thousand seven having a term in excess of three years shall be treated as an agreement for a term certain specified in such agreement but in no event for a term greater than four years, (c) extensions of any such agreement shall not extend the period of unchallenged representation status, and (d) notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the interest arbitration award issued pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (e) of subdivision four of section two hundred nine of this article binding the executive branch of the state of New York and the employee organization which represents the collective negotiating unit consisting of troopers and the unit consisting of commissioned and non-commissioned officers in the division of state police, covering a period commencing April first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine, shall be treated as a written agreement for the term specified in such award solely for the representation purposes of this section. 3. (a) Notwithstanding provisions of and restrictions of sections two hundred two and two hundred nine-a of this article, and section two hundred one of the state finance law, every employee organization that has been recognized or certified as the exclusive representative of employees of the state within a negotiating unit of classified civil service employees, employees within a negotiating unit of civilian state employees of the division of military and naval affairs or employees in a collective negotiating unit established pursuant to this article for the professional services in the state university, for the members of the state police or for the members of the capitol buildings police force of the office of general services shall be entitled to have deducted from the wage or salary of the employees in such negotiating unit who are not members of said employee organization the amount equivalent to the dues levied by such employee organization, and the state comptroller shall make such deductions and transmit the sum so deducted to such employee organization. Provided, however, that the foregoing provisions of this subdivision shall only be applicable in the case of an employee organization which has established and maintained a procedure providing for the refund to any employee demanding the return any part of an agency shop fee deduction which represents the employee's pro rata share of expenditures by the organization in aid of activities or causes of a political or ideological nature only incidentally relatedto terms and conditions of employment. Nothing herein shall be deemed to require an employee to become a member of such employee organization. (b) Notwithstanding provisions of and restrictions of sections two hundred two and two hundred nine-a of this article and section ninety-three-b of the general municipal law, every employee organization that has been recognized or certified as the exclusive representative of employees within a negotiating unit of other than state employees shall be entitled to have deducted from the wage or salary of employees of such negotiating unit who are not members of said employee organization the amount equivalent to the dues levied by such employee organization and the fiscal or disbursing officer of the local government or authority involved shall make such deductions and transmit the sum so deducted to such employee organization. Provided, however, that the foregoing provisions of this subdivision shall only be applicable in the case of an employee organization which has established and maintained a procedure providing for the refund to any employee demanding the return of any part of an agency shop fee deduction which represents the employee's pro rata share of expenditures by the organization in aid of activities or causes of a political or ideological nature only incidentally related to terms and conditions of employment. Nothing herein shall be deemed to require an employee to become a member of such employee organization.