§ 201. Definitions. As used in this article:

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

1. The term "board" means the public employment relations board created by section two hundred five of this article.

2. (a) The term "membership dues deduction" means the obligation or practice of a government to deduct from the salary of a public employee with his consent an amount for the payment of his membership dues in an employee organization. Such term also means the obligation or practice of a government to transmit the sums so deducted to an employee organization.

(b) The term "agency shop fee deduction" means the obligation or practice of a government to deduct from the salary of a public employee who is not a member of the certified or recognized employee organization which represents such employee for the purpose of collective negotiations conducted pursuant to this article, an amount equivalent to the amount of dues payable by a member. Such term also means the obligation or practice of a government to transmit the sums so deducted to an employee organization.

3. The term "chief legal officer" means (a) in the case of the state of New York or a state public authority, the attorney general of the state of New York, (b) in the case of a county, city, town, village or school district, the county attorney, corporation counsel, town attorney, village attorney or school district attorney, as the case may be, and (c) in the case of any such government not having its own attorney, or any other government or public employer, the corporation counsel of the city in which such government or public employer has its principal office, and if such principal office is not located in a city, the county attorney of the county in which such government or public employer has its principal office.

4. The term "terms and conditions of employment" means:

(a) salaries, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment provided, however, that such term shall not include any benefits provided by or to be provided by a public retirement system, or payments to a fund or insurer to provide an income for retirees, or payment to retirees or their beneficiaries. No such retirement benefits shall be negotiated pursuant to this article, and any benefits so negotiated shall be void.

(b) in addition, the terms and conditions of employment for firefighters shall include discipline and disciplinary procedures including alternatives to any statutory disciplinary system, provided, however, that any right of firefighters under the terms of any state law to elect coverage under either a statutory disciplinary system or a disciplinary system established by collective negotiations shall not be impaired, unless any such state law authorizes exclusivity of a negotiated disciplinary system and provided further that no provision contained in the town law, general city law, second class cities law, general municipal law, municipal home rule law, county law, or other state, local, special law or charter provision, or any special police act or other special act created by local law or charter or otherwise created, or this chapter shall prevent or impair the right to collective bargaining for or modification of disciplinary procedures.

5. The term "employee organization" means an organization of any kind having as its primary purpose the improvement of terms and conditions of employment of public employees, except that such term shall not include an organization (a) membership in which is prohibited by section one hundred five of this chapter, (b) which discriminates with regard to the terms or conditions of membership because of race, color, creed or national origin, or (c) which, in the case of public employees who hold positions by appointment or employment in the service of the board and who are excluded from the application of this article by rules and regulations of the board, admits to membership or is affiliated directly or indirectly with an organization which admits to membership persons not in the service of the board, for purposes of any provision of this article other than sections two hundred ten and two hundred eleven of this article.

6. (a) The term "government" or "public employer" means (i) the state of New York, (ii) a county, city, town, village or any other political subdivision or civil division of the state, (iii) a school district or any governmental entity operating a public school, college or university, (iv) a public improvement or special district, (v) a public authority, commission, or public benefit corporation, (vi) any other public corporation, agency or instrumentality or unit of government which exercises governmental powers under the laws of the state, or (vii) in the case of a county sheriff's office in those counties where the office of sheriff is an elected position, both the county and the sheriff, shall be designated as a joint public employer for all purposes of this article.

(b) Upon the application of any government, the board may determine that the applicant shall be deemed to be a joint public employer of public employees in an employer-employee negotiating unit determined pursuant to section two hundred seven of this chapter when such determination would best effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

7. (a) The term "public employee" means any person holding a position by appointment or employment in the service of a public employer, except that such term shall not include for the purposes of any provision of this article other than sections two hundred ten and two hundred eleven of this article, judges and justices of the unified court system, persons holding positions by appointment or employment in the organized militia of the state and persons who may reasonably be designated from time to time as managerial or confidential upon application of the public employer to the appropriate board in accordance with procedures established pursuant to section two hundred five or two hundred twelve of this article, which procedures shall provide that any such designations made during a period of unchallenged representation pursuant to subdivision two of section two hundred eight of this chapter shall only become effective upon the termination of such period of unchallenged representation. Employees may be designated as managerial only if they are persons (i) who formulate policy or (ii) who may reasonably be required on behalf of the public employer to assist directly in the preparation for and conduct of collective negotiations or to have a major role in the administration of agreements or in personnel administration provided that such role is not of a routine or clerical nature and requires the exercise of independent judgment. Employees may be designated as confidential only if they are persons who assist and act in a confidential capacity to managerial employees described in clause (ii).

(b) For the purposes of this article, assistant attorneys general, assistant district attorneys, and law school graduates employed in titles which promote to assistant district attorney upon admission to the bar of the state of New York shall be designated managerial employees, and confidential investigators employed in the department of law shall be designated confidential employees.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with respect to the officers of a paid city fire department in a city of one million or more inhabitants, members in the rank of deputy chief designated as deputy assistant chief and higher shall be designated as managerial and confidential employees and members in the rank of deputy chief or lower shall not be so designated.

(d) A substitute teacher or a person employed in a nonpedagogical position who has received a reasonable assurance of continuing employment in accordance with subdivision ten or eleven of § 590 of the labor law which is sufficient to disqualify the substitute teacher or person employed in a nonpedagogical position from receiving unemployment insurance benefits shall be deemed to be an employee of the school district or board of cooperative educational services that has furnished such reasonable assurance of continuing employment; provided however that for the purposes of this article only, the determination of whether such reasonable assurance was furnished shall be made as if such determination were made prior to the promulgation by the United States department of labor of program letter number 4-87, dated December twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred eighty-six.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with respect to the officers of a paid city police department, in a city of one million or more inhabitants, members in the rank of captain designated as assistant chief and higher shall be designated as managerial and confidential employees; members in the rank of captain, deputy inspector, inspector and deputy chief or lower shall not be so designated, unless a final determination to the contrary results from a petition to decertify (or from an action to otherwise designate any or all such members as managerial or confidential employees), which petition or action is or was initiated at any time prior to October first, nineteen hundred eighty-four and such petition or action is not withdrawn or otherwise discontinued.

(f) The term "public employee" means any person employed by a school district or board of cooperative educational services not otherwise deemed to be a public employee pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, but who would be deemed a public employee under precedents or standards utilized or promulgated by the board for determining whether a person employed in a part-time, seasonal or casual position by a public employer other than a school district or board of cooperative educational services would be a public employee under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, taking into account the length of the school day and school year.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with respect to employees of a city school district having a population of one million or more inhabitants, members in a title of school plant manager shall be designated as managerial and confidential employees in the noncompetitive classification.

8. The term "state public authority" means a public benefit corporation or public corporation, a majority of the members of which are (i) appointed by the governor or by another state officer or body, (ii) designated as members by virtue of their state office, or (iii) appointed or designated by any combination of the foregoing.

9. The term "strike" means any strike or other concerted stoppage of work or slowdown by public employees.

10. The term "chief executive officer" in the case of school districts, means the superintendent of schools in school districts employing their own superintendents, and in school districts under the jurisdiction of a district superintendent of schools, shall mean the principal of the district.

11. The term "legislative body of the government," in the case of school districts, means the board of education, board of trustees or sole trustee, as the case may be.

12. The term "agreement" means the result of the exchange of mutual promises between the chief executive officer of a public employer and an employee organization which becomes a binding contract, for the period set forth therein, except as to any provisions therein which require approval by a legislative body, and as to those provisions, shall become binding when the appropriate legislative body gives its approval.