N.Y. Labor Law 716 – Grievances and disputes in non-profitmaking hospitals and residential care centers
§ 716. Grievances and disputes in non-profitmaking hospitals and residential care centers. 1. As used in this section "grievance" means any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the interpretation, application or breach of the provisions of an existing collective bargaining contract. As used in this section "dispute" means all other controversies, claims or disputes between the employees of a non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center, or their representatives, and such hospital or residential care center concerning wages, hours, union security, seniority or other economic matters, including, but not limited to, controversies, claims or disputes arising in the course of negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or arranging such terms or conditions.
Terms Used In N.Y. Labor Law 716
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
- board: means the public employment relations board created by § 205 of the civil service law, in carrying out its functions under this article. See N.Y. Labor Law 701
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- employees: includes but is not restricted to any individual employed by a labor organization; any individual whose employment has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice, and who has not obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment; and shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless the article explicitly states otherwise, but shall not include any individual employed by his parent or spouse or in the domestic service of and directly employed, controlled and paid by any person in his home, any individual whose primary responsibility is the care of a minor child or children and/or someone who lives in the home of a person for the purpose of serving as a companion to a sick, convalescing or elderly person or any individuals employed only for the duration of a labor dispute, or any individual who participates in and receives rehabilitative or therapeutic services in a charitable non-profit rehabilitation facility or sheltered workshop or any individual employed in a charitable non-profit rehabilitation facility or sheltered workshop who has received rehabilitative or therapeutic services and whose capacity to perform the work for which he is engaged is substantially impaired by physical or mental deficiency or injury. See N.Y. Labor Law 701
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- labor organization: means any organization which exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection and which is not a company union as defined herein. See N.Y. Labor Law 701
- non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center: means an organized residential facility for the medical diagnosis, treatment and care of illness, disease, injury, infirmity or deformity, or a residential facility providing nursing care or care of the aged or dependent children, or a facility for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, which is located anywhere in the state and which is maintained and operated by an association or corporation, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. See N.Y. Labor Law 701
- representatives: includes a labor organization or an individual whether or not employed by the employer of those whom he represents. See N.Y. Labor Law 701
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
- unfair labor practice: means only those unfair labor practices listed in section seven hundred four. See N.Y. Labor Law 701
2. Every collective bargaining contract between the employees of a non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center, or their representatives, and such hospital or residential care center which does not contain provisions for the final and binding determination of grievances shall be deemed to include provision for the submission of such grievances, upon the request of either or both parties, to final and binding arbitration pursuant to such rules as may be established from time to time by the board.
3. Every collective bargaining contract between the employees of a non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center, or their representatives, and such hospital or residential care center which does not contain provisions for the final and binding determination of disputes shall be deemed to include provisions for:
(a) the appointment of a fact-finding commission by the board upon the request of both parties to the dispute, or by the commissioner upon his own motion and upon certification by such board that in its opinion efforts to effect a voluntary settlement of the dispute have been unsuccessful. Such fact-finding commission shall have all of the powers and duties, including the power to make recommendations for the settlement of the dispute, as are vested in a board of inquiry by article twenty-two of this chapter; and
(b) the submission of the dispute to final and binding arbitration, pursuant to such rules as may be established from time to time by the board, by such board upon the request of both parties to the dispute, or by the commissioner upon his own motion and upon certification by such board that in its opinion efforts to effect a voluntary settlement of the dispute have been unsuccessful. The commissioner or the board may submit a dispute to final and binding arbitration pursuant to this paragraph without first submitting it to a fact-finding commission pursuant to the preceding paragraph of this subdivision.
4. In the absence of a collective bargaining contract between the employees of a non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center, or their representatives, and such hospital or residential care center, the board and the commissioner may, in the manner and upon the conditions provided in subdivision three of this section, exercise all of the powers vested in them by the provisions of such subdivision of such section.
5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect, impair or alter any collective bargaining contract between the employees of a non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center, or their representatives, and such hospital or residential care center which was executed prior to July first, nineteen hundred sixty-three, during the term of such contract.
6. (a) A petition under section seven hundred seven of this article involving a non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center shall be filed directly with the appellate division of the supreme court in the department embracing the specified supreme court, and shall be heard upon the certified transcript of the record in the proceeding before the board, without requirement of printing. Such petition shall be heard in a summary manner and have precedence over all other cases in such court. An appeal may be taken to the court of appeals in the same manner and subject to the same limitations not inconsistent herewith as is now provided in the civil practice law and rules and a preference shall be granted in the hearing thereof on motion of any party thereto.
(b) An application to confirm, modify, correct or vacate an arbitration award made pursuant to the procedure established by this § of the civil practice law and rules, and the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision pertaining to a petition filed thereunder shall apply to an application filed hereunder.
(c) The supreme court shall have jurisdiction, upon such notice as it deems appropriate, to restrain or enjoin any violation of the provisions of this section or section seven hundred thirteen and to grant such other and further equitable relief as may be appropriate. The provisions of section eight hundred seven of this chapter shall not apply to an action or proceeding instituted pursuant to this section or section seven hundred thirteen.
7. The fact-finders and arbitrators appointed pursuant to subdivision three of this section may consider the following standards in arriving at a final arbitration decision in disputes referred to them:
(a) the interest and welfare of the public;
(b) changes in the cost of living as they affect employees' purchasing power;
(c) comparison of the wages, hours and conditions of employment of the employees involved in the arbitration proceedings, and the wages, hours and conditions of employment of employees doing the same, similar or comparable work or work requiring the same, similar or comparable skills and expenditures of energy and effort, giving consideration to such factors as are peculiar to the industry involved;
(d) comparison of wages, hours and conditions of employment as reflected in non-profitmaking hospitals and residential care centers in other comparable areas;
(e) the security and tenure of employment with due regard for the effect of technological changes thereon as well as the effect of any unique skills, required training and other attributes developed in the industry and required for the job;
(f) economic factors of the respective parties which are relevant to the arbitration decision;
(g) such other factors not confined to the foregoing which are normally or traditionally taken into consideration in the determination of wages, hours and conditions of employment through voluntary collective bargaining arbitration or otherwise between the parties or in the industry.
8. Where the validity of a certification of representatives issued by the board has been questioned by a refusal to bargain by a non-profitmaking hospital or a residential care center, the provisions of subdivision three of this section pertaining to fact-finding and arbitration shall not apply unless and until an unfair labor practice charge for refusal to bargain has been filed with the board. If such unfair labor practice charge has been filed, (1) no application made pursuant to § 7503 of the civil practice law and rules, or otherwise, shall be granted to stay fact-finding or arbitration under this section; (2) the court shall consolidate the petitions and applications filed pursuant to paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision six of this section; and (3) no arbitration award made pursuant to this subdivision shall become effective until there has been a final determination that the labor organization has the right to exclusive representation of the employees in the unit with respect to which such award was made, pursuant to sections seven hundred five and seven hundred seven of this article, provided that nothing herein shall be interpreted to limit the discretion of the arbitrators to make such award retroactive.
9. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 807 of the labor law, where it appears that there may have been a violation of section seven hundred thirteen of this article, the chief executive officer of the non-profitmaking hospital or residential care center involved, or, in the case of a lockout, any affected employee or his certified representative, shall forthwith apply to the supreme court for an injunction against such violation. If such chief executive officer, or employee or his representative, fails or refuses to act as aforesaid, and if the chief executive officer of the city or village in which such hospital or center is located, or the chief executive officer of a town with respect to such hospital or center located in the area of the town outside any village therein, shall, in his discretion, determine that the violation constitutes a threat to the public health, safety and welfare of such city, village or town, as the case may be, such chief executive officer shall so advise in writing the chief legal officer of such city, village or town who shall forthwith apply to the supreme court for an injunction against such violation. If an order of the court enjoining or restraining such violation does not receive compliance, such chief executive officer, employee or his representative, or chief legal officer, as the case may be, shall forthwith apply to the supreme court to punish such violation under § 750 of the judiciary law. As used in this paragraph, the term "chief executive officer" shall mean (i) in the case of cities, the mayor, except in those cities having a city manager, it shall mean such city manager; (ii) in the case of villages, the mayor, except in those villages having a president or manager, it shall mean such latter officer; and (iii) in the case of towns, the supervisor or presiding supervisor.