§ 1011. Definitions

As used in this chapter:

(1) “Agreement,” means a written agreement resulting from collective bargaining negotiation and covers the terms, tenure, and conditions of employment.

(2) “Board,” means the State Labor Relations Board established pursuant to section 921 of this title.

(3) “Collective bargaining,” means the process of negotiating terms, tenure, or conditions of employment between the Judiciary Department and representatives of the employees with the intent to arrive at a written agreement.

(4) “Collective bargaining service fee,” means a fee deducted by an employer from the salary or wages of an employee who is not a member of an employee organization, and that fee is paid to the employee organization that is the exclusive bargaining agent for the bargaining unit of the employee. A collective bargaining service fee shall not exceed 85 percent of the amount payable as dues by members of the employee organization; shall be deducted in the same manner as dues are deducted from the salary or wages of members of the employee organization; and shall be used to defray the costs of chargeable activities.

(5) “Collective bargaining unit,” means the employees of an employer and may be either all the employees or a unit or units determined by the Board to be appropriate to represent the interests of employees.

(6) “Complaint,” means an informal expression made by the employees or a group of employees to the immediate supervisor about dissatisfaction with any aspect of employment or working conditions under a collective bargaining agreement.

(7) “Confidential employee,” means an employee, as determined by the Board, who has responsibility, knowledge, or access to information relating to collective bargaining, personnel administration, or budgetary matters that is incompatible with that employee’s membership in or representation by an employee organization.

(8) “Employee,” means any individual employed and compensated on a permanent or limited status basis by the Judiciary Department, including permanent part-time employees and any individual whose employment has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of an unfair labor practice. “Employee” does not include any of the following:

(A) a Justice, judge, assistant judge, magistrate, or hearing officer;

(B) the Court Administrator;

(C) a managerial, supervisory, or confidential employee;

(D) a law clerk, attorney, or administrative assistant or private secretary to a judge, Justice, or Court Administrator;

(E) an individual employed on a temporary, contractual, seasonal, or on-call basis, including an intern;

(F) an employee during the initial or extended probationary period;

(G) the head of a department or division;

(H) [Repealed.]

(I) an attorney for the Supreme Court, for the Court Administrator, or for any board or commission created by the Supreme Court;

(J) an employee paid by the State who is appointed part-time as county clerk pursuant to 4 V.S.A. § 651 or 691;

(K) an employee who, after hearing by the Board upon petition of any individual, the employer, or a collective bargaining unit, is determined to be in a position that is sufficiently inconsistent with the spirit and intent of this chapter to warrant exclusion.

(9) “Employee organization,” means an organization of any kind in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose of representing its members, if certified by the Board as an exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining.

(10) “Employer,” means the Judiciary Department, represented by the Supreme Court or the Supreme Court’s designee.

(11) “Grievance,” means a written notice from an employee or a group of employees covered by an agreement or the employee’s representative about dissatisfaction with any aspect of employment or working conditions covered by a collective bargaining agreement or about the discriminatory application of a rule or regulation, and the dissatisfaction has not been satisfactorily resolved after informal discussion with immediate supervisors.

(12) “Labor dispute,” means any controversy concerning terms, tenure, or conditions of employment, or concerning the association or representation of individuals in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment, regardless of whether the disputants are employer and employee.

(13) “Managerial employee,” means an individual, as determined by the Board, who functions as the head of a department, institution, district operation, or a major program or division or section.

(14) “Person,” means an individual, the State of Vermont, an employee organization, partnership, corporation, a legal representative, trustee, or any other natural or legal entity whatsoever.

(15) “Representative,” means an individual or employee organization certified by the Board to represent employees in collective bargaining or grievance proceedings.

(16) “Strike,” means any concerted work stoppage by employees, including concerted slowdowns, interference, or interruption of operations or services. “Strike” also includes boycotts, refusal to use any products or services, or refusal to work or cooperate with any person by employees in the course of employment when properly directed to do so by the employer or supervisor or superior.

(17) “Supervisory employee,” means an employee, as determined by the Board, who has authority from the employer to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other employees or who has the responsibility for directing employees or adjusting employee grievances or effectively recommending such action, provided the exercise of authority is not merely routine or clerical, but requires independent judgment. (Added 1997, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 42a; 2011, No. 1, § 2, eff. Feb. 2, 2011; 2013, No. 37, § 6.)