HomeMy WebLinkAbout01111989 PERC Case No. L0-88-007 STATE OF FLORIDA
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RELATIONS COMMISSION
IN RE Case No. LO -88 -007 •
CITY OF SANFORD LOCAL • ORDER
OPTION ORDINANCE.
Fran Diedrich, Sanford, representative for City of Sanford.
SLOAN, Commissioner.
The Florida Public Employees Relations Commission
(Commission) has a continuing responsibility under Section
447.603, Florida Statutes (1987), to ensure that local option
ordinances encompass substantially equivalent rights and
procedures as those set forth in Chapter 447, Part II, Florida
Statutes (1987). A public employer operating pursuant to a local
option ordinance has a concomitant responsibility to ensure that
the ordinance grants to its public employees substantially
equivalent rights and procedures as set forth in Chapter 447,
Part II. See City of Pensacola v. Florida PERC, 358 So.2d 589
(Fla. 1st DCA 1978). Consequently, the Commission periodically
reviews local option ordinances for substantial equivalency to
Chapter 447, Part II.
The Commission has reviewed the current local option
ordinance of the City of Sanford. A review of the ordinance
discloses that it fails to secure to the public employees witrin
the jurisdiction of the Sanford Public Employees Relations
Commission, rights and procedures substantially equivalent to
those set forth in Part II of Chapter 447, Florida Statutes
(1987).
Section 1.006(2) of the ordinance provides in pertinent
part:
Public employees shall have the right to be
represented by any employee organization of
their own choosing, and to negotiate collec-
tively through a certified bargaining agent,
vith their public employer in the determina-
tion of the terms and conditions of their
employment, excluding any provisions of the
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LO -R5 -007
Florida Statutes or appropriate ordinances
relating to retirement (emphasis added).
Section 1.010(5) of the ordinance provides:
Any collective bargaining agreement shall not
provide for a term of existence of more than
three (3) years, and shall contain all of the
terms and conditions of employment of the
employees in the bargaining unit during such
term, except those terms and conditions
provided for in any Florida Statute or
appropriate ordinance relating to retirement
and in applicable merit and civil service
rules and regulations (emphasis added).
In City of Tallahassee v. PERC, 410 So.2d 487 (Fla. 1981), the
Florida Supreme Court held that certain amendments to Part II of
Chapter 447, Florida Statutes, which excluded retirement matters
as proper subjects of bargaining, abridged collective bargaining
rights guaranteed by Article I, Section 6 of the Florida Con-
stitution and were therefore unconstitutional. As drafted the
City of Sanford ordinance excludes retirement from collective
bargaining. Therefore, sections 1.006(2) and 1.010(5) must be
amended to delete the references to the exclusion of ordinances
relating to retirement from collective bargaining.
In addition, we note several significant omissions from the
local option ordinance. First, in 1984, the Florida Legislature
amended Section 447.403(2), Florida Statutes, to provide that
when both parties agree in writing to waive the appointment of a
special master when an impasse in collective bargaining
negotiations occur, the parties may proceed directly to
resolution of the impasse by the legislative body pursuant to
Section 447.403(4)(d). Ch. 84 -228, § 1, Laws of Fla. Second,
Section 447.205(10) provides:
The deliberations of the commission in any
proceeding before it are exempt from the
provisions of chapter 286. However, any
hearing held or oral argument heard by the
commission pursuant to chapter 120 or chapter
447 shall be open to the public. All draft
orders developed in preparation for, or
preliminary to, the issuance of a final
written order are exempt from the provisions
of chapter 119.
Third, Section 447.305(3), Florida Statutes (1987) provides that
money collected through registration fees shall be deposited in
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LO -88 -007
the General Revenue Fund. Section 1.008(3) fails to state where
such monies collected by the Sanford PERC shall be deposited.
Our review of the local option ordinance discloses that it does
not contain substantially equivalent provisions to those
mentioned above. Accordingly, we instruct the City to amend the
ordinance to include such provisions.
Further, we direct the City to make the following correction
to the ordinance. Section 1.008(4) of the ordinance states that
notification of registrations and renewal of registrations shall
be furnished to the Division of Labor of the Department of Labor
and Employment Security. This section should be amended to state
that notification of registrations and renewal of registrations
shall be furnished to the Division of Labor, Employment and
Training of the Department of Labor and Employment Security. See
§ 447.305(4), Fla. Stat. (1987).
The City shall have sixty days from the date of this order
to submit amendments as outlined above. § 447.603(3), Fla. Stat.
(1987).
It is so ordered.
MATTIMORE, Chairman, and POOLE, Commissioner, concur.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that is document was filed and a copy
served on each party on mt.L(YJ. L 1! 1989.
BY : � � 1 1,L. . J
Clerk
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