AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY & MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, LOCAL 1363, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RELATIONS COMMISSION AND METROPOLITAN DADE COUNTY, APPELLEES
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Local 1363 challenged a collective bargaining agreement with Miami-Dade County on the grounds that its grievance procedure violated Florida's public employee relations statute by not requiring final and binding arbitration by a mutually-selected impartial neutral. The court affirmed PERC's finding that the agreement was valid because civil service employees are excepted from the bargaining agreement requirements.
The court held that the agreement does not violate Section 447.401 because the statute, when read in pari materia with Section 447.309(5), does not mandate that grievance procedures cover matters already addressed in applicable merit and civil service rules. Since Section 2-47 of the Dade County Code is a civil service rule and all Local 1363 members are civil service employees, the parties are bound by their agreement.
[1] A collective bargaining agreement's grievance procedure is not required to include all matters for which other appellate procedures are provided in applicable merit and c…
[2] A collective bargaining agreement provision that excludes certain matters from the grievance procedure is permissible if those matters are covered by applicable civil ser…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Section 447.401 must be read in pari materia with Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1981), which sets forth the matters which must be included in a collective bargaining agreement.”
Establishes the proper statutory interpretation method: reading the grievance procedure requirement in conjunction with the substantive terms requirement.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMetropolitan Dade County and Local 1363 negotiated a collective bargaining agreement that was ratified by union membership. The agreement provided tha…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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MILLS, Judge.
Local 1363 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Local 1363) appeals the final order of the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) which held that the collective bargaining agreement between Local 1363 and Metropolitan Dade County does not violate Section 447.401, Florida Statutes (1981). We affirm.
Metropolitan Dade County entered into a collective bargaining agreement with Local 1363. That agreement was ratified by the Union membership and contained the following provisions:
Article 18, Section A. An employee may be disciplined only for just cause.
Article 18, Section H. All disciplinary actions except reprimands will be appeal-able by the employee, as provided in Section 2.47 of the Dade County Code, to a Hearing Examiner. The County agrees to attempt to add to the Hearing Examiner’s list, qualified attorneys with experience in labor relations matters. (Emphasis added).
Article 7, Section 3. Dismissals, demotions, suspensions, reductions in grade, reprimands, position classifications, classification appeal, job descriptions, performance evaluation appeals, disability determinations, and similar matters for which other appellate procedures are provided in the Code of Administrative orders of Metropolitan Dade County and/or Public Health Trust Personnel Rules or other provisions of this agreement, and formal counseling, are not subject to review as grievances. However, refusal to (1) process an application or appeal, (2) follow time limits, (3) permit an employee a right of representation, or (4) denial of the right to receive a reply, are expressly grievable. (Emphasis added).
Section 2-47 of the Dade County Code alluded to in Article 13, Section H of the contract is a civil service appeal procedure which provides for a hearing examiner appointed unilaterally by the county personnel director in rotation from a list of private attorneys. After the hearing examiner has conducted the hearing, he transmits his findings of fact, conclusions, and any recommendations, together with a transcript of the proceedings, to the county manager, who may sustain, reverse, or modify the decision of the hearing examiner. Local 1363 contends that this method of dispute resolution violates Section 447.401 because it does not “have as its terminal step a final and binding disposition by an impartial neutral, mutually selected by the parties.” This contention is without merit.
While the Legislature has mandated that each public employer and bargaining agent must negotiate a grievance procedure, it has not, in Section 447.401, specified which issues must be included in the procedure. Section 447.401 must be read in pari mate-ria with Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1981), which sets forth the matters which must be included in a collective bargaining agreement. That sections says that “[a]ny collective bargaining agreement ... shall contain all of the terms and conditions of employment ... except those terms and conditions provided for ... in applicable merit and civil service rules and regulations." (Emphasis added)
It is undisputed that Section 2-47 of the Metropolitan Dade County Code is a civil service rule and that all members of Local 1363 are civil service employees. Therefore, this agreement does not violate the mandate of Section 447.401.
Because the grievance procedure mandated by Section 447.401 need not cover the matters set forth in the contract, we hold that the parties are bound by the terms of their agreement. Koenig v. Tyler, 360 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978).
AFFIRMED.
ERVIN, J., and PEARSON, TILLMAN (Ret.), Associate Judge, concur.
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City OF Casselberry v. Orange Cnty. Police Benevolent Ass'n & Fla. Pub. Emps. Relations Comm'n, 482 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 1986)…llective bargaining agreement from section 447.401 and utilize exclusively the dispute resolution machinery of a civil service board. All that would be required is a mutual agreement to do so. In re AFSCME, Local 1363, 8 FPER ¶ 13,278 at 489, aff'd, 430 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). See Palm Beach Junior College Board of Trustees v. United Faculty of Palm Beach Junior College, 475 So. 2d 1221 (Fla.1985). Therefore, the district court correctly concluded that section 447.-401 and article I, section 6 do not…
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Orange Cnty. Police Benevolent Ass'n v. City OF Casselberry & Fla. Pub. Emps. Relations Comm'n, 457 So. 2d 1125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…operation of its grievance procedure in favor of existing civil service procedures is invalid or illegal. As this court held in American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, Local 1363 v. Florida Public Employees Relations Commission, 430 So. 2d 481 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) (hereafter “AFSCME, Local 1363”), Section 447.401 must be read in pari materia with Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1981), which provides that collective bargaining agreements “shall contain all of the terms and conditions…
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Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of Sarasota Cnty. v. Citrus, 738 So. 2d 953 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)…gent must negotiate a grievance procedure, it has not, in section 447.701 specified which issues must be included in the procedure.” American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, Local 1363 v. Florida Public Employees Relations Comm’n, 430 So. 2d 481, 482 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). The right to exclude issues from a collective bargaining •agreement has been recognized by our supreme court. In City of Casselberry v. Orange County Police Benevolent Association, 482 So. 2d 336, 340 (Fla.1986), the suprem…
Authorities Cited
- Koenig v. Ashton Tyler & Metro. Dade Cnty., 360 So. 2d 104 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)