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| To amend section 4117.10 and to enact sections | 1 |
| 5906.01, 5906.02, 5906.03, and 5906.99 of the | 2 |
| Revised Code to provide up to two weeks of leave | 3 |
| for any employee who is the spouse, parent, or a | 4 |
| person who has or had legal custody of a member | 5 |
| of the uniformed services who is called to active | 6 |
| duty or is injured, wounded, or hospitalized while | 7 |
| serving on active duty. | 8 |
| Section 1. That section 4117.10 be amended and sections | 9 |
| 5906.01, 5906.02, 5906.03, and 5906.99 of the Revised Code be | 10 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 11 |
| Sec. 4117.10. (A) An agreement between a public employer and | 12 |
| an exclusive representative entered into pursuant to this chapter | 13 |
| governs the wages, hours, and terms and conditions of public | 14 |
| employment covered by the agreement. If the agreement provides for | 15 |
| a final and binding arbitration of grievances, public employers, | 16 |
| employees, and employee organizations are subject solely to that | 17 |
| grievance procedure and the state personnel board of review or | 18 |
| civil service commissions have no jurisdiction to receive and | 19 |
| determine any appeals relating to matters that were the subject of | 20 |
| a final and binding grievance procedure. Where no agreement exists | 21 |
| or where an agreement makes no specification about a matter, the | 22 |
| public employer and public employees are subject to all applicable | 23 |
| state or local laws or ordinances pertaining to the wages, hours, | 24 |
| and terms and conditions of employment for public employees. Laws | 25 |
| pertaining to civil rights, affirmative action, unemployment | 26 |
| compensation, workers' compensation, the retirement of public | 27 |
| employees, and residency requirements, the minimum educational | 28 |
| requirements contained in the Revised Code pertaining to public | 29 |
| education including the requirement of a certificate by the fiscal | 30 |
| officer of a school district pursuant to section 5705.41 of the | 31 |
| Revised Code, the provisions of division (A) of section 124.34 of | 32 |
| the Revised Code governing the disciplining of officers and | 33 |
| employees who have been convicted of a felony, and the minimum | 34 |
| standards promulgated by the state board of education pursuant to | 35 |
| division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code prevail over | 36 |
| conflicting provisions of agreements between employee | 37 |
| organizations and public employers. The law pertaining to the | 38 |
| leave of absence and compensation provided under section 5923.05 | 39 |
| of the Revised Code prevails over any conflicting provisions of | 40 |
| such agreements if the terms of the agreement contain benefits | 41 |
| which are less than those contained in that section or the | 42 |
| agreement contains no such terms and the public authority is the | 43 |
| state or any agency, authority, commission, or board of the state | 44 |
| or if the public authority is another entity listed in division | 45 |
| (B) of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code that elects to provide | 46 |
| leave of absence and compensation as provided in section 5923.05 | 47 |
| of the Revised Code. The law pertaining to the leave established | 48 |
| under section 5906.02 of the Revised Code prevails over any | 49 |
| conflicting provision of an agreement between an employee | 50 |
| organization and public employer if the terms of the agreement | 51 |
| contain benefits that are less than those contained in section | 52 |
| 5906.02 of the Revised Code. Except for sections 306.08, 306.12, | 53 |
| 306.35, and 4981.22 of the Revised Code and arrangements entered | 54 |
| into thereunder, and section 4981.21 of the Revised Code as | 55 |
| necessary to comply with section 13(c) of the "Urban Mass | 56 |
| Transportation Act of 1964," 87 Stat. 295, 49 U.S.C.A. 1609(c), as | 57 |
| amended, and arrangements entered into thereunder, this chapter | 58 |
| prevails over any and all other conflicting laws, resolutions, | 59 |
| provisions, present or future, except as otherwise specified in | 60 |
| this chapter or as otherwise specified by the general assembly. | 61 |
| Nothing in this section prohibits or shall be construed to | 62 |
| invalidate the provisions of an agreement establishing | 63 |
| supplemental workers' compensation or unemployment compensation | 64 |
| benefits or exceeding minimum requirements contained in the | 65 |
| Revised Code pertaining to public education or the minimum | 66 |
| standards promulgated by the state board of education pursuant to | 67 |
| division (D) of section 3301.07 of the Revised Code. | 68 |
| (B) The public employer shall submit a request for funds | 69 |
| necessary to implement an agreement and for approval of any other | 70 |
| matter requiring the approval of the appropriate legislative body | 71 |
| to the legislative body within fourteen days of the date on which | 72 |
| the parties finalize the agreement, unless otherwise specified, | 73 |
| but if the appropriate legislative body is not in session at the | 74 |
| time, then within fourteen days after it convenes. The legislative | 75 |
| body must approve or reject the submission as a whole, and the | 76 |
| submission is deemed approved if the legislative body fails to act | 77 |
| within thirty days after the public employer submits the | 78 |
| agreement. The parties may specify that those provisions of the | 79 |
| agreement not requiring action by a legislative body are effective | 80 |
| and operative in accordance with the terms of the agreement, | 81 |
| provided there has been compliance with division (C) of this | 82 |
| section. If the legislative body rejects the submission of the | 83 |
| public employer, either party may reopen all or part of the entire | 84 |
| agreement. | 85 |
| As used in this section, "legislative body" includes the | 86 |
| governing board of a municipal corporation, school district, | 87 |
| college or university, village, township, or board of county | 88 |
| commissioners or any other body that has authority to approve the | 89 |
| budget of their public jurisdiction and, with regard to the state, | 90 |
| "legislative body" means the controlling board. | 91 |
| (C) The chief executive officer, or the chief executive | 92 |
| officer's representative, of each municipal corporation, the | 93 |
| designated representative of the board of education of each school | 94 |
| district, college or university, or any other body that has | 95 |
| authority to approve the budget of their public jurisdiction, the | 96 |
| designated representative of the board of county commissioners and | 97 |
| of each elected officeholder of the county whose employees are | 98 |
| covered by the collective negotiations, and the designated | 99 |
| representative of the village or the board of township trustees of | 100 |
| each township is responsible for negotiations in the collective | 101 |
| bargaining process; except that the legislative body may accept or | 102 |
| reject a proposed collective bargaining agreement. When the | 103 |
| matters about which there is agreement are reduced to writing and | 104 |
| approved by the employee organization and the legislative body, | 105 |
| the agreement is binding upon the legislative body, the employer, | 106 |
| and the employee organization and employees covered by the | 107 |
| agreement. | 108 |
| (D) There is hereby established an office of collective | 109 |
| bargaining in the department of administrative services for the | 110 |
| purpose of negotiating with and entering into written agreements | 111 |
| between state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions and | 112 |
| the exclusive representative on matters of wages, hours, terms and | 113 |
| other conditions of employment and the continuation, modification, | 114 |
| or deletion of an existing provision of a collective bargaining | 115 |
| agreement. Nothing in any provision of law to the contrary shall | 116 |
| be interpreted as excluding the bureau of workers' compensation | 117 |
| and the industrial commission from the preceding sentence. This | 118 |
| office shall not negotiate on behalf of other statewide elected | 119 |
| officials or boards of trustees of state institutions of higher | 120 |
| education who shall be considered as separate public employers for | 121 |
| the purposes of this chapter; however, the office may negotiate on | 122 |
| behalf of these officials or trustees where authorized by the | 123 |
| officials or trustees. The staff of the office of collective | 124 |
| bargaining are in the unclassified service. The director of | 125 |
| administrative services shall fix the compensation of the staff. | 126 |
| The office of collective bargaining shall: | 127 |
| (1) Assist the director in formulating management's | 128 |
| philosophy for public collective bargaining as well as planning | 129 |
| bargaining strategies; | 130 |
| (2) Conduct negotiations with the exclusive representatives | 131 |
| of each employee organization; | 132 |
| (3) Coordinate the state's resources in all mediation, | 133 |
| fact-finding, and arbitration cases as well as in all labor | 134 |
| disputes; | 135 |
| (4) Conduct systematic reviews of collective bargaining | 136 |
| agreements for the purpose of contract negotiations; | 137 |
| (5) Coordinate the systematic compilation of data by all | 138 |
| agencies that is required for negotiating purposes; | 139 |
| (6) Prepare and submit an annual report and other reports as | 140 |
| requested to the governor and the general assembly on the | 141 |
| implementation of this chapter and its impact upon state | 142 |
| government. | 143 |
| Sec. 5906.01. As used in this chapter: | 144 |
| (A) "Active duty" means full-time duty in the active military | 145 |
| service of the United States or active duty pursuant to an | 146 |
| executive order of the president of the United States, an act of | 147 |
| the congress of the United States, or a proclamation of the | 148 |
| governor. "Active duty" does not include active duty for training, | 149 |
| initial active duty for training, or the period of time for which | 150 |
| a person is absent from a position of employment for the purpose | 151 |
| of an examination to determine the fitness of the person to | 152 |
| perform any duty unless such period is contemporaneous with an | 153 |
| active duty period. | 154 |
| (B) "Benefits" means the employment benefits, other than | 155 |
| salary or wages, that an employer regularly provides or makes | 156 |
| available to employees, including, but not limited to, medical | 157 |
| insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, pension plans, | 158 |
| and retirement plans. | 159 |
| (C) "Employer" means a person who employs fifty or more | 160 |
| employees and includes the state or any agency or instrumentality | 161 |
| of the state, and any municipal corporation, county, township, | 162 |
| school district, or other political subdivision of the state. | 163 |
| (D) "Employee" has the same meaning as in section 4113.51 of | 164 |
| the Revised Code. | 165 |
| (E) "Uniformed services" means the armed forces, the Ohio | 166 |
| organized militia when engaged in full-time national guard duty, | 167 |
| the commissioned corps of the public health service, and any other | 168 |
| category of persons designated by the president of the United | 169 |
| States in time of war or emergency. | 170 |
| Sec. 5906.02. (A) Once per calendar year, an employer shall | 171 |
| allow an employee to take leave up to ten days or eighty hours, | 172 |
| whichever is less, if all of the following conditions are | 173 |
| satisfied: | 174 |
| (1) The employer has employed the employee for at least | 175 |
| twelve consecutive months and for at least one thousand two | 176 |
| hundred fifty hours in the twelve months immediately preceding | 177 |
| commencement of the leave. | 178 |
| (2) The employee is the parent, spouse, or a person who has | 179 |
| or had legal custody of a person who is a member of the uniformed | 180 |
| services and who is called into active duty in the uniformed | 181 |
| services for a period longer than thirty days or is injured, | 182 |
| wounded, or hospitalized while serving on active duty in the | 183 |
| uniformed services. | 184 |
| (3) The employee gives notice to the employer that the | 185 |
| employee intends to take leave pursuant to this section at least | 186 |
| fourteen days prior to taking the leave if the leave is being | 187 |
| taken because of a call to active duty or at least two days prior | 188 |
| to taking the leave if the leave is being taken because of an | 189 |
| injury, wound, or hospitalization. | 190 |
| (4) The dates on which the employee takes leave pursuant to | 191 |
| this section occur no more than two weeks prior to or one week | 192 |
| after the deployment date of the employee's spouse, child, or | 193 |
| ward or former ward. | 194 |
| (5) The employee does not have any other leave available for | 195 |
| the employee's use except sick leave or disability leave. | 196 |
| (B) An employer shall continue to provide benefits to the | 197 |
| employee during the period of time the employee is on leave | 198 |
| pursuant to this section. The employee shall be responsible for | 199 |
| the same proportion of the cost of the benefits as the employee | 200 |
| regularly pays during periods of time when the employee is not on | 201 |
| leave. The employer is not required to pay salary or wages to the | 202 |
| employee during the period of time the employee is on leave | 203 |
| pursuant to this section. | 204 |
| Upon the completion of the leave taken pursuant to this | 205 |
| section, the employer shall restore the employee to the position | 206 |
| the employee held prior to taking that leave or a position with | 207 |
| equivalent seniority, benefits, pay, and other terms and | 208 |
| conditions of employment. | 209 |
| (C) An employer may require an employee requesting to use the | 210 |
| leave established under this section to provide certification from | 211 |
| the appropriate military authority to verify that the employee | 212 |
| satisfies the criteria described in divisions (A)(2), (3), and | 213 |
| (4) of this section. | 214 |
| Sec. 5906.03. (A) An employer shall not interfere with, | 215 |
| restrain, or deny the exercise or attempted exercise of a right | 216 |
| established under this chapter. | 217 |
| (B) An employer shall not discharge, fine, suspend, expel, | 218 |
| discipline, or discriminate against an employee with respect to | 219 |
| any term or condition of employment because of the employee's | 220 |
| actual or potential exercise, or support for another employee's | 221 |
| exercise, of any right established under this chapter. This | 222 |
| division does not prevent an employer from taking an employment | 223 |
| action that is independent of the exercise of a right under this | 224 |
| chapter. | 225 |
| (C) An employer shall not deprive an employee who takes leave | 226 |
| pursuant to section 5906.02 of the Revised Code of any benefit | 227 |
| that accrued before the date that leave commences. | 228 |
| (D) An employer shall not require an employee to waive the | 229 |
| rights to which the employee is entitled pursuant to this chapter. | 230 |
| (E) On and after the effective date of this section, an | 231 |
| employer shall not enter into a collective bargaining agreement or | 232 |
| employee benefit plan that limits or requires an employee to waive | 233 |
| the rights established under this chapter. An employer shall | 234 |
| comply with any collective bargaining agreement or employee | 235 |
| benefit plan that provides leave benefits similar to the type | 236 |
| established under this chapter that are greater than the leave | 237 |
| benefits established under this chapter. | 238 |
| (F) An employer may provide leave benefits greater than those | 239 |
| established under this chapter. | 240 |
| Sec. 5906.99. Whoever violates this chapter is subject to a | 241 |
| civil action for injunctive relief or any other relief that a | 242 |
| court finds necessary to secure a right provided by this chapter. | 243 |
| Section 2. That existing section 4117.10 of the Revised Code | 244 |
| is hereby repealed. | 245 |
| Section 3. This act does apply to employers and employees, as | 246 |
| defined in section 5906.01 of the Revised Code as enacted by this | 247 |
| act, who have entered into a collective bargaining agreement or | 248 |
| other contract of employment that is in effect before the | 249 |
| effective date of this act and that conflicts with this act, but | 250 |
| shall apply to such employers and employees immediately upon the | 251 |
| expiration of such conflicting agreement or contract. | 252 |