This provision defines key labor relations terms and says employers must negotiate mandatory bargaining topics. It also gives employees meet-and-confer rights to discuss wages, hours, and other terms with the proper employer representative, but limits those rights to supervisory units and bars use of certain impasse and commission procedures.
For purposes of the State Employees Collective Bargaining Act, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) Chief Negotiator shall mean the Chief Negotiator of the Division of Employee Relations of the Department of Administrative Services; (2) Commission shall mean the Commission of Industrial Relations; (3) Division shall mean the Division of Employee Relations of the Department of Administrative Services; (4) Employee or state employee shall mean any employee of the State of Nebraska; (5) Employer or state employer shall mean the State of Nebraska and shall not include any political subdivision thereof; (6) Employer-representative shall mean (a) for negotiations involving employees of the University of Nebraska, the Board of Regents, (b) for negotiations involving employees of the Nebraska state colleges, the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges, (c) for negotiations involving employees of other constitutional agencies, the governing officer or body for each such agency, and (d) for negotiations involving other state employees, the Governor; (7) Grievance shall mean a management action resulting in an injury, injustice, or wrong involving a misinterpretation or misapplication of applicable labor contracts if so agreed to by the appropriate parties; (8) Issue shall mean broad subjects of negotiation which are presented to the commission pursuant to section 81-1382. All aspects of wages shall be a single issue, all aspects of insurance shall be a single issue, and all other subjects of negotiations classified in broad categories shall be single issues; (9) Mandatory topic or topics of bargaining shall mean those subjects of negotiation on which employers must negotiate pursuant to the Industrial Relations Act, including terms and conditions of employment which may otherwise be provided by law for state employees, except when specifically prohibited by law from being a subject of bargaining; and (10) Meet-and-confer rights shall mean the rights of employees to discuss wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment with the appropriate employer-representative but shall not require either party to enter into a written agreement. Employees afforded meet-and-confer rights shall not be entitled to utilize the impasse resolution procedures provided in the State Employees Collective Bargaining Act or to file a petition with the commission invoking its jurisdiction as provided in the Industrial Relations Act for the purpose of obtaining an order or orders under section 48-818. Meet-and-confer rights shall not apply to any bargaining unit other than a supervisory unit. History: Laws 1987, LB 661, § 3; Laws 1992, Third Spec. Sess., LB 14, § 25; Laws 2011, LB397, § 20.