NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7601A
SPONSOR: Abbate
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the civil service law, in relation to
membership dues in an employee organization and signed authorizations
for deduction
 
PURPOSE:
To streamline the process for an individual to join a public sector
union.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Amends the civil service law by adding a new section 159-d, to do the
following:
*Requires public employers to process dues authorization cards, to begin
making required deductions and to transmit union dues to the recognized
collective bargaining organization within thirty days.
*Provides that within 30 days of employment or reemployment with a
public employer, or promotion and transfers to new bargaining units the
employer shall provide the recognized employee organization of the name,
job title, work location, work contact information and hours and allow
the duly appointed representative to meet with that employee during work
time for up to one hour.
*Provides for time periods for authorization to deduction for payment of
membership dues shall be the shorter of time set forth on authorization
card or a time frame that may be set by future court rulings.
*Provides for time periods for withdrawal of authorization to deduction
for payment of membership dues prior to renewal to be the longer of time
set forth on authorization card or a time frame that may be set by
future court rulings.
*Clarifies the allowable formats under article three of the state tech-
nology law that dues authorization forms can take and ensure that such a
form will be provided to an employee.
*Provides for a clear system for an individual to withdrawal from
payment of membership dues according to terms of the signed authori-
zation card.
*Defines terms according to Article 14 of the Civil Service Law.
*Provides for a severability clause, to ensure that if any parts are
found to be invalid the remainder shall be deemed valid
*Provides that if any clause, sentence, paragraph of a signed authori-
zation shall be found unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, all other
provisions of existing dues authorization cards will continue to be
valid by the terms of such authorization card.
*Provides for an immediate effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation will simplify the process for an individual to join a
public employee union by clarifying and streamlining the dues deduction
authorization process. Furthermore, this legislation will make sure that
the process is consistent among all public employers in the state.
Under current law, the process varies among the different employers and
can result in confusion and delays in the ability of unions to effec-
tively represent their membership, as required by law.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
 
FISCAL IMPACT:
None to State or Local Governments.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7601--A
Cal. No. 560
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE, DE LA ROSA, VANEL, FAHY, HYNDMAN, WALKER,
COLTON, LUPINACCI, JEAN-PIERRE, WOERNER, BARRON, ARROYO, SEPULVEDA,
DICKENS, STECK, MOSLEY, WALLACE, HARRIS, RICHARDSON, ORTIZ, CYMBROW-
ITZ, MAYER, SKOUFIS, PEOPLES-STOKES -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
ENGLEBRIGHT, HOOPER, LENTOL, THIELE -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Employees -- advanced to a third reading,
passed by Assembly and delivered to the Senate, recalled from the
Senate, vote reconsidered, bill amended, ordered reprinted, retaining
its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the civil service law, in relation to membership dues in
an employee organization and signed authorizations for deduction
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The civil service law is amended by adding a new section
2 159-d to read as follows:
3 § 159-d. Membership dues; signed authorization. 1. (a) A public
4 employer shall commence making deductions of membership dues in an
5 employee organization pursuant to a public employee's signed authori-
6 zation as soon as practicable but in no case later than thirty days
7 after receiving proof of a signed authorization.
8 (b) Any membership dues in an employee organization deducted from the
9 salary of a public employee shall be transmitted to the employee organ-
10 ization as soon as practicable but in no case later than thirty days
11 after the salary from which it is deducted is paid to the employee.
12 2. Within thirty days of a public employee first being paid after
13 being employed or reemployed by a public employer, or within thirty days
14 of being promoted or transferred to a new bargaining unit, the public
15 employer shall:
16 (a) notify the employee organization, if any, that represents that
17 bargaining unit of the employee's name, job title, work location, work
18 telephone number and hours of work; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11206-07-7
A. 7601--A 2
1 (b) allow a duly appointed representative of the employee organization
2 that represents that bargaining unit to meet with that employee during
3 work time, unless otherwise specified within an agreement bargained
4 collectively under article fourteen of the civil service law.
5 3. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
6 period of time that an authorization to deduct from the salary of a
7 public employee an amount for the payment of membership dues in an
8 employee organization shall remain in effect shall be the shorter of (i)
9 that set forth in the signed authorization, or (ii) as may be later
10 determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be constitutionally
11 required or required by law.
12 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
13 period of time that a public employee shall have to withdraw a signed
14 authorization to deduct from his or her salary an amount for the payment
15 of membership dues in an employee organization prior to it being renewed
16 shall be the longer of (i) that set forth in the signed authorization,
17 or (ii) as may be later finally determined by a court of competent
18 jurisdiction to be constitutionally required or required by law.
19 4. A public employer shall accept a signed authorization to deduct
20 from the salary of a public employee an amount for the payment of his or
21 her membership dues in an employee organization in any format permitted
22 by article three of the state technology law.
23 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, except
24 as provided in subdivision three of this section, any signed authori-
25 zation to deduct from the salary of a public employee an amount for the
26 payment of membership dues in an employee organization may be withdrawn
27 by such employee only in accordance with the terms of the signed author-
28 ization.
29 6. Notwithstanding any provision of article fourteen of this chapter
30 to the contrary, except as provided in subdivision three of this
31 section, as used in this section, the terms "public employee" and
32 "public employer" shall have the same meaning as set forth in section
33 two hundred one of this chapter, and the term "employee organization"
34 shall mean any employee organization, as that term is defined in section
35 two hundred one of this chapter, that has been certified or recognized
36 pursuant to article fourteen of this chapter or other applicable law as
37 the exclusive bargaining representative of public employees. Nothing in
38 this section shall be construed to make the comptroller of the state of
39 New York the public employer of any public employees except as set forth
40 in section two hundred one of this chapter.
41 7. (a) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or subdivision of this
42 section shall be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
43 unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
44 impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its
45 operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, or subdivision of this
46 section directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment
47 shall have been rendered.
48 (b) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of a signed authori-
49 zation shall be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
50 unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such determination shall not
51 affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of such signed authorization
52 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para-
53 graph, or part of the signed authorization directly involved in the
54 controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
55 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.