N.Y. Civil Service Law § 201: Definitions

§ 201. Definitions. As used in this article:

1. The term "board" means the public employment relations board

created by section two hundred five of this article.

2. (a) The term "membership dues deduction" means the obligation or

practice of a government to deduct from the salary of a public employee

with his consent an amount for the payment of his membership dues in an

employee organization. Such term also means the obligation or practice

of a government to transmit the sums so deducted to an employee

organization.

(b) The term "agency shop fee deduction" means the obligation or

practice of a government to deduct from the salary of a public employee

who is not a member of the certified or recognized employee organization

which represents such employee for the purpose of collective

negotiations conducted pursuant to this article, an amount equivalent to

the amount of dues payable by a member. Such term also means the

obligation or practice of a government to transmit the sums so deducted

to an employee organization.

3. The term "chief legal officer" means (a) in the case of the state

of New York or a state public authority, the attorney general of the

state of New York, (b) in the case of a county, city, town, village or

school district, the county attorney, corporation counsel, town

attorney, village attorney or school district attorney, as the case may

be, and (c) in the case of any such government not having its own

attorney, or any other government or public employer, the corporation

counsel of the city in which such government or public employer has its

principal office, and if such principal office is not located in a city,

the county attorney of the county in which such government or public

employer has its principal office.

4. The term "terms and conditions of employment" means:

(a) salaries, wages, hours and other terms and conditions of

employment provided, however, that such term shall not include any

benefits provided by or to be provided by a public retirement system, or

payments to a fund or insurer to provide an income for retirees, or

payment to retirees or their beneficiaries. No such retirement benefits

shall be negotiated pursuant to this article, and any benefits so

negotiated shall be void.

(b) in addition, the terms and conditions of employment for

firefighters shall include discipline and disciplinary procedures

including alternatives to any statutory disciplinary system, provided,

however, that any right of firefighters under the terms of any state law

to elect coverage under either a statutory disciplinary system or a

disciplinary system established by collective negotiations shall not be

impaired, unless any such state law authorizes exclusivity of a

negotiated disciplinary system and provided further that no provision

contained in the town law, general city law, second class cities law,

general municipal law, municipal home rule law, county law, or other

state, local, special law or charter provision, or any special police

act or other special act created by local law or charter or otherwise

created, or this chapter shall prevent or impair the right to collective

bargaining for or modification of disciplinary procedures.

5. The term "employee organization" means an organization of any kind

having as its primary purpose the improvement of terms and conditions of

employment of public employees, except that such term shall not include

an organization (a) membership in which is prohibited by section one

hundred five of this chapter, (b) which discriminates with regard to the

terms or conditions of membership because of race, color, creed or

national origin, or (c) which, in the case of public employees who hold

positions by appointment or employment in the service of the board and

who are excluded from the application of this article by rules and

regulations of the board, admits to membership or is affiliated directly

or indirectly with an organization which admits to membership persons

not in the service of the board, for purposes of any provision of this

article other than sections two hundred ten and two hundred eleven of

this article.

6. (a) The term "government" or "public employer" means (i) the state

of New York, (ii) a county, city, town, village or any other political

subdivision or civil division of the state, (iii) a school district or

any governmental entity operating a public school, college or

university, (iv) a public improvement or special district, (v) a public

authority, commission, or public benefit corporation, (vi) any other

public corporation, agency or instrumentality or unit of government

which exercises governmental powers under the laws of the state, or

(vii) in the case of a county sheriff's office in those counties where

the office of sheriff is an elected position, both the county and the

sheriff, shall be designated as a joint public employer for all purposes

of this article.

(b) Upon the application of any government, the board may determine

that the applicant shall be deemed to be a joint public employer of

public employees in an employer-employee negotiating unit determined

pursuant to section two hundred seven of this chapter when such

determination would best effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

7. (a) The term "public employee" means any person holding a position

by appointment or employment in the service of a public employer, except

that such term shall not include for the purposes of any provision of

this article other than sections two hundred ten and two hundred eleven

of this article, judges and justices of the unified court system,

persons holding positions by appointment or employment in the organized

militia of the state and persons who may reasonably be designated from

time to time as managerial or confidential upon application of the

public employer to the appropriate board in accordance with procedures

established pursuant to section two hundred five or two hundred twelve

of this article, which procedures shall provide that any such

designations made during a period of unchallenged representation

pursuant to subdivision two of section two hundred eight of this chapter

shall only become effective upon the termination of such period of

unchallenged representation. Employees may be designated as managerial

only if they are persons (i) who formulate policy or (ii) who may

reasonably be required on behalf of the public employer to assist

directly in the preparation for and conduct of collective negotiations

or to have a major role in the administration of agreements or in

personnel administration provided that such role is not of a routine or

clerical nature and requires the exercise of independent judgment.

Employees may be designated as confidential only if they are persons who

assist and act in a confidential capacity to managerial employees

described in clause (ii).

(b) For the purposes of this article, assistant attorneys general,

assistant district attorneys, and law school graduates employed in

titles which promote to assistant district attorney upon admission to

the bar of the state of New York shall be designated managerial

employees, and confidential investigators employed in the department of

law shall be designated confidential employees.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local

law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with

respect to the officers of a paid city fire department in a city of one

million or more inhabitants, members in the rank of deputy chief

designated as deputy assistant chief and higher shall be designated as

managerial and confidential employees and members in the rank of deputy

chief or lower shall not be so designated.

(d) A substitute teacher or a person employed in a nonpedagogical

position who has received a reasonable assurance of continuing

employment in accordance with subdivision ten or eleven of section five

hundred ninety of the labor law which is sufficient to disqualify the

substitute teacher or person employed in a nonpedagogical position from

receiving unemployment insurance benefits shall be deemed to be an

employee of the school district or board of cooperative educational

services that has furnished such reasonable assurance of continuing

employment; provided however that for the purposes of this article only,

the determination of whether such reasonable assurance was furnished

shall be made as if such determination were made prior to the

promulgation by the United States department of labor of program letter

number 4-87, dated December twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred eighty-six.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local

law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with

respect to the officers of a paid city police department, in a city of

one million or more inhabitants, members in the rank of captain

designated as assistant chief and higher shall be designated as

managerial and confidential employees; members in the rank of captain,

deputy inspector, inspector and deputy chief or lower shall not be so

designated, unless a final determination to the contrary results from a

petition to decertify (or from an action to otherwise designate any or

all such members as managerial or confidential employees), which

petition or action is or was initiated at any time prior to October

first, nineteen hundred eighty-four and such petition or action is not

withdrawn or otherwise discontinued.

(f) The term "public employee" means any person employed by a school

district or board of cooperative educational services not otherwise

deemed to be a public employee pursuant to the provisions of this

subdivision, but who would be deemed a public employee under precedents

or standards utilized or promulgated by the board for determining

whether a person employed in a part-time, seasonal or casual position by

a public employer other than a school district or board of cooperative

educational services would be a public employee under paragraph (a) of

this subdivision, taking into account the length of the school day and

school year.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local

law or code to the contrary, for the purposes of this article and with

respect to employees of a city school district having a population of

one million or more inhabitants, members in a title of school plant

manager shall be designated as managerial and confidential employees in

the noncompetitive classification.

8. The term "state public authority" means a public benefit

corporation or public corporation, a majority of the members of which

are (i) appointed by the governor or by another state officer or body,

(ii) designated as members by virtue of their state office, or (iii)

appointed or designated by any combination of the foregoing.

9. The term "strike" means any strike or other concerted stoppage of

work or slowdown by public employees.

10. The term "chief executive officer" in the case of school

districts, means the superintendent of schools in school districts

employing their own superintendents, and in school districts under the

jurisdiction of a district superintendent of schools, shall mean the

principal of the district.

11. The term "legislative body of the government," in the case of

school districts, means the board of education, board of trustees or

sole trustee, as the case may be.

12. The term "agreement" means the result of the exchange of mutual

promises between the chief executive officer of a public employer and an

employee organization which becomes a binding contract, for the period

set forth therein, except as to any provisions therein which require

approval by a legislative body, and as to those provisions, shall become

binding when the appropriate legislative body gives its approval.