Labor Relations Fundamentals for Community College Districts

Although the above are generally accepted management rights and prerogatives, this does not mean that management’s right to implement these prerogatives will not be challenged or subject to the duty to negotiate, if the rights/prerogatives do not affect a fundamental management interest. In addition, while a fundamental managerial decision may be exempt from the requirement to negotiate, an employer may still be required to negotiate over the “impacts and effects” of a decision, so far as the decision impacts terms and conditions of employment. 94 In such instances, the employer is required to provide employee organizations with the opportunity to bargain over impacts in advance of implementing the decision. When an employee organization seeks to bargain over the effects of a certain employer decision, the employee organization must clearly identify the negotiable areas of impact (i.e. subjects that are within the scope of the representation), and clearly indicate its desire to bargain over the effects of the decision (as opposed to the decision itself). 95 Effects include reasonably foreseeable effects of a decision. 96 However, before an employer may refuse to negotiate after receiving an effects bargaining demand, it must attempt to clarify through discussions with the union any uncertainty as to what is proposed for bargaining and whether it falls within the scope of representation. 97 Indeed, the unique adversary nature of collective bargaining means public managers must remain alert to such challenges at all times. Employee organizations will quite naturally seek to gain as much advantage as possible at the bargaining table, and subsequently, at the work site itself. Managers, particularly supervisors, need to appreciate the impact of collective bargaining on day-to-day operations in their districts and develop a positive perspective toward dealing with the issues it presents. Such a perspective should, of course, include the very important consideration of preserving fundamental management rights. This is why it is imperative that the responding administrator be knowledgeable enough to provide a reasonable explanation of why the district is denying an employee’s grievance or complaint. Management personnel should guard against arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, or discriminatory actions and decisions in grievance administration. In effect then, management rights should always be regarded as more of a shield than a sword.

D. R ESTRICTIONS ON M ANAGEMENT R IGHTS

In general, there are three forms of restrictions on management rights. These restrictions are:

 Statutes and Other Laws: For example, state and federal laws regarding leave benefits, due process procedural requirements relating to academic and classified evaluation and discipline, including dismissal of permanent tenured employees.  Written Instruments: Collective bargaining agreements, memorandums of understanding, board policies, administrative regulations.  Past Practices: Employee benefits of long standing not mentioned in the written agreement or discussed in negotiations. If not rescinded in negotiations, these benefits may be found to be binding practices and

Labor Relations Fundamentals for Community College Districts © 2019 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 23