2005 Arizona Revised Statutes - Revised Statutes §23-1412  Department of public safety; employee organizations; terms and conditions of employment; definition

A. The department of public safety is recognized as the sole and exclusive authority pursuant to law with respect to determining the level of and the manner in which the department of public safety activities are conducted, managed and administered. It is the exclusive right of the director of the department of public safety to establish and maintain departmental rules and procedures for the administration of the department of public safety.

B. Department employees or employee organizations shall not engage in a sickout, work slowdown or strike or any other action that will disrupt the delivery of services.

C. This section shall not be construed to:

1. Affect or limit the existing right of the department of public safety to:

(a) Direct the work of department employees.

(b) Hire, promote, demote, transfer, assign and retrain department employees.

(c) Suspend, discharge or discipline department employees.

(d) Maintain the efficiency of governmental operations.

(e) Relieve department employees from job responsibilities due to lack of work or other legitimate reasons.

2. Invalidate or limit other rights, remedies or procedures of this state relating to any issue of employment of department employees.

D. The department of public safety shall:

1. Allow department employees the right to form and join employee organizations.

2. Recognize an employee organization that is elected by a majority of votes that are cast by department employees in a representation election of which a majority of eligible employees participate in that election.

3. Agree to meet and confer with the elected employee organization regarding hours and terms and conditions of employment. The terms and conditions discussed pursuant to this paragraph shall not include wages.

4. Commit any agreements regarding working conditions and hours to writing in a contract.

E. The elected employee organization and department of public safety shall meet and confer on a regular basis, at least once every two years, to discuss hours of employment and other conditions of employment of department employees. On the request of the employee organization, the department of public safety shall meet and confer with the employee organization in good faith at reasonable times. If the department of public safety and the employee organization reach an agreement, the agreement shall be submitted to the governor for consideration pursuant to subsection G.

F. If an agreement is not reached and the possibility of settlement is remote after the parties meet and confer for a reasonable period of time, the department of public safety or the employee organization may offer to the other party a written request to begin a mediation process. The mediation process shall be voluntary and nonbinding. The mediation process shall use a neutral third party mediator to assist the parties in reaching a voluntary agreement. During the mediation process, each party shall agree to make a good faith attempt to resolve the issues, to cooperate with the mediator and to be open, candid and complete. The mediator shall only facilitate the meet and confer process and shall not impose any term of the agreement on the parties. If the parties reach an agreement during the mediation process, the agreement shall be submitted to the governor for consideration pursuant to subsection G. If the mediation process does not resolve all disputed issues between the parties, either party may advise the governor of the issues that remain in dispute.

G. The governor shall review any agreement or proposed compromise that is reached under this section. The governor may reject, accept or modify any agreement or compromise after considering the interests of the department employees and the public interest. Any agreement or compromise is subject to all applicable statutory limitations for the department of public safety. The final decision by the governor shall be binding.

H. The department of public safety shall record the proceedings of each meeting with an employee organization.

I. The department of public safety may adopt policies to govern the process established pursuant to this section.

J. For the purposes of this section, "employee organization" means any organization of any kind, or any agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, training, hours of employment or other conditions of employment.