Age Discrimination in Employment Act - A federal law, passed in 1967 and amended in 1978, which makes it unlawful for an employer, an employment agency, or a labor union to discriminate in employment opportunities against persons between the ages of 40 and 70. This law also applies to employees of federal, state, and local governments.
Agency Shop - A union security clause which provided that an employee in the bargaining unit who refuses to join the union must pay a service fee to the union equal to union dues.
Agreement Contract - A written agreement (contract) arrived at as a result of negotiations between an employer and an employee organization, which sets the terms and conditions of employment (wages, hours, fringe benefits, etc.) and the procedure to be used in settling disputes that may arise during the term of the agreement.
Allocate - To assign a class to a particular grade in the salary schedule based on an evaluation of its relative worth. To reallocate is to change the existing allocation of a class to a different salary grade in the schedule.
American Arbitration Association (AAA) - A panel of professional impartial arbitrators.
Arbitration - A method of settling a labor-management dispute whereby an impartial third party renders a decision which is binding. Most agreements provide for the arbitration of grievances arising from the interpretation of an existing contract.
Arbitrator (Arbiter) - An impartial third party to whom disputing parties submit their difference for decision (award). An ad hoc arbitrator is one selected to act in a specific case or a limited group of cases. A permanent arbitrator is one selected to serve for the life of an agreement or a stipulated term, hearing all disputes that arise during this period.
Bargaining Unit (Negotiating Unit) - A group, class, or category of employees that has been determined by the employer or the Public Employment Relations Board as appropriate to be represented by an employee organization for purposes of collective bargaining. The primary criterion in such a determination is "community of interest" among the employees included.
Competitive Class - That jurisdictional class comprised of positions for which it is practicable to determine the merit and fitness of applicants by competitive examination. A new position is in the competitive class unless the Civil Service Commission acts on another designation.
Coordinated Bargaining - Joint or cooperative efforts by several unions in dealing with an employer that has employees represented by each of the several unions. Also called coalition bargaining.
Desk Audit - A review and discussion of the duties and responsibilities of a position made at any employee's desk or other regular place of work.
Earmark - The term used when a position has been designated for restudy when vacant to determine its proper classification before being refilled. An earmark may be placed against an item by Classification and Compensation, the Civil Service Commission, or the Division of the Budget.
Exempt - The jurisdictional class of positions for which it is deemed impracticable to fill by tests of any kind. No minimum training and experience requirements are established for exempt positions. (See Section 41 of the Civil Service Law.)
Inconvenience Pay - Money added to the base salary of employees, other than part-time or seasonal employees, who work a tour of duty which includes four or more hours between the hours of 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM - exclusive of any hours for which overtime compensation is paid. This is a negotiated benefit currently paid at the rate of $500 annually.
Labor-Management Meetings - Formal meetings, on a regular basis, between representatives of the employer and union to discuss and consider matters of mutual concern. Such meetings are most useful in preventing the development of problems and disputes that would otherwise lead to formal grievances. The labor-management meeting is an outgrowth of the contract.
Minimum Qualification or "Quals" - Education, training, and/or experience requirements denoting the minimum standards that all candidates are required to possess to give reasonable assurance that they can perform satisfactorily.
Non-Competitive Class - The jurisdictional classification which included positions which are not in the exempt or labor classes and for which it it found by the Civil Service Commission to be not practicable to ascertain the merit and fitness of applicants by competitive examination. An agency may appoint a person who meets the minimum qualifications of training and experience. (See Section 42 of the Civil Service Law.)
Parenthetic - A descriptive designation in parentheses following a common base title, to distinguish a specialty within a given field, as Senior Clerk (Library) and Senior Clerk (Purchase).
Past Practice - An employment practice which, through sanction or use becomes an enforceable standard even though not included in a contract.
Posting - The placing on an official bulletin board announcements defining any positions, titles, types of appointments, duration of appointments, and/or special situations. Joint development of the procedures for implementing this benefit is a legitimate subject for agency level and/or local level labor/management meetings.
Probationary Period - A stated period of time during which a newly hired employee can be terminated at the will of the Employer; the period of time before the employee is protected by the just cause provision of a contract.
Public Employment Relations Board (New York state PERB) - The administrative agency created by the Public Employees' Fair Employment Act which is charged with the administrative responsibility for Article 14 of the Civil Service Law and its amendments. It is composed of three members appointed by the Governor, with the consent of the Senate. It administers and enforces the Act. Its functions include: defining appropriate bargaining units, holding elections to determine whether a majority of workers want to be represented by a specific union or no union, certifying unions to represent employees, interpreting and applying the act's provisions prohibiting certain employer and union improper practices.
Reallocate - To change the salary grade of a class with no change in title.
Reclassify - To effect a change in the title of an existing position based upon a change in duties.
Reassignment - A change, without further examination, of an employee from one position to a position in the same title under the jurisdiction of the same appointing authority.
Section 55.b - A Section of the Civil Service Law which provides for hiring qualified handicapped individuals into positions which are normally filled on a competitive basis. The position is reclassified from the competitive class to the non-competitive class and designated with the parenthetic (Section 55.b). A Civil Service Commission earmark is placed against all 55.b positions.
Seniority - According to Section 80.2 of Civil Service Law, seniority shall be defined as the length of an employee's continuous State service, whether part-time or full-time, from the date of original appointment in the classified service on a permanent basis. An employee who has resigned and who has been reinstated or reappointed in the service within one year thereafter shall be deemed to have continuous service for purposes of determining seniority. A period of employment on a temporary or provisional basis or in the unclassified service, immediately preceded and followed by permanent service in the classified service shall not constitute an interruption of continuous service for determining seniority nor shall a period of authorized leave without pay or any period during which an employee is suspended from his position pursuant to Section 80 or Section 80-a of the Civil Service Law.
Shift Differential - Payment of additional salary to employees in a given occupation regularly assigned to work on a shift having 4 hours between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM, authorized by the Director of classification and compensation.
Transfer - The change, without further examination, of a permanent employee from a position under the jurisdiction of one appointing authority to a position under the jurisdiction of another appointing authority, or to a position in a different title under the same appointing authority; a transfer may only be made to a position at the same or similar salary grade (currently no higher than two salary grades or l-M grade).
Transfer Administrative - A transfer between "administrative" positions pursuant to Section 52. 6 of the Civil Service Law; "administrative" positions include those in the areas of law, personnel, budgeting, methods and procedures, management, records analysis and administrative analysis.
Transfer, Non-Competitive Qualifying - A transfer to a different title. The individual must meet minimum qualifications for the position and have passed an examination appropriate for the title (Section 70.4 of the Civil Service Law).
Transfer, Regular - A transfer between titles based on a determination by the Department of Civil Service that the titles have similar minimum qualifications and tests (Section 70.1 of the Civil Service Law).