Overview
The Department of Labor Relations (DLR) was established in November 2007, pursuant to Chapter 145 of the Acts of 2007. This legislation merged two former agencies: the Labor Relations Commission and the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration. Section 9O of Chapter 23 of the Massachusetts General Laws established DLR within, but not subject to the jurisdiction of, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The Governor appoints a director to DLR who serves as its lead administrator and whose duties are outlined in Sections 9R(c) and (d) of Chapter 23 of the General Laws.
DLR’s main administrative office is at the Lafayette City Center, 2 Avenue de Lafayette, in Boston. DLR’s field offices are at 436 Dwight Street in Springfield and 100 Front Street in Worcester. As of June 30, 2022, DLR had 28 employees.
DLR states the following on its website:
We serve public sector employers, employees, and unions. We carry out our objectives by:
- Investigating, mediating, adjudicating, and litigating public sector unfair labor practice cases
- Defining appropriate bargaining units and conducting elections in which public employees may choose whether and which employee organization they want to represent them in collective bargaining
- Providing mediation, fact-finding, and arbitration services to assist public employers and employee representatives in resolving labor disputes and contract negotiations
- Enforcing special collective bargaining laws related to municipal police and firefighters through the Joint Labor Management Committee.
Types of Cases Processed
DLR processes several different types of cases and sets case stage timeline goals for each type. DLR included the following descriptions of each case type in its fiscal year 2022 annual report.
Unfair Labor Practice Cases
According to DLR’s fiscal year 2022 annual report, most of DLR’s cases are unfair labor practice (ULP) cases. The annual report states,
[ULP cases] may include various allegations, including, for example, allegations that an employer discriminated or retaliated against an employee because the employee had engaged in activities protected by law; allegations that an employer or employee organization failed to bargain in good faith; or allegations that an employee organization failed to properly represent a member of the bargaining unit.
Representation Cases
There are three different types of representation cases, which are described below.
- Representation petition and election cases—According to DLR’s fiscal year 2022 annual report, these case types relate to how “DLR conducts secret ballot elections for employees to determine whether they wish to be represented by a union.”
- Written majority authorization petition cases—According to DLR’s fiscal year 2022 annual report, these case types relate to the following situation:
The Card Check Law (Chapter 120 of the Acts of 2007) provides that the DLR “shall certify to the parties, in writing, and the employer shall recognize as the exclusive representative for the purposes of collective bargaining of all the employees in the bargaining unit, a labor organization which has received a written majority authorization. . . .” A union that provides the DLR (or a designated neutral) with proof of majority support (50% + 1) of an appropriate bargaining unit will be certified by the DLR as that bargaining unit’s exclusive bargaining representative without an election. The DLR-issued regulations provide respondents with the right to file objections and challenges prior to a certification. Since the Card Check Law requires certification within 30 days, the DLR works with the parties to expedite all written majority authorization petitions.
- Unit clarification petition cases—According to DLR’s fiscal year 2022 annual report, these case types relate to how “a party to an existing bargaining relationship may file a petition with the DLR seeking to clarify or amend an existing bargaining unit or a DLR certification.”
Labor Dispute Mediation Cases
According to DLR’s fiscal year 2022 annual report, another case type that DLR handles involves “labor dispute mediation in both the public and the private sectors,” which it further sorts into one of the following classifications:
a. Interest Mediation: Interest mediation is contract negotiation mediation. The DLR provides mediators to assist parties from the public and private sectors who are involved in such disputes. The DLR’s jurisdiction extends to all public sector labor contract disputes, though contract disputes involving municipal police and firefighters are mediated through the procedures and rules adopted by the [Joint Labor Management Committee]. . . .
b. Mediation of Prohibited Practice Charges: The formal mediation of prohibited practices charges is an important feature of the reorganization statute (Chapter 145 of the Acts of 2007). The DLR affords the parties numerous opportunities, both formal and informal, to avail themselves of the DLR’s mediation services. . . .
c. Grievance Mediation: The DLR provides mediation services to parties who desire to mediate grievances arising out of the collective bargaining agreement. The DLR offers grievance mediation to all parties who file for grievance arbitration.
Grievance Arbitration Cases
DLR’s fiscal year 2022 annual report states,
The DLR provides grievance arbitration services that are utilized by all sectors of the Commonwealth’s labor relations community. . . . Arbitration petitions [originate] from a variety of employer and employee representatives involving state, county, and municipal governments, including police departments, fire departments, public works departments, and school departments.
Case Stage Timeline Goals
Over the course of each case’s life cycle, several events (which include, but are not limited to, filing a case, starting an investigation, or scheduling a hearing) occur. DLR sets case stage timeline goals for key events in each case. DLR lists these case stage timeline goals in its DLR Case Processing Goals document. These case stage timeline goals vary, depending on the case type (i.e., ULP, representation, meditation, or arbitration) and the corresponding event.
DLR measures its actual case/event timelines against its case stage timeline goals by taking the following two steps:
- First, DLR calculates the actual number of days it took to complete a specific case/event type. This process involves identifying both a starting event and a concluding event. The number of days between the two events represents the number of days it took DLR to complete the specific case/event type. DLR then compares the actual number of days to the number of days in the corresponding case stage timeline goal.
- Second, DLR calculates the percentages of case stage timeline goals that it met for each case and event type. DLR aims to meet the majority of its case stage timeline goals for all case and event types (this majority being anywhere from 60% to 80% as listed in the DLR Case Processing Goals document, depending on the case/event in question).
See Appendix A for more information regarding DLR’s case stage timeline goals.
Annual Reports
According to Section 9U of Chapter 23 of the General Laws, DLR must file an annual report with the Legislature. The law specifically states,
The division shall, within 120 days of the close of each fiscal year, make a detailed report in writing to the general court, including without limitation: the number and types of cases filed with the division, including elections, and the disposition of all such cases; statistics regarding the number of decisions it has rendered and unresolved cases.
DLR prepares its annual reports with input from its employees, which includes the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s chief of staff. DLR forwards the draft annual report to a manager at the Office of the Governor, who edits the draft then sends it back to DLR. After DLR reviews the updates and makes any necessary changes, it then forwards the annual report draft to DLR’s director for approval. The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s director of legislative affairs submits the annual report to the Legislature no later than October 28, which is 120 days after the end of the state’s fiscal year (June 30).
Cybersecurity Awareness Training
The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) has established policies and procedures that apply to all Commonwealth agencies within the executive branch. EOTSS recommends, but does not require, non-executive branch agencies to follow these policies and procedures. Section 6.2 of EOTSS’s Information Security Risk Management Standard IS.010 states,
The objective of the Commonwealth information security training is to educate users on their responsibility to help protect the confidentiality, availability and integrity of the Commonwealth’s information assets. Commonwealth Offices and Agencies must ensure that all personnel are trained on all relevant rules and regulations for cybersecurity.
To ensure that employees are clear on their responsibilities, EOTSS’s policies require that all employees in state executive branch agencies complete a cybersecurity awareness course every year. All newly hired employees must complete an initial security awareness training course within 30 days after their orientation.
| Date published: | October 30, 2024 |
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