HB0297 EngrossedLRB103 03824 RJT 48830 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act is
5amended by changing Section 12 as follows:
 
6    (115 ILCS 5/12)  (from Ch. 48, par. 1712)
7    Sec. 12. Impasse procedures.
8    (a) This subsection (a) applies only to collective
9bargaining between an educational employer that is not a
10public school district organized under Article 34 of the
11School Code and an exclusive representative of its employees.
12If the parties engaged in collective bargaining have not
13reached an agreement by 90 days before the scheduled start of
14the forthcoming school year, the parties shall notify the
15Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board concerning the
16status of negotiations. This notice shall include a statement
17on whether mediation has been used.
18    Upon demand of either party, collective bargaining between
19the employer and an exclusive bargaining representative must
20begin within 60 days of the date of certification of the
21representative by the Board, or in the case of an existing
22exclusive bargaining representative, within 60 days of the
23receipt by a party of a demand to bargain issued by the other

 

 

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1party. Once commenced, collective bargaining must continue for
2at least a 60 day period, unless a contract is entered into.
3    Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this
4Section, if after a reasonable period of negotiation and
5within 90 days of the scheduled start of the forth-coming
6school year, the parties engaged in collective bargaining have
7reached an impasse, either party may petition the Board to
8initiate mediation. Alternatively, the Board on its own motion
9may initiate mediation during this period. However, mediation
10shall be initiated by the Board at any time when jointly
11requested by the parties and the services of the mediators
12shall continuously be made available to the employer and to
13the exclusive bargaining representative for purposes of
14arbitration of grievances and mediation or arbitration of
15contract disputes. If requested by the parties, the mediator
16may perform fact-finding and in so doing conduct hearings and
17make written findings and recommendations for resolution of
18the dispute. Such mediation shall be provided by the Board and
19shall be held before qualified impartial individuals. Nothing
20prohibits the use of other individuals or organizations such
21as the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the
22American Arbitration Association selected by both the
23exclusive bargaining representative and the employer.
24    If the parties engaged in collective bargaining fail to
25reach an agreement within 45 days of the scheduled start of the
26forthcoming school year and have not requested mediation, the

 

 

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1Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board shall invoke
2mediation.
3    Whenever mediation is initiated or invoked under this
4subsection (a), the parties may stipulate to defer selection
5of a mediator in accordance with rules adopted by the Board.
6    (a-5) This subsection (a-5) applies only to collective
7bargaining between a public school district or a combination
8of public school districts, including, but not limited to,
9joint cooperatives, that is not organized under Article 34 of
10the School Code and an exclusive representative of its
11employees.
12        (1) Any time 15 days after mediation has commenced,
13    either party may initiate the public posting process. The
14    mediator may initiate the public posting process at any
15    time 15 days after mediation has commenced during the
16    mediation process. Initiation of the public posting
17    process must be filed in writing with the Board, and
18    copies must be submitted to the parties on the same day the
19    initiation is filed with the Board.
20        (2) Within 7 days after the initiation of the public
21    posting process, each party shall submit to the mediator,
22    the Board, and the other party in writing the most recent
23    offer of the party, including a cost summary of the offer.
24    Seven days after receipt of the parties' offers, the Board
25    shall make public the offers and each party's cost summary
26    dealing with those issues on which the parties have failed

 

 

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1    to reach agreement by immediately posting the offers on
2    its Internet website, unless otherwise notified by the
3    mediator or jointly by the parties that agreement has been
4    reached. On the same day of publication by the Board, at a
5    minimum, the school district shall distribute notice of
6    the availability of the offers on the Board's Internet
7    website to all news media that have filed an annual
8    request for notices from the school district pursuant to
9    Section 2.02 of the Open Meetings Act. The parties' offers
10    shall remain on the Board's Internet website until the
11    parties have reached and ratified an agreement.
12    (a-10) This subsection (a-10) applies only to collective
13bargaining between a public school district organized under
14Article 34 of the School Code and an exclusive representative
15of its employees, other than educational employees who are
16forbidden from striking under this Act. For educational
17employees who are forbidden from striking, either the employer
18or exclusive representative may elect to utilize the
19fact-finding procedures set forth in this subsection (a-10),
20except as otherwise specified in paragraph (5) of this
21subsection (a-10).
22        (1) For collective bargaining agreements between an
23    educational employer to which this subsection (a-10)
24    applies and an exclusive representative of its employees,
25    if the parties fail to reach an agreement after a
26    reasonable period of mediation, the dispute shall be

 

 

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1    submitted to fact-finding in accordance with this
2    subsection (a-10). Either the educational employer or the
3    exclusive representative may initiate fact-finding by
4    submitting a written demand to the other party with a copy
5    of the demand submitted simultaneously to the Board.
6        (2) Within 3 days following a party's demand for
7    fact-finding, each party shall appoint one member of the
8    fact-finding panel, unless the parties agree to proceed
9    without a tri-partite panel. Following these appointments,
10    if any, the parties shall select a qualified impartial
11    individual to serve as the fact-finder and chairperson of
12    the fact-finding panel, if applicable. An individual shall
13    be considered qualified to serve as the fact-finder and
14    chairperson of the fact-finding panel, if applicable, if
15    he or she was not the same individual who was appointed as
16    the mediator and if he or she satisfies the following
17    requirements: membership in good standing with the
18    National Academy of Arbitrators, Federal Mediation and
19    Conciliation Service, or American Arbitration Association
20    for a minimum of 10 years; membership on the mediation
21    roster for the Illinois Labor Relations Board or Illinois
22    Educational Labor Relations Board; issuance of at least 5
23    interest arbitration awards arising under the Illinois
24    Public Labor Relations Act; and participation in impasse
25    resolution processes arising under private or public
26    sector collective bargaining statutes in other states. If

 

 

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1    the parties are unable to agree on a fact-finder, the
2    parties shall request a panel of fact-finders who satisfy
3    the requirements set forth in this paragraph (2) from
4    either the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or
5    the American Arbitration Association and shall select a
6    fact-finder from such panel in accordance with the
7    procedures established by the organization providing the
8    panel.
9        (3) The fact-finder shall have the following duties
10    and powers:
11            (A) to require the parties to submit a statement
12        of disputed issues and their positions regarding each
13        issue either jointly or separately;
14            (B) to identify disputed issues that are economic
15        in nature;
16            (C) to meet with the parties either separately or
17        in executive sessions;
18            (D) to conduct hearings and regulate the time,
19        place, course, and manner of the hearings;
20            (E) to request the Board to issue subpoenas
21        requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or
22        the production of evidence;
23            (F) to administer oaths and affirmations;
24            (G) to examine witnesses and documents;
25            (H) to create a full and complete written record
26        of the hearings;

 

 

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1            (I) to attempt mediation or remand a disputed
2        issue to the parties for further collective
3        bargaining;
4            (J) to require the parties to submit final offers
5        for each disputed issue either individually or as a
6        package or as a combination of both; and
7            (K) to employ any other measures deemed
8        appropriate to resolve the impasse.
9        (4) If the dispute is not settled within 75 days after
10    the appointment of the fact-finding panel, the
11    fact-finding panel shall issue a private report to the
12    parties that contains advisory findings of fact and
13    recommended terms of settlement for all disputed issues
14    and that sets forth a rationale for each recommendation.
15    The fact-finding panel, acting by a majority of its
16    members, shall base its findings and recommendations upon
17    the following criteria as applicable:
18            (A) the lawful authority of the employer;
19            (B) the federal and State statutes or local
20        ordinances and resolutions applicable to the employer;
21            (C) prior collective bargaining agreements and the
22        bargaining history between the parties;
23            (D) stipulations of the parties;
24            (E) the interests and welfare of the public and
25        the students and families served by the employer;
26            (F) the employer's financial ability to fund the

 

 

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1        proposals based on existing available resources,
2        provided that such ability is not predicated on an
3        assumption that lines of credit or reserve funds are
4        available or that the employer may or will receive or
5        develop new sources of revenue or increase existing
6        sources of revenue;
7            (G) the impact of any economic adjustments on the
8        employer's ability to pursue its educational mission;
9            (H) the present and future general economic
10        conditions in the locality and State;
11            (I) a comparison of the wages, hours, and
12        conditions of employment of the employees involved in
13        the dispute with the wages, hours, and conditions of
14        employment of employees performing similar services in
15        public education in the 10 largest U.S. cities, and
16        for educational employees who are forbidden to strike,
17        this comparison shall be based on comparable
18        communities;
19            (J) the average consumer prices in urban areas for
20        goods and services, which is commonly known as the
21        cost of living;
22            (K) the overall compensation presently received by
23        the employees involved in the dispute, including
24        direct wage compensation; vacations, holidays, and
25        other excused time; insurance and pensions; medical
26        and hospitalization benefits; the continuity and

 

 

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1        stability of employment and all other benefits
2        received; and how each party's proposed compensation
3        structure supports the educational goals of the
4        district, and for educational employees who are
5        forbidden from striking, this analysis shall also
6        include all other employees who are employed by the
7        educational employer;
8            (L) changes in any of the circumstances listed in
9        items (A) through (K) of this paragraph (4) during the
10        fact-finding proceedings;
11            (M) the effect that any term the parties are at
12        impasse on has or may have on the overall educational
13        environment, learning conditions, and working
14        conditions with the school district; and
15            (N) the effect that any term the parties are at
16        impasse on has or may have in promoting the public
17        policy of this State.
18        (5) The fact-finding panel's recommended terms of
19    settlement shall be deemed agreed upon by the parties as
20    the final resolution of the disputed issues and
21    incorporated into the collective bargaining agreement
22    executed by the parties, unless either party tenders to
23    the other party and the chairperson of the fact-finding
24    panel a notice of rejection of the recommended terms of
25    settlement with a rationale for the rejection, within 15
26    days after the date of issuance of the fact-finding

 

 

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1    panel's report. With regard to educational employees who
2    are forbidden from striking, if either party submits a
3    notice of rejection, either party may utilize mandatory
4    interest arbitration proceedings established in subsection
5    (e). For all other educational employees subject to this
6    subsection (a-10), if If either party submits a notice of
7    rejection, the chairperson of the fact-finding panel shall
8    publish the fact-finding panel's report and the notice of
9    rejection for public information by delivering a copy to
10    all newspapers of general circulation in the community
11    with simultaneous written notice to the parties.
12    The changes made to this subsection (a-10) by this
13amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly apply only to
14collective bargaining agreements entered into, modified,
15extended, or renewed on or after the effective date of this
16amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.
17    (b) (Blank).
18    (c) The costs of fact finding and mediation shall be
19shared equally between the employer and the exclusive
20bargaining agent, provided that, for purposes of mediation
21under this Act, if either party requests the use of mediation
22services from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service,
23the other party shall either join in such request or bear the
24additional cost of mediation services from another source. All
25other costs and expenses of complying with this Section must
26be borne by the party incurring them.

 

 

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1    (c-5) If an educational employer or exclusive bargaining
2representative refuses to participate in mediation or fact
3finding when required by this Section, the refusal shall be
4deemed a refusal to bargain in good faith.
5    (d) Nothing in this Act prevents an employer and an
6exclusive bargaining representative from mutually submitting
7to final and binding impartial arbitration unresolved issues
8concerning the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement.
9    (e) This subsection (e) applies only to collective
10bargaining between a public school district organized under
11Article 34 of the School Code and an exclusive representative
12of educational employees who are forbidden from striking under
13this Act. Educational employees who are forbidden from
14striking have the right to submit all negotiation disputes,
15including, but not limited to, mid-term disputes and impact
16bargaining disputes, for resolution through the following
17mandatory arbitration procedures:
18        (1) For collective bargaining agreements between an
19    educational employer and exclusive representative,
20    mediation shall commence upon 15 days' notice from either
21    party or at such later time as the mediation services so
22    chosen can be provided to the parties. If fact-finding
23    procedures under subsection (a-10) were utilized, the
24    parties shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirement
25    to engage in mediation before requesting arbitration. In
26    mediation under this Section, if either party requests the

 

 

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1    use of mediation services from the Federal Mediation and
2    Conciliation Service, the other party shall either join in
3    such request or bear the additional cost of mediation
4    services from another source. The mediator shall have a
5    duty to keep the Board informed on the progress of the
6    mediation. If any dispute has not been resolved within 15
7    days after the first meeting of the parties and the
8    mediator or within such other time limit as may be
9    mutually agreed upon by the parties, either the exclusive
10    representative or employer may request of the other, in
11    writing, arbitration, and shall submit a copy of the
12    request to the Board.
13        (2) Within 10 days after such a request for
14    arbitration has been made, the educational employer shall
15    choose a delegate and the employees' exclusive
16    representative shall choose a delegate to a panel of
17    arbitration as provided in this Section. The employer and
18    employees shall forthwith advise the other and the Board
19    of their selections. The parties may agree to waive the
20    tripartite panel and use a sole arbitrator to resolve the
21    dispute.
22        (3) Within 7 days after the request of either party,
23    the parties shall request a panel of impartial arbitrators
24    from which they shall select the neutral chairperson or
25    sole arbitrator according to the procedures provided in
26    this Section. If the parties have agreed to a contract

 

 

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1    that contains a grievance resolution procedure, the
2    chairperson or sole arbitrator shall be selected using
3    their agreed contract procedure unless they mutually agree
4    to another procedure. In the absence of an agreed contract
5    procedure for selecting an impartial arbitrator, the
6    parties shall submit a request to the Federal Mediation
7    and Conciliation Services for a panel of 7 arbitrators who
8    are members in good standing with the National Academy of
9    Arbitrators and have issued at least 5 interest
10    arbitration awards arising under either the Illinois
11    Public Labor Relations Act or this Act. The parties shall
12    conduct a coin toss to determine who strikes first, and
13    the parties shall alternately strike arbitrators from the
14    list until one remains. The parties shall promptly notify
15    the Board of their selection.
16        (4) The chairperson or sole arbitrator shall call a
17    hearing to begin within 15 days or as otherwise mutually
18    agreed upon by the parties and give reasonable notice of
19    the time and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be
20    held at the offices of the Board or at such other location
21    as mutually agreed upon by the parties. The chairperson or
22    sole arbitrator shall preside over the hearing and shall
23    take testimony. Any oral or documentary evidence and other
24    data deemed relevant by the arbitration panel or sole
25    arbitrator may be received in evidence. The proceedings
26    shall be informal. Technical rules of evidence shall not

 

 

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1    apply and the competency of the evidence shall not thereby
2    be deemed impaired. A verbatim record of the proceedings
3    shall be made and the arbitrator shall arrange for the
4    necessary recording service. Transcripts may be ordered at
5    the expense of the party ordering them, but the
6    transcripts shall not be necessary for a decision by the
7    arbitration panel or sole arbitrator. The expense of the
8    proceedings, including a fee for the chairperson or sole
9    arbitrator, shall be borne equally by each of the parties
10    to the dispute. The delegates, if educational employees,
11    shall continue on the payroll of the educational employer
12    without loss of pay. The hearing conducted by the
13    arbitration panel or sole arbitrator may be adjourned from
14    time to time, but, unless otherwise agreed by the parties,
15    shall be concluded within 30 days after the time of its
16    commencement. Majority actions and rulings shall
17    constitute the actions and rulings of the arbitration
18    panel. Arbitration proceedings under this Section shall
19    not be interrupted or terminated by reason of any unfair
20    labor practice charge filed by either party at any time.
21        (5) The arbitration panel or sole arbitrator may
22    administer oaths, require the attendance of witnesses and
23    the production of such books, papers, contracts,
24    agreements, and documents as may be deemed by it material
25    to a just determination of the issues in dispute, and, for
26    such purpose, may issue subpoenas. If any person refuses

 

 

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1    to obey a subpoena or refuses to be sworn or to testify or
2    if any witness, party, or attorney is guilty of contempt
3    while in attendance at any hearing, the arbitration panel
4    or sole arbitrator may, or the Attorney General if
5    requested shall, invoke the aid of any circuit court
6    within the jurisdiction in which the hearing is being
7    held, which court shall issue an appropriate order. Any
8    failure to obey the order may be punished by the court as
9    contempt.
10        (6) At any time before the rendering of an award, the
11    chairperson of the arbitration panel or sole arbitrator,
12    if he or she is of the opinion that it would be useful or
13    beneficial to do so, may remand the dispute to the parties
14    for further collective bargaining for a period not to
15    exceed 2 weeks. If the dispute is remanded for further
16    collective bargaining, the time provisions of this Act
17    shall be extended for a time period equal to that of the
18    remand. The chairperson of the panel of arbitration or
19    sole arbitrator shall notify the Board of the remand.
20        (7) At or before the conclusion of the hearing held
21    pursuant to paragraph (4), the arbitration panel or sole
22    arbitrator shall identify the economic issues in dispute
23    and direct each of the parties to submit, within such time
24    limit as the panel shall prescribe, to the arbitration
25    panel or sole arbitrator and to each other its last offer
26    of settlement on each economic issue. The determination of

 

 

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1    the arbitration panel or sole arbitrator as to the issues
2    in dispute and as to which of these issues are economic
3    shall be conclusive. The arbitration panel or sole
4    arbitrator, within 30 days after the conclusion of the
5    hearing or such further additional periods to which the
6    parties may agree, shall make written findings of fact and
7    promulgate a written opinion and shall mail or otherwise
8    deliver a true copy thereof to the parties and their
9    representatives and to the Board. As to each economic
10    issue, the arbitration panel or sole arbitrator shall
11    adopt the last offer of settlement that, in the opinion of
12    the arbitration panel or sole arbitrator, more nearly
13    complies with the applicable factors prescribed in
14    paragraph (8). The findings, opinions, and order as to all
15    other issues shall be based upon the applicable factors
16    prescribed in paragraph (8).
17        (8) If there is no agreement between the parties or if
18    there is an agreement but the parties have begun
19    negotiations or discussions looking to a new agreement or
20    amendment of the existing agreement and wage rates or
21    other conditions of employment under the proposed new or
22    amended agreement are in dispute, the arbitration panel or
23    sole arbitrator shall base its findings, opinions, and
24    order upon the following factors, as applicable:
25            (A) the lawful authority of the employer;
26            (B) the federal and State statutes or local

 

 

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1        ordinances and resolutions applicable to the employer
2        or employees;
3            (C) prior collective bargaining agreements and the
4        bargaining history between the parties;
5            (D) stipulations of the parties;
6            (E) the interests and welfare of the public and
7        the students and families served by the employer;
8            (F) the employer's financial ability to fund the
9        proposals based on existing available resources,
10        provided that such ability is not predicated on an
11        assumption that lines of credit or reserve funds are
12        available or that the employer may or will receive or
13        develop new sources of revenue or increase existing
14        sources of revenue;
15            (G) the impact of any economic adjustments on the
16        employer's ability to pursue its educational mission;
17            (H) the present and future general economic
18        conditions in the locality and State;
19            (I) a comparison of the wages, hours, and
20        conditions of employment of the employees involved in
21        the dispute with the wages, hours, and conditions of
22        employment of employees performing similar services in
23        public education in comparable communities;
24            (J) the average consumer prices in urban areas for
25        goods and services, which is commonly known as the
26        cost of living;

 

 

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1            (K) the overall compensation presently received by
2        the employees involved in the dispute and by all other
3        employees who are employed by the educational
4        employer, including direct wage compensation;
5        vacations, holidays, and other excused time; insurance
6        and pensions; medical and hospitalization benefits;
7        the continuity and stability of employment and all
8        other benefits received; and how each party's proposed
9        compensation structure supports the educational goals
10        of the district;
11            (L) changes in any of the circumstances listed in
12        items (A) through (K) of this paragraph (8) during the
13        arbitration proceedings;
14            (M) the effect that any term the parties are at
15        impasse on has or may have on the overall educational
16        environment, learning conditions, and working
17        conditions with the school district;
18            (N) the effect that any term the parties are at
19        impasse on has or may have in promoting the public
20        policy of this State; and
21            (O) such other factors, not confined to the
22        foregoing, that are normally or traditionally taken in
23        consideration in the determination of wages, hours,
24        and conditions of employment through voluntary
25        collective bargaining, mediation, fact-finding, or
26        arbitration or otherwise between the parties in the

 

 

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1        public service or private employment.
2        (9) Arbitration procedures shall be deemed to be
3    initiated by the filing of a letter requesting mediation
4    as required under paragraph (1). The commencement of a new
5    fiscal year after the initiation of arbitration procedures
6    under this Act but before the arbitration decision or its
7    enforcement shall not be deemed to render a dispute moot
8    or to otherwise impair the jurisdiction or authority of
9    the arbitration panel or sole arbitrator or its decision.
10    Increases in rates of compensation awarded by the
11    arbitration panel or sole arbitrator may be effective only
12    at the start of the fiscal year next commencing after the
13    date of the arbitration award. If a new fiscal year has
14    commenced either since the initiation of arbitration
15    procedures under this Act or since any mutually agreed
16    extension of the statutorily required period of mediation
17    under this Act by the parties to the labor dispute causing
18    a delay in the initiation of arbitration, the foregoing
19    limitations shall be inapplicable, and such awarded
20    increases may be retroactive to the commencement of the
21    fiscal year, any other statute or charter provisions to
22    the contrary, notwithstanding. At any time the parties, by
23    stipulation, may amend or modify an award of arbitration.
24        (10) Orders of the arbitration panel or sole
25    arbitrator shall be reviewable, upon appropriate petition
26    by either the educational employer or the exclusive

 

 

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1    bargaining representative, by the circuit court for the
2    county in which the dispute arose or in which a majority of
3    the affected employees reside but only for reasons that
4    the arbitration panel or sole arbitrator was without or
5    exceeded its statutory authority; the order is arbitrary
6    or capricious; or the order was procured by fraud,
7    collusion, or other similar and unlawful means. Such
8    petitions for review must be filed with the appropriate
9    circuit court within 90 days following the issuance of the
10    arbitration order. The pendency of such proceeding for
11    review shall not automatically stay the order of the
12    arbitration panel or sole arbitrator. The party against
13    whom the final decision of any such court shall be
14    adverse, if such court finds such appeal or petition to be
15    frivolous, shall pay reasonable attorney's fees and costs
16    to the successful party, as determined by the court in its
17    discretion. If the court's decision affirms the award of
18    money, such award, if retroactive, shall bear interest at
19    the rate of 12% per annum from the effective retroactive
20    date.
21        (11) During the pendency of proceedings before the
22    arbitration panel or sole arbitrator, existing wages,
23    hours, and other conditions of employment shall not be
24    changed by action of either party without the consent of
25    the other, but a party may so consent without prejudice to
26    his or her rights or position under this Act. The

 

 

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1    proceedings are deemed to be pending before the
2    arbitration panel or sole arbitrator upon the initiation
3    of arbitration procedures under this Act. The educational
4    employees covered by this subsection (e) may not withhold
5    services, nor may educational employers lock out or
6    prevent such employees from performing services at any
7    time.
8        (12) All of the terms decided upon by the arbitration
9    panel or sole arbitrator shall be included in an agreement
10    to be submitted to the educational employer's governing
11    body for ratification and adoption by law, ordinance, or
12    the equivalent appropriate means.
13        The governing body shall review each term decided by
14    the arbitration panel or sole arbitrator. If the governing
15    body fails to reject one or more terms of the arbitration
16    panel's or sole arbitrator's decision by a three-fifths
17    vote of those duly elected and qualified members of the
18    governing body at the next regularly scheduled meeting of
19    the governing body after issuance, such term or terms
20    shall become a part of the collective bargaining agreement
21    of the parties. If the governing body affirmatively
22    rejects one or more terms of the arbitration panel's or
23    sole arbitrator's decision, it must provide written
24    reasons for such rejection with respect to each term so
25    rejected, within 20 days after such rejection and the
26    parties shall return to the arbitration panel or sole

 

 

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1    arbitrator for further proceedings and issuance of a
2    supplemental decision with respect to the rejected terms.
3    Any supplemental decision by an arbitration panel, sole
4    arbitrator, or other decision maker agreed to by the
5    parties shall be final and binding on the parties. The
6    voting requirements of this subsection (e) shall apply to
7    all disputes submitted to arbitration pursuant to this
8    Section, notwithstanding any contrary voting requirements
9    contained in any existing collective bargaining agreement
10    between the parties.
11        (13) If the governing body of the employer votes to
12    reject the panel's or sole arbitrator's decision, the
13    parties shall return to the panel or sole arbitrator
14    within 30 days from the issuance of the reasons for
15    rejection for further proceedings and issuance of a final
16    and binding supplemental decision. All reasonable costs of
17    such supplemental proceeding, including the exclusive
18    representative's reasonable attorney's fees, as
19    established by the Board, shall be paid by the educational
20    employer.
21        (14) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this
22    subsection (e), the educational employer and exclusive
23    representative may agree to submit unresolved disputes
24    concerning wages, hours, terms, and conditions of
25    employment to an alternative form of impasse resolution.
26        (15) The costs of mediation and arbitration shall be

 

 

HB0297 Engrossed- 23 -LRB103 03824 RJT 48830 b

1    shared equally between the educational employer and the
2    exclusive bargaining agent, provided that, for purposes of
3    mediation under this Act, if either party requests the use
4    of mediation services from the Federal Mediation and
5    Conciliation Service, the other party shall either join in
6    such request or bear the additional cost of mediation
7    services from another source. All other costs and expenses
8    of complying with this Section must be borne by the party
9    incurring them, except as otherwise expressly provided in
10    this subsection (e).
11    If an educational employer or exclusive bargaining
12representative refuses to participate in mediation or
13arbitration when required by this Section, the refusal shall
14be deemed a refusal to bargain in good faith.
15    Nothing in this Act prevents an employer and an exclusive
16bargaining representative who are not subject to mandatory
17arbitration under this subsection (e) from mutually submitting
18to final and binding impartial arbitration unresolved issues
19concerning the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement.
20    This subsection (e) applies only to collective bargaining
21agreements entered into, modified, extended, or renewed on or
22after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd
23General Assembly.
24(Source: P.A. 101-664, eff. 4-2-21.)