Plain English Breakdown
Checked against official source text during the last sync.
Protecting Private Talks Between Public Workers and Their Representatives
This law stops public employers from asking about or forcing the sharing of private messages between workers and their union representatives.
What This Bill Does
- Prohibits public employers from questioning employees, recognized employee organization representatives, or exclusive representatives about confidential communications made in connection with representation matters.
- Stops employers from making these individuals reveal those confidential communications to a third party.
- Excludes criminal investigations from this new protection rule.
- Does not apply when a public safety officer is under investigation and certain circumstances exist.
Who It Names or Affects
- Public employers
- Public employees
- Representatives of recognized employee organizations
- Exclusive representatives
Terms To Know
- Confidential communications
- Communications made in confidence between an employee and an employee representative regarding representation matters.
- Recognized employee organization
- A group officially recognized to represent employees on specific matters within its scope of representation.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not specify exactly which circumstances allow questioning during a public safety officer investigation.
- The effective date is not listed in the provided text.