Law enforcement arbitration

AN ACT Relating to law enforcement personnel grievance 1
arbitration procedures; and amending RCW 41.58.070.2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 41.58.070 and 2021 c 13 s 1 are each amended to read 4
as follows: 5
(1) For the purposes of this section, the definitions in this 6
subsection have the meanings given them. 7
(a) "Employer" means a political subdivision or law enforcement 8
agency employing law enforcement personnel. 9
(b)(i) "Law enforcement personnel" means: 10
(A) Any individual employed, hired, or otherwise commissioned to 11
enforce criminal laws by any municipal, county, or state agency or 12
department, or combination thereof, that has, as its primary 13
function, the enforcement of criminal laws in general, rather than 14
the implementation or enforcement of laws related to specialized 15
subject matter areas. For the purposes of this subsection (1)(b), 16
officers employed, hired, or otherwise commissioned by the department 17
of fish and wildlife are considered law enforcement personnel.18
(B) Corrections officers and community corrections officers 19
employed by the department of corrections. 20
S-0036.3
SENATE BILL 5473
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Conway, Chapman, and Holy
Read first time 01/24/25. Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.
p. 1 SB 5473
(ii) "Law enforcement personnel" does not include any individual 1
hired as an attorney to prosecute or litigate state or local criminal 2
laws or ordinances, nor any civilian individuals hired to do 3
administrative work. 4
(iii) For the purposes of this subsection (1)(b), "primary 5
function" means that function to which the greater allocation of 6
resources is made. 7
(c) "Disciplinary grievance" means a dispute or disagreement 8
regarding any disciplinary action, discharge, or termination decision 9
arising under a collective bargaining agreement covering law 10
enforcement personnel. 11
(d) "Grievance arbitration" means binding arbitration of a 12
disciplinary grievance under the grievance procedures established in 13
a collective bargaining agreement covering law enforcement personnel 14
that is requested in accordance with the procedures established in 15
the collective bargaining agreement. 16
(2)(a) The arbitrator selection procedure established under this 17
section applies to all grievance arbitrations for disciplinary 18
actions, discharges, or terminations of law enforcement personnel 19
which are heard on or after January 1, 2022. 20
(b)(i) The grievance procedures for all collective bargaining 21
agreements covering law enforcement personnel negotiated or renewed 22
on or after January 1, 2022, must include the arbitrator selection 23
procedure established in this section if the collective bargaining 24
agreement provides for arbitration as a means of resolving grievances 25
for disciplinary actions, discharges, or terminations.26
(ii) The provisions of grievance procedures governing the appeal 27
of disciplinary grievances in collective bargaining agreements 28
covering law enforcement personnel negotiated or renewed prior to 29
January 1, 2022, that provide for arbitration but do not contain the 30
arbitrator selection procedures established in this section expire 31
upon the expiration date of the collective bargaining agreement and 32
may not be extended or rolled over beyond the expiration date of the 33
collective bargaining agreement. 34
(c) This section does not require any party to a collective 35
bargaining agreement in existence on July 25, 2021, to reopen 36
negotiations of the agreement or to apply any of the rights and 37
responsibilities under chapter 13, Laws of 2021 unless and until the 38
existing agreement is reopened or renegotiated by the parties or 39
expires. 40
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(3) All fees charged by arbitrators under this section must be in 1
accordance with a schedule of fees established by the commission on 2
an annual basis. The parties are responsible for paying the 3
arbitrator's fees as set forth in the parties' negotiated fee-sharing 4
provisions of their collective bargaining agreement or, in the 5
absence of contractual fee-sharing provisions, shall be borne equally 6
by the parties. 7
(4) The commission must appoint a roster of a minimum of nine 8
persons and a maximum of 18 persons suited and qualified by training 9
and experience to act as arbitrators for law enforcement personnel 10
grievance arbitrations under this section. 11
(a) The commission may only consider appointing persons who 12
possess: 13
(i) A minimum of six years' experience as a full-time labor 14
relations advocate and who has been the principal representative of 15
either labor or management in at least 10 arbitration proceedings;16
(ii) A minimum of six years' experience as a full-time labor 17
mediator with substantial mediation experience; 18
(iii) A minimum of six years' experience as an arbitrator and who 19
has decided at least 10 cases involving collective bargaining 20
disputes; or 21
(iv) A minimum of six years' experience as a practitioner or 22
full-time instructor of labor law or industrial relations, including 23
substantial content in the area of collective bargaining, labor 24
agreements, and contract administration. 25
(b) In making these appointments, and as applicable, the 26
commission must consider these factors: 27
(i) A candidate's familiarity, experience, and technical and 28
theoretical understanding of and experience with labor law, the 29
grievance process, and the field of labor arbitration;30
(ii) A candidate's ability and willingness to travel through the 31
state, conduct hearings in a fair and impartial manner, analyze and 32
evaluate testimony and exhibits, write clear and concise awards in a 33
timely manner, and be available for hearings within a reasonable time 34
after the request of the parties; 35
(iii) A candidate's experience and training in cultural 36
competency, racism, implicit bias, and recognizing and valuing 37
community diversity and cultural differences; and 38
(iv) A candidate's familiarity and experience with the law 39
enforcement profession, including ride-alongs with on-duty officers, 40
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participation in a citizen's academy conducted by a law enforcement 1
agency, or other activities that provide exposure to the 2
environments, choices, and judgments required by officers in the 3
field. 4
(5) The appointments are effective immediately upon selection by 5
the commission. Except for appointments subject to subsection (6) of 6
this section, appointments are for three years to expire on the first 7
Monday in January. 8
(6) The commission must make at least three of the initial 9
appointments to the roster of arbitrators for terms to expire on the 10
first Monday in January 2024, at least three of the appointments for 11
terms to expire on the first Monday in January 2025, and at least 12
three of the appointments for terms to expire on the first Monday in 13
January 2026. The initial terms of arbitrators appointed under this 14
subsection may be for longer than three years. 15
(7) Subsequent appointments to the roster of arbitrators must be 16
for three-year terms to expire on the first Monday in January ((, with 17
the terms of no more than three arbitrators to expire in the same 18
year)). 19
(8) Nothing in this section prevents roster arbitrators from 20
issuing decisions, or retaining jurisdiction to address issues 21
relating to remedy, after the expiration of their term, if the 22
arbitration hearing occurred during the term of their appointment.23
(9) An arbitrator may be reappointed to the roster upon 24
expiration of the arbitrator's term. If the arbitrator is not 25
reappointed, the arbitrator may continue to serve until a successor 26
is appointed, but in no case later than July 1st of the year in which 27
the arbitrator's term expires. 28
(10) The commission may remove an arbitrator from the roster 29
through a majority vote. A vacancy on the roster caused by a removal, 30
a resignation, or another reason must be filled by the commission as 31
necessary to fill the remainder of the arbitrator's term. A vacancy 32
on the roster occurring with less than six months remaining in the 33
arbitrator's term must be filled for the existing term and the 34
following three-year term. 35
(11) A person appointed to the arbitrator roster under this 36
section must complete training as developed, implemented, and 37
required by the executive director. The commission may adopt rules 38
establishing training requirements consistent with this section. The 39
commission may also establish fees in order to cover the costs of 40
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developing and providing the training. At a minimum, an initial 1
training must include: 2
(a) At least six hours on the topics of cultural competency, 3
racism, implicit bias, and recognizing and valuing community 4
diversity and cultural differences; and 5
(b) At least six hours on topics related to the daily experience 6
of law enforcement personnel, which may include ride-alongs with on-7
duty officers, participation in a citizen's academy conducted by a 8
law enforcement agency, shoot/don't shoot training provided by a law 9
enforcement agency, or other activities that provide exposure to the 10
environments, choices, and judgments required of officers in the 11
field. For the purposes of this subsection (11)(b), "shoot/don't 12
shoot training" means an interactive firearms training that simulates 13
real-world scenarios to train law enforcement personnel on the use of 14
force. 15
(12) An arbitrator appointed to the roster of arbitrators must 16
complete the required initial training within six months of the 17
arbitrator's appointment. 18
(13)(a) The executive director must assign an arbitrator or panel 19
of arbitrators from the roster to each law enforcement personnel 20
grievance arbitration under this section on rotation through the 21
roster alphabetically ordered by last name. 22
(i) If the arbitrator is unable to hear the case within three 23
months from the request for an arbitrator, the executive director 24
must appoint the next arbitrator from the roster alphabetically.25
(ii) If an arbitrator has a conflict of interest that may 26
reasonably be expected to materially impact the arbitrator's 27
impartiality, the arbitrator must disclose such conflict to the 28
executive director. The executive director may determine whether the 29
conflict merits assigning the next arbitrator on the roster. Either 30
party may petition the executive director to have an assigned 31
arbitrator removed due to a conflict of interest that may reasonably 32
be expected to materially impact the arbitrator's impartiality. If 33
their petition is granted by the executive director, the executive 34
director must assign the next arbitrator or panel of arbitrators on 35
the roster. 36
(b) The arbitrator or panel of arbitrators shall decide the 37
disciplinary grievance, and the decision is binding subject to the 38
provisions of chapter 7.04A RCW. 39
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(c) The parties may not participate in, negotiate for, or agree 1
to the selection of an arbitrator or arbitration panel under this 2
section. Employers and law enforcement personnel, through their 3
certified exclusive bargaining representatives, do not have the right 4
to negotiate for or agree to a collective bargaining agreement or a 5
grievance arbitration selection procedure that is inconsistent with 6
this section, if the collective bargaining agreement provides for 7
arbitration as a means of resolving grievances for disciplinary 8
actions, discharges, or terminations. 9
(14) The commission must post law enforcement grievance 10
arbitration decisions made under this section on its website within 11
30 days of the date the grievance arbitration decision is made, with 12
names of grievants and witnesses redacted. 13
(15) The arbitrator selection procedure for law enforcement 14
grievance arbitrations established under this section supersedes any 15
inconsistent provisions in any other chapter governing employee 16
relations and collective bargaining for law enforcement personnel.17
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