Police Benevolent Assn. of N.Y. State Troopers, Inc. v. Division of N.Y. State Police, 13 N.Y.3d 93 (2009)
A union’s failure to explicitly negotiate for representation rights during critical incident reviews in a collective bargaining agreement constitutes a waiver of any such right, even if the union previously assumed the right existed.
Summary
The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) sought a judgment declaring that state troopers have a right to counsel or union representation during “critical incident reviews.” These reviews are conducted after incidents involving death, serious injury, or firearm discharge by a trooper. While the PBA assumed this right existed under the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the Division of State Police later changed its policy. The Court of Appeals held that because the CBA only explicitly provided for representation during administrative interrogations, the PBA had waived any right to representation during critical incident reviews. The court emphasized the importance of explicit negotiation for specific rights within collective bargaining.
Facts
The Division of State Police conducts critical incident reviews after incidents where a trooper’s actions result in death or serious injury, or the discharge of a firearm. Until 2001, both the PBA and the Division assumed that troopers had a collectively bargained right to representation during these reviews, similar to administrative interrogations. In May 2001, Trooper Taney was involved in a fatal accident and was denied union representation during the critical incident review. Subsequently, in a separate incident, troopers involved in a shooting were also denied representation. The Division then restated its policy, allowing counsel but restricting private conversations before the interview. Later, the Division further modified its policy to offer use immunity for compelled statements and to separate critical incident review personnel from administrative investigation personnel.
Procedural History
The PBA and several troopers filed an action seeking declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing that the Division’s critical incident review policies violated Civil Service Law § 75 (2) and their constitutional right to counsel. Supreme Court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs. The Appellate Division reversed, holding that the plaintiffs lacked standing. The Court of Appeals dismissed the plaintiffs’ appeal as of right, then granted their motion for leave to appeal. The Court of Appeals assumed standing for the purposes of the appeal, but affirmed the Appellate Division’s dismissal of the complaint.
Issue(s)
Whether the collective bargaining agreement between the PBA and the Division of State Police provided troopers with a right to counsel or union representation during critical incident reviews.
Holding
No, because the collective bargaining agreement only explicitly provided for representation during administrative interrogations that could lead to discipline, the PBA effectively waived any right to representation during critical incident reviews.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that while the Taylor Law requires public employers to bargain in good faith, statutory and due process rights can be surrendered during collective bargaining. In this case, the CBA explicitly provided for representation during administrative interrogations (CBA § 16.2 [A] [8]), but was conspicuously silent on the right to counsel during critical incident reviews as described under CBA § 16.1 (D), which states that “members may be requested and are expected to properly respond and if requested, submit written memoranda detailing all necessary facts.” Because the PBA only agreed to a right to counsel during administrative interrogations, it necessarily waived any representation right troopers may have had during critical incident reviews. The court noted that if the PBA disagreed with the Division’s application of CBA § 16.1 (D) to critical incident reviews, it was obligated to submit that grievance to binding arbitration, as provided in CBA § 15.4. The court emphasized that “statutory and due process rights may even be surrendered during collective bargaining.” The absence of an explicit provision for representation during critical incident reviews indicated a waiver of that right, regardless of prior assumptions. The court implicitly endorsed the Division’s argument that critical incident reviews do not relate to discipline, making them subject to collective bargaining, and that the troopers failed to secure this right through bargaining.