By Turner of Coleman H.B. No. 3185
77R5927 ATP-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to certain personnel policies of the Texas Department of
1-3 Corrections and to certain related duties of the Texas Board of
1-4 Criminal Justice.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Chapter 492, Government Code, is amended by adding
1-7 Section 492.015 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 492.015. PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND LABOR OVERSIGHT
1-9 COMMITTEE. (a) The board shall create a professional standards and
1-10 labor oversight committee composed of board members to review the
1-11 implementation of and make necessary recommendations for rule and
1-12 policy changes to:
1-13 (1) career ladders established under Sections 493.007
1-14 and 494.014;
1-15 (2) professional development of correctional officers
1-16 and supervisory personnel;
1-17 (3) labor-management cooperation, recruitment, and
1-18 retention policies; and
1-19 (4) disciplinary and grievance procedures established
1-20 under Section 493.016.
1-21 (b) The board, in conjunction with the professional
1-22 standards and labor oversight committee, shall submit a report
1-23 biennially to the legislature that includes the matters considered
1-24 under this section and the information contained in the report
2-1 provided to the board from the department under Section 493.026(h).
2-2 SECTION 2. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by adding
2-3 Section 493.026 to read as follows:
2-4 Sec. 493.026. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE. (a) In this section,
2-5 "employment-related grievance" means an employment-related issue,
2-6 in regard to which an employee wishes to express dissatisfaction,
2-7 and includes issues relating to:
2-8 (1) promotions;
2-9 (2) leave requests;
2-10 (3) performance evaluations;
2-11 (4) transfers;
2-12 (5) benefits;
2-13 (6) working environment;
2-14 (7) shift or duty assignments;
2-15 (8) harassment;
2-16 (9) retaliation;
2-17 (10) disciplinary actions, including discharge,
2-18 suspension, or demotion;
2-19 (11) relationships with supervisors or other
2-20 employees; and
2-21 (12) any other issue that the board determines may be
2-22 the subject of a grievance procedure.
2-23 (b) The board shall establish procedures and practices
2-24 through which the department will address employment-related
2-25 grievances. The board shall adopt:
2-26 (1) a form on which an employee may state an
2-27 employment-related grievance and request a specific corrective
3-1 action;
3-2 (2) reasonable time limits for an employee to submit
3-3 an employment-related grievance, and any subsequent appeals, and
3-4 for management to respond to a grievance or appeal;
3-5 (3) a three-step process by which an employee's
3-6 employment-related grievance is submitted to the lowest appropriate
3-7 level of management, with a subsequent appeal submitted to a higher
3-8 level in the chain of command, on completion of which the employee
3-9 may choose to submit the grievance to binding arbitration with an
3-10 impartial third party; and
3-11 (4) a program to advertise and explain the grievance
3-12 procedure to all employees.
3-13 (c) If a party to the employment-related grievance fails to
3-14 comply with the time limits adopted under Subsection (b)(2), the
3-15 party may not prevail in the grievance action.
3-16 (d) An employee may be represented by a person selected by
3-17 the employee to participate in the employment-related grievance
3-18 process on behalf of the employee. Any grievance proceeding in
3-19 which a department employee serves as a representative shall be
3-20 held during the normal business hours of the department, unless the
3-21 employee and the department agree otherwise. Attending a grievance
3-22 proceeding as a party to the proceeding or as a representative of a
3-23 party is part of an employee's regular employment duties.
3-24 (e) Subject to the approval of the employee in the
3-25 employment-related grievance action, the department and the
3-26 employee may enter into binding arbitration on the action. To
3-27 facilitate arbitration, the department may:
4-1 (1) with the approval of the employee, appoint a
4-2 governmental officer or employee, or a private individual, to serve
4-3 as an impartial third party in a binding arbitration; or
4-4 (2) obtain the services of an impartial third party
4-5 through:
4-6 (A) an agreement with the Center for Public
4-7 Policy Dispute Resolution at The University of Texas School of Law;
4-8 (B) an alternative dispute resolution system
4-9 created under Chapter 152, Civil Practice and Remedies Code;
4-10 (C) another governmental body or a federal
4-11 agency; or
4-12 (D) an agreement with the State Office of
4-13 Administrative Hearings.
4-14 (f) The grievance action is confidential, except to the
4-15 extent that Chapter 552 applies.
4-16 (g) The department may not retaliate against an employee who
4-17 files an employment-related grievance.
4-18 (h) The department shall submit annually to the board a
4-19 report on the department's use of the employment-related grievance
4-20 process. The report must include:
4-21 (1) the number of grievances filed;
4-22 (2) a brief description of each grievance filed; and
4-23 (3) the final disposition of each grievance.
4-24 SECTION 3. Chapter 494, Government Code, is amended by adding
4-25 Sections 494.014 and 494.015 to read as follows:
4-26 Sec. 494.014. PERSONNEL. (a) The board shall develop a
4-27 career ladder program for the institutional division to retain
5-1 professionally qualified employees. The program must base
5-2 advancement on the employee's:
5-3 (1) annual performance evaluations developed under
5-4 Section 493.007;
5-5 (2) years of experience in the institutional division;
5-6 and
5-7 (3) hours of training completed.
5-8 (b) The board shall promote a correctional officer candidate
5-9 to the level of Texas Law Enforcement Correctional Officer on
5-10 completion of the hours of training and the years of experience
5-11 required by the board.
5-12 (c) The board shall:
5-13 (1) develop any training programs necessary to give an
5-14 employee the opportunity for advancement;
5-15 (2) develop a training program consisting of a
5-16 combination of annual in-service training and specific supervisory
5-17 training and testing to be required for promotion to all
5-18 correctional officer supervisory positions; and
5-19 (3) allow an employee the opportunity to complete any
5-20 training programs required for advancement.
5-21 Sec. 494.015. MANAGEMENT-EMPLOYEE MEETINGS. (a) The board
5-22 shall adopt a policy mandating monthly labor-management meetings
5-23 between:
5-24 (1) each district supervisor or the district
5-25 supervisor's designee; and
5-26 (2) employees selected in a process established by the
5-27 board by rule or any representatives chosen by the selected
6-1 employees.
6-2 (b) At a monthly labor-management meeting, both parties
6-3 shall have an opportunity to improve labor-management relations by
6-4 addressing issues selected by the parties.
6-5 (c) Every third month, a district supervisor shall submit a
6-6 report to the director of the institutional division describing the
6-7 progress of the meetings.
6-8 (d) The director of the institutional division shall conduct
6-9 statewide meetings with employee representatives. The board, in
6-10 consultation with the executive director, shall adopt procedures
6-11 regarding the statewide meetings.
6-12 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001. All
6-13 employees having met the experience qualification required under
6-14 Section 494.014(b), Government Code, as added by this Act, on or
6-15 before September 1, 2001, shall automatically be certified as Texas
6-16 Law Enforcement Correctional Officers.