Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...Section 447.501(1)(c) prohibits public employers from "refusing to bargain collectively, failing to bargain collectively in good faith, or refusing to sign a final agreement agreed upon with the certified bargaining agent for the public employees in the bargaining unit." Moreover Section 447.309(1) requires, after an employee organization has been certified, the respective bargaining agents for the employer and employee "shall bargain collectively in the determination of the wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment...

...Those regulations had been in effect for some time prior to the June 3rd meeting and the Board was not suddenly confronted with the prospect that its operating budget for the next succeeding year might be less than the preceding year. The Board was statutorily mandated by Sections 447.309(1) and 447.501(1)(c) to bargain collectively with the union's negotiator in good faith....

...of weighing the interests of employees in concerted activity against the interest of the employer in operating his business in a particular manner and of balancing in the light of the Act and its policy the intended consequences upon employee rights against the business ends to be served by the employer's conduct." [9] While Section 447.309(1) contains no similar statement, Section 447.203(14), defining collective bargaining, states in part, "neither party shall be compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a concession......

...THE QUESTION OF ARBITRATION We find several provisions of PERA pertinent to the question whether a collective bargaining agreement may offer arbitration as an alternative to an appeal under Section 231.36(6) of the decision of a school board to discharge a teacher on continuing contract status. *1013 Section 447.309(1) mandates that, once an employee organization has been certified to represent a group of public employees, that organization and the public employer shall bargain collectively in the determination of the wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment of the public employees within the bargaining unit....

...e. We agree with appellants that the legislature has made it clear that a collective bargaining agreement must provide a procedure for binding arbitration to settle disputes concerning the discharge of a public employee. However, subparagraph (3) of Section 447.309, concerning collective bargaining and the subjects of collective bargaining, provides as follows: If any provision of the collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law ......

...In this case Wood asserted in his grievance that "wilful neglect of duty and gross insubordination" (two of the statutory grounds) did not amount to "just cause" under the collective bargaining agreement. That argument would have to fail in the face of the provision in Section 447.309(3) that where a statute and a provision of a collective bargaining agreement are in conflict, the statute prevails....

...State v. Florida Police Benevolent Ass'n, Inc., 613 So.2d 415, 419 n. 6. Moreover, the legislature's failure "to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the collective bargaining agreement shall not constitute, or be evidence of, any unfair labor practice." § 447.309(2), Fla....

...E.g., Town of Pembroke Park v. State ex rel. Healy, 446 So.2d 198 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). The present case deals with actions taken toward state employees as a whole that impaired a contract but obviously did not constitute an unfair labor practice. [2] § 447.309(2), Fla....

...ators for their respective groups of public employees, bargained collectively for, and reached an agreement with, the respondents, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (Authority). The agreements were ratified by the employees and, pursuant to section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1985), the Authority requested the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board (Board) to amend its rules to comport with the new provisions of the agreement....

...The PERC determined that the Authority had committed an unfair labor practice by refusing to implement the new provisions. The Board and the Authority appealed to the second district, arguing that the Authority had not committed an unfair labor practice since it was following the law expressed in section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1985), and that court's decision in Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association v. Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, 347 So.2d 801 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). PBA and GEA argued that if section 447.309(3) were given the construction urged by the Board and the Authority, it would unconstitutionally abridge the right to bargain collectively, as enunciated in Article I, section 6 of the Florida Constitution, citing Hotel, Motel, Restaurant Employees & Bartenders Union v. Escambia County School Board, 426 So.2d 1017 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). The court, rather than addressing the constitutionality of section 447.309(3), reversed PERC's decision on the ground that the Authority could not have violated its duty to bargain in good faith if it was simply following statutory and case law....

...er conflict with civil service rules and regulations and the governmental body having amendatory power over the civil service rules *360 and regulations refuses to amend those rules and regulations in such a manner as to eliminate the conflict, does section 447.309(3) apply to civil service rules and regulations and therefore govern the effectiveness of the collective bargaining agreement? 482 So.2d at 509....

...For the reasons which follow we must answer the certified question in the negative and quash that portion of the decision of the district court of appeal which conflicts with this opinion. Before analyzing these issues it is necessary to set out all the relevant statutory and constitutional provisions. Section 447.309(3) provides: If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over which the chief executive officer has no amendatory power, the chief executive officer shall submit to...

...It is somewhat less clear what conflict this resolves. PERC, GEA and PBA argue that this provision mandates that when collective bargaining provisions conflict with civil service laws, ordinances, or rules, the bargaining contract must prevail. The result obtained under their interpretation of section 447.309(3) is opposite the result urged by the Authority, the Board, and the second district under their interpretation of this section....

...Pursuant to this constitutional provision, the legislature has set up numerous civil service boards around the state, including the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board. *361 It is with these constitutional and statutory provisions in mind that we examine the contentions of the parties. The Board argues that under section 447.309(3), it has the power to reject any application to amend its rules to conform with the collective bargaining agreement....

...e because it was merely following established statutory and case law. Their contention centers on an interpretation that the fair labor practices laws are punitive in nature rather than remedial. GEA, PBA, and PERC contend that the interpretation of section 447.309(3) by the second district and the Board would render the statute unconstitutional as an impermissible abridgement of the right to bargain collectively....

...a union are treated in a uniform manner with respect to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. Our analysis must begin with a determination of which statute applies to the present set of circumstances. It is clear and unambiguous that section 447.309(3) must apply. The plain language of section 447.309(3) provides that the governmental body possessing amendatory power over the civil service rules and regulations may exercise discretion over whether the rules will be amended. While this discretion is not express, it is clear from the words "unless and until" that the Board has the power to decline proposed amendment changes. While section 447.309(3) clearly applies, it is unclear whether section 447.601 applies to this case....

...il service rules. The legislative history of this statute is equally ambiguous on the question of whether it should apply to this *362 particular type of conflict. Accordingly, we must reject the argument that section 447.601 controls this conflict. Section 447.309(3) is the statute intended by the legislature to control conflicts between the civil service laws, ordinances, and rules or regulations....

...ual work. Thus on the face of these two constitutional provisions, there is no real conflict since both are clearly intended to benefit public employees. At the point in which the civil service system is implemented, problems have arisen. As applied section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1985), abridges the right of public employees to bargain collectively....

...We must note at this point that our holding does not apply to conflicts arising between collective bargaining agreements and statutes or ordinances. Rather, we object to the unbridled discretion of civil service boards to strike down collective bargaining agreements through their rule making and amendatory power. Thus, section 447.309(3) stands as it applies to conflicts between statutes or ordinances and agreements reached between public employers and employees through the art of collective bargaining....

...Rather it is one which may not be abridged except upon the showing of a compelling state interest. No such showing has been made here, so this impediment upon a fundamental right cannot be sustained. Accordingly, we answer the certified question in the negative. While it is clear that section 447.309(3) does apply to this conflict, it is equally clear that the statute, as applied, unconstitutionally abridges the fundamental right of public employees to bargain collectively....

...Accordingly, we remand this case for disposition consistent with this opinion. It is so ordered. EHRLICH, SHAW, BARKETT and GRIMES, JJ., concur. OVERTON, J., dissents with an opinion, in which McDONALD, C.J., concurs. OVERTON, Justice, dissenting. I dissent. I totally disagree with the conclusion that section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1985), is unconstitutional as applied....

...nstitutional provisions established to protect the interests of public employees. They should be construed together in a manner that benefits public employees and not in a way that makes one superior to the other. I find the legislature, in enacting section 447.309(3), did so to make sure that public employees of one entity would be treated uniformly....

...contracts can be quite detailed and complex. When the decision to change the conditions of Palowitch's employment was made Palowitch was under contract and the appellant was negotiating with the bargaining representative for the next contract. Under Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1977) it is required that "After an employee organization has been certified pursuant to the provisions of this part, the bargaining agent for the organization and the chief executive officer of the appropriate p...

...There are certain tradeoffs in the statutory scheme not the least of which is the lack of right to strike. Section 447.505, Florida Statutes (1977), Section 447.203(6), Florida Statutes (1977). Commissioner Parrish, speaking for P.E.R.C. in the appealed order goes on to say: The School Board next argues that Section 447.309(5) operates as a statutory "zipper clause," reasoning thusly: Section 447.309 states that any collective bargaining agreement "shall contain all of the terms and conditions of employment of the employees in the bargaining unit"; ergo, anything that is not in the agreement is not a term or condition of employment and, therefore, may be altered unilaterally by the public employer....

...iations are equally applicable to unilateral changes in subjects not covered by an existing agreement. Terms and conditions not discussed by the parties in negotiations nevertheless continue to be terms and conditions of employment and, by virtue of Section 447.309(1), an employer must negotiate with the certified bargaining agent prior to changing them. The obligation to bargain imposed by Section 447.309(1), extends to all terms and conditions of employment....

...fund its terms, the public employer, deemed by statute to be the governor, cannot so bind the guardian of its funds, the legislature. [3] The legislature and the district courts of appeal have interpreted article I, section 6, in this manner. Thus, section 447.309(2) provides that "[t]he failure of the legislative body to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the collective bargaining agreement shall not constitute, or be evidence of, any unfair labor practice." Further, in Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association v....

...If this burden cannot be met, the legislature is obligated to continue negotiating either through the governor or on its own or seek some other meaningful remedy, such as binding arbitration. I do not agree with the state's argument that the legislative actions in this case were rendered permissible by operation of section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes (1987), which declares: The failure of the legislative body to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the collective bargaining agreement shall not constitute, or be evidence of, any unfair labor practice....

...nefits of the political backing of these provisions by both the governor and the unions themselves. The fact that the governor is bound by the negotiated agreement and is required to include full funding for the agreement in his proposed budget, see section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes (1987), gives significant weight to the effectiveness of collective bargaining for public employees....

...Of course, should the legislatively mandated change fall outside the appropriations power, it would constitute an abridgment of the right to bargain and would therefore be subject to the compelling state interest test. [7] Had that been the case here, then section 447.309(2) would apply, requiring the governor to administer the collective bargaining agreement on the basis of the amount appropriated....

...ADKINS, Justice. We have for review a decision of the District Court of Appeal, First District ( City of Tallahassee v. Public Employees Relations Commission ), 393 So.2d 1147 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), holding unconstitutional portions of sections 447.301(2) and 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1979)....

...ission (hereinafter PERC), a petition for declaratory statement requesting answers to the following questions: (1) Whether a pension plan covered by the City ordinance is a permissive or prohibited subject of bargaining under Sections 447.301(2) and 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1979)....

...ime during negotiations, must a contractual waiver of an employer's right to make unilateral changes as to a permissive subject such as pension be clear and unequivocal? Id. at 1148-49. In response to the petition, PERC held that §§ 447.301(2) and 447.309(5) removed from public employers the obligation to negotiate over pension plans to the extent that retirement matters are controlled by state statute or local ordinance....

...ained in Section 447.301(2), Florida Statutes, and "except those terms and conditions provided for in any Florida statute or appropriate ordinances relating to retirement and the applicable merit and civil service rules and regulations" contained in Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes, rendered unconstitutional by the following provision of Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution of the State of Florida: "The right of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged"? Id....

...The phrases held unconstitutional by the district court were contained in part II of chapter 447, Florida Statutes, which pertains to public employees labor organizations and implements the provisions of article I, section 6, of the state constitution. Prior to the district court's order, subsections 447.301(2) and 447.309(5) read, in part, as follows: Public employees shall have the right to be represented by any employee organization of their own choosing and to negotiate collectively, through a certified bargaining agent, with their public employer in the de...

...This multi-party, multi-faceted declaratory decree action involves an interpretation of the Public Employees Relations Act [1] (PERA) but resolves itself into one narrow legal issue, that being whether a Civil Service Board has discretion under the provisions of Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1975), to amend or not its rules and regulations which are in conflict with a collective bargaining agreement entered into by and between an employer-agency and certain public employees who otherwise would be regulated in the terms and conditions of their employment by the Civil Service Board. The net effect of the trial court's ruling herein is that a Civil Service Board does have discretion in the premises and we agree. Section 447.309(3) provides as follows: "If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over which the chief executive officer has no amendatory power, the chief executive officer sha...

...[3] The extent to which other limitations may be imposed on a public employee's right to bargain collectively without fatally rendering sterile the right itself must be left to a case by case resolution of the problem. We are not here asked to, nor do we, pass upon the constitutionality of the aforequoted subsection 447.309(3) insofar as it may confer so much unguided discretion on a Civil Service Board as effectively to frustrate the constitutional right of public employees; nor in the present posture of the case do we review the exercise of any such discretion with respect to whether it is arbitrary or unreasonable....

...on Authority). In view whereof, the judgment appealed from should be, and it is hereby, affirmed. HOBSON, Acting C.J., and GRIMES, J., concur. NOTES [1] Sections 447.201, et seq., Florida Statutes (1975). [2] Fla. Const. art. 1, § 6 (1968). [3] See Section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes.

...iations are equally applicable to unilateral changes in subjects not covered by an existing agreement. Terms and conditions not discussed by the parties in negotiations nevertheless continue to be terms and conditions of employment and, by virtue of Section 447.309(1), an employer must negotiate with the certified bargaining agent prior to changing them. The obligation to bargain imposed by Section 447.309(1), extends to all terms and conditions of employment....

...However, the Commission made it clear in its order that "neither the qualitative difference between instruction and supervision nor the number of minutes per week that teachers are required to teach affects the Commission's decision in this case; consequently, no further discussion is warranted." The point seems to be that Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1977), requires the appellant to bargain in good faith with respect to any changes in "wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment." This change falls within the purview of that provision even though it may not be a change of great moment....

...sition taken by the City on the petition. The petition asked the Commission to answer the following questions: (1) Whether a pension plan covered by the City ordinance is a permissive or prohibited subject of bargaining under Sections 447.301(2) and 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1979)....

...teral changes as to a permissive subject such as pension be clear and unequivocal? In response to Question No. 1, the Commission relied on its decision in City of Miami, 4 FPER 4134 (1978), in which it held that the effect of Sections 447.301(2) and 447.309(5), Florida Statutes, was to remove the employees' right to negotiate on retirement to the extent that the subject of retirement is controlled by state statute or local ordinance, but that the statutes do not prohibit such negotiation upon mutual agreement by the parties....

...d in Section 447.301(2), Florida Statutes, and "except those terms and conditions provided for in any Florida statute or appropriate ordinances relating to retirement and the applicable merit and civil service rules and regulations" [1] contained in Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes, rendered unconstitutional by the following provision of Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution of the State of Florida: "The right of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively sha...

...a certified bargaining agent, with their public employer in the determination of the terms and conditions of their employment, excluding any provisions of the Florida Statutes or appropriate ordinances relating to retirement ... (Emphasis supplied.) Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes, also part of the implementing statute, states as follows: *1150 Any collective bargaining agreement shall not provide for a term of existence of more than 3 years and shall contain all of the terms and conditions...

...less such unit has made or concurrently makes provision for the funding of the increase in benefits on a sound actuarial basis. (Art. X, § 14, Fla. Const.) The Division of Retirement points out that the questioned phrases in Sections 447.301(2) and 447.309(5) were added by amendment to those sections by Chapter 77-343, Laws of Florida, and states that such addition was made because of this new constitutional provision; that it was necessary to eliminate retirement from collective bargaining in...

...ender the retirement fund actuarilly unsound unless it makes provision for the funding of the benefit on a sound actuarial basis. If a public employer cannot or does not want to fund a union's proposed retirement benefit, it can say no. In addition, Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes provides as follows: If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over which the chief executive officer has no amendatory power, the chief exec...

...ion. We hold the following phrase contained in Section 447.301(2) Florida Statutes, unconstitutional: "excluding any provisions of the Florida Statutes or appropriate ordinances relating to retirement." We also hold the following phrase contained in Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes, unconstitutional: "except those terms and conditions provided for in any Florida statute or appropriate ordinances relating to retirement." These phrases are severable and are deleted leaving standing the remainder of the respective statutes. State ex rel. Boyd v. Green, 355 So.2d 789 (Fla. 1978). The three questions propounded to PERC by the City each called for an interpretation of the provisions of Sections 447.301(2) and 447.309(5), which we here hold to be unconstitutional....

...bargaining rights is any different from those applicable to private sector employees under federal law. The constitutional right of public employees to bargain collectively encompasses wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. See § 447.309(1), Fla....

...ervice envisioned by the legislature when it passed the statute listing mandatory subjects of bargaining. The majority opinion in this case fails to note that the reason the Iowa Supreme Court narrowly construed the Iowa statute does not exist here. Section 447.309(1), which was enacted to implement the provisions of article I, section 6, provides that the bargaining agent for an employee organization *517 "shall bargain collectively in the determination of the wages, hours, and terms and condit...

...For the employees represented by the petitioner herein, the respondent BOR is designated the public employer. (Section 447.203(2), Florida Statutes 1975) If and when the negotiations between the public employer and the bargaining agent produce an agreement, the chief executive officer of the public employer must, pursuant to Section 447.309(2), in his annual budget request or by other appropriate means, request the legislative body to appropriate such amounts as shall be sufficient to fund the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement....

...On the eve of the legislative hearings which had been scheduled to resolve the impasse as above recited, an agreement was reached, the salary increase element of which called for funding at the 8.85% level. In fulfillment of the responsibilities imposed by Section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes 1975, the official budget request was amended on April 29, 1977, to accommodate the parties' recent agreement....

...employer be construed as an impairment of contract obligations proscribed by Article I, Section 10 of the Florida Constitution. The collective bargaining agreement was negotiated within the existing legal framework. Among the controlling laws was F.S. 447.309(2), by which the Legislature explicitly reserved the right to appropriate "less than the amount requested" to fund the agreement....

...The agreement subsumed the Legislature's appropriations authority. It depended, as the parties knew full well from the outset, upon an appropriation in the amount requested, failing which the agreement was to be administered within the appropriation made. (F.S. 447.309(2)) The respondent was required to request monies from the Legislature sufficient to fund the agreement in full....

...of this State, the provisions of which commit to the Florida Legislature the final say in the appropriation of State monies. That reservation of powers was a part of the agreement. The petitioner was expressly put on notice thereof by the terms of F.S. 447.309(2)....

...Expenditures shall be authorized only in accordance with legislative authorizations." See also Article IV, Sections 4(d) and (e) of the Florida Constitution, respecting the duties of the Comptroller and the Treasurer in fiscal matters and the disbursement of State monies. [4] F.S. 447.309(2), Florida Statutes 1975, provides: "Upon execution of the collective bargaining agreement, the chief executive shall, in his annual budget request or by other appropriate means, request the legislative body to appropriate such amounts as...

...Relations Comm’n, 410 So.2d 487, 489 (Fla.1981) (invalidating statute prohibiting bargaining over retirement benefits); Hillsborough Cnty. Governmental Emp. Ass’n, Inc. v. Hillsborough Aviation Auth., 522 So.2d 358, 362 (Fla.1988) (holding that section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1985), unconstitutionally impaired the constitutional right to "effective” collective bargaining because a portion of the statute provided that collective bargaining agreements do not become effective unless an...

...count of membership or nonmembership in any labor union or labor organization. The right of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged. Public employees shall not have the right to strike. Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1983), provides, in pertinent part, as follows: [T]he bargaining agent for the organization and the chief executive officer of the appropriate public employer or employers, jointly, shall bargain collectively in...

...As expressed by the district court, the drug testing of identified police officers who had allegedly committed drug offenses is "a critical managerial decision which fundamentally impacts upon the functioning of" the police force and thus is excluded from the range of subjects which must be mandatorily bargained under section 447.309, Florida Statutes (1983)....

...We first consider the Union's claim that Rule 38D-20.02 [5] is unconstitutionally *829 vague and is violative of the Union's first amendment rights by requiring the Union to communicate with non-union members of the bargaining unit. This rule was promulgated to effectuate the mandate of section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes, which provides that a collective bargaining agreement is not binding on a public employer until it is ratified "by public employees who are members of the bargaining unit." Section 447.309(4) requires ratification "by a majority vote of employees voting in the unit, in accordance with procedures adopted by the Commission." Since the Public Employees Relations Act gives all employees of a bargaining unit the right to vot...

...Public Employees Relations Act, the latter should prevail. We agree with PERC's determination that the *1019 Public Employees Relations Act prevails over the Escambia County Civil Service Act and its resolution, set forth below, as to the effect of Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes, pertaining to the implementation of a negotiated collective bargaining agreement: The statutory predicate for the Circuit Court's resolution of this problem was Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1979), which reads: If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over which the chief executive officer has no amendatory power, the chief exec...

...ealing, but it overlooks the underlying reality that the School Board and its represented employees can never enter into a collective bargaining agreement which contains any provision of which the Civil Service Board disapproves. It is our view that Section 447.309(3) was ... never intended to operate as a wholesale impediment to collective bargaining, especially bargaining about such basic matters as wages and hours. This interpretation of Section 447.309(3) is further supported when it is read in pari materia with Section 447.601,[ [5] ] Florida Statutes (1979). It seems clear from a reading of both statutes that Section 447.309(3) must be read as contemplating conflicts between collective bargaining agreements and laws or regulations other than laws or regulations relating to civil service systems....

...conditions of employment, any provisions of the collective bargaining agreement in conflict with the Civil Service Act, rules and regulations of the Civil Service Board, or pay plan adopted pursuant to the Civil Service Act, was subject, pursuant to Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1979), to the approval of the Civil Service Board, who could, upon the Superintendent of Schools' petition and in the exercise of its discretion, enact or adopt such amendments to its rules and regulations or seek an amendment to its Act to eliminate the conflicts....

...As this court held in American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, Local 1363 v. Florida Public Employees Relations Commission, 430 So.2d 481 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983) (hereafter "AFSCME, Local 1363"), Section 447.401 must be read in pari materia with Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1981), which provides that collective bargaining agreements "shall contain all of the terms and conditions of employment ......

...tributions, and the City was not, therefore, required to bargain with HCPBA before it implemented the reduction. It is well established that public employers are not only required to bargain over wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment, (section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1983)), but also over any other issues that may have an impact on wages, hours or terms and conditions of employment....

...In February of 1985, the City Council voted to alter the City's rate of contribution to the Police Pension Plan. HCPBA requested the City to negotiate the proposed change on the grounds that it directly affected terms and conditions of employment and, as such, was subject to negotiation. § 447.309....

...(urinalysis) to detect the presence of controlled substances as a condition of continued employment ..." and that the City reinstate the three officers to the status they enjoyed prior to the events of June 1985. The City appeals, and we affirm. II. Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1983), requires that the certified employee organization and the public employer "bargain collectively in the determination of the wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment of the public employees with...

...However, the Commission made it clear in its order that `neither the qualitative difference between instruction and supervision nor the number of minutes per week that teachers are required to teach affects the Commission's decision in this case; consequently, no further discussion is warranted.' The point seems to be that Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1977), requires the appellant to bargain in good faith with respect to any changes in `wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.' This change falls within the purview of that provision even though it may not be a change of great moment." 373 So.2d at 414 (emphasis added)....

...2d DCA) (no duty to bargain where employer changed employees' retirement plan, but change did not have any impact on benefits from or contributions to the plan), review denied, 518 So.2d 1275 (Fla. 1987). III. Mandatory collective bargaining of compulsory drug testing, as well as being required by Section 447.309, Florida Statutes, is also required by the right to work provision of the Florida Constitution....

...with legislative intent. Accordingly, we reverse, finding that requiring police officers to submit to drug testing is not a mandatory subject of collective bargaining and, thus, the City has not engaged in unfair labor practices. [6] , [7] II. Under Section 447.309, Florida Statutes (1983), if a subject involves the determination of "wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment of the public employees," then it is considered a "mandatory" subject of bargaining over which the employer and the union must bargain in good faith to the point of impasse....

..., accordingly, hold that drug testing of police officers is a critical managerial decision which fundamentally impacts upon the functioning of the police force and thus is excluded from the range of subjects which must be mandatorily bargained under Section 447.309, Florida Statutes (1983)....

...ect of drug testing of police officers. [17] We have already discussed, in the previous section, our reasons for holding that drug testing of police officers is a managerial prerogative and thus not a mandatory subject of collective bargaining under Section 447.309, Florida Statutes (1983)....

...Nevertheless, because the court decides this appeal on the merits, I am compelled to write separately. In my view, the issue of how mandatory drug testing should be implemented is a subject of mandatory collective bargaining because it involves the determination of terms and conditions of employment as set forth in section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1985)....

...In School Board, a teachers' union challenged the school board's unilateral alteration of the number of periods into which the school day was to be divided. In holding that the new policy had to be collectively bargained, the court stated that the subject fell within the language in Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1977) as involving a change in "wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment," even though it "may not be a change of great moment." However, in the School Board case, the school board employer had conceded that the subject of the new policy was bargainable....

...In the order, the Commission held that class size and minimum staffing levels are not mandatory subjects of collective bargaining because they do not fall within the ambit of the phrase "wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment" pursuant to § 447.309(1), Florida Statutes....

...position by imposing the "pay freeze" language because it contained a waiver of the employees' bargaining rights. *498 The hearing officer is correct that wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment are mandatory subjects of bargaining. [4] See § 447.309(1) Fla....

...Collective bargaining means a process of mutual obligations in which a public employer and a bargaining agent have to meet at reasonable times, negotiate in good faith, and effect a written contract encompassing agreements reached concerning the wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment. § 447.309(1), Fla....

...ateral action without bargaining over the effects of implementing its decision on the wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment of unit employees, to include the transfer of unit work as an additional negotiable effect. The City appealed. Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1999), provides that a public employer has the obligation to bargain collectively "in the determination of wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment of the public employees within the bargaining unit."...

...if the appropriate governmental body having amendatory power to change a law, rule or regulation which is in conflict with a provision of this Contract fails to enact or adopt an enabling amendment to make the provision effective in accordance with section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes; then such provision shall not be applicable, performed or enforced; but the remaining parts or portions of this Contract shall remain in full force and effect for the term of this Contract....

...ppeal were filed by the PBA and the GEA. *506 We hold that the Authority did not commit unfair labor practices. In its failure to implement the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement the Authority appeared to have acted in accordance with section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1983), which provides: If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over which the chief executive officer [of the public employer] has no amen...

...ing agreement shall not become effective. The Authority had a duty to bargain in good faith. Section 447.501(1)(c). The Authority did not violate that duty. To the contrary, the Authority, after negotiating the agreement, not only appeared to follow section 447.309(3) but also followed this court's opinion in Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association v....

...2d DCA 1977). Pinellas held that the Board has discretion to amend or not amend its rules and regulations when a public employer requests an amendment to eliminate a conflict with a collective bargaining agreement. Pinellas also held that, in accordance with section 447.309(3), collective bargaining agreement provisions are not effective when in conflict with civil service rules and regulations unless and until those rules and regulations are amended to eliminate the conflict....

...They cite Hotel, Motel, Restaurant Employees & Bartenders Union, Local 737, AFL-CIO v. Escambia County School Board, 426 So.2d 1017 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), as representing currently valid law. In Escambia the First District Court of Appeal concluded that section 447.309(3) does not govern conflicts between collective bargaining agreements and civil service laws or regulations. That conclusion appeared to run counter to the literal wording of section 447.309(3), as the First District recognized. The Escambia opinion agreed with PERC's statement in that case that the argument was "facially very appealing" that section 447.309(3) resolves any conflict between a collective bargaining agreement and civil service rules and regulations....

...nt such laws, ordinances, or rules and regulations shall not apply, except as provided in s. 447.301(4). In light of section 447.601, Escambia adopted the argument of PERC in that case that "[i]t seems clear from a reading *507 of both statutes that Section 447.309(3) must be read as contemplating conflicts between collective bargaining agreements and laws or regulations other than laws or regulations relating to civil service systems." 426 So.2d at 1019....

...Secondly, they argue, citing Aerojet-General Corp. v. Askew, 511 F.2d 710 (5th Cir.1975), that the PBA and the GEA are bound by the results of that suit through application of the doctrine of "virtual representation." The appellees disagree with those arguments and also contend that section 447.309(3), as interpreted in Pinellas, is unconstitutional because the pertinent civil service rules and regulations impede public employees' rights under article I, section 6 of the Florida Constitution to collective bargain....

...Whether or not estoppel by judgment is applicable, the Authority, by taking the steps which it took in requesting that the Board amend its rules and regulations so as to eliminate the conflict, followed the law as set out in Pinellas. Also, whether or not section 447.309(3), as interpreted in Pinellas, may be held to be unconstitutional, *508 the Authority followed the established law....

...fter the decision by the first appellate court. Our declining to address that constitutional issue should not be taken as any indication that we share the doubts expressed in Escambia. We are not necessarily inclined to agree that a statute, such as section 447.309(3), could not represent an expression of policy, properly within the legislative sphere, to harmonize collective bargaining agreements with civil service laws and regulations. At the same time, as further explained below, we also do not reach the aspect dealt with in Escambia which apparently involved whether, in light of section 447.601 dealing specifically with civil service rules and regulations, section 447.309(3), which only refers to "any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation," is intended to express that policy. Escambia does not refer to Pinellas, nor does Pinellas refer to section 447.601 on which Escambia relied. Nor does Escambia refer to other differences in the wording of sections 447.309(3) and 447.601. For example, section 447.309(3) refers to a " provision of a collective bargaining agreement ......

...MPLOYER CONFLICT WITH CIVIL SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS AND THE GOVERNMENTAL BODY HAVING AMENDATORY POWER OVER THE CIVIL SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS REFUSES TO AMEND THOSE RULES AND REGULATIONS IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO ELIMINATE THE CONFLICT, DOES SECTION 447.309(3) APPLY TO CIVIL SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS AND THEREFORE GOVERN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT? Any conclusion that the Pinellas interpretation of section 447.309(3), which provides an affirmative answer to the foregoing question, is correct would seem to bring into focus the doubts expressed in Escambia as to the constitutionality of 447.309(3) under that interpretation....

...The further finding was that the policies manifested in the Palm Beach Junior College and City of Daytona cases best effectuated the purposes of PERA. PERC maintains that under the Florida legislative scheme, the duty to bargain arises only after certification. This conclusion is buttressed by § 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1977), which provides: After an employee organization has been certified pursuant to the provisions of this part, the bargaining agent for the organization and the chief executive officer of the appropriate public emp...

...the majority of unit members reject representation by [the union], [the employer's] obligation to bargain collectively remains in effect. PERC further noted in Palm Beach Junior College, 4 FPER 4081, supra, that: The obligation to bargain imposed by Section 447.309(1) arises out of certification of the organization as an exclusive bargaining agent, rather than, as in the private sector, as a result of the organization's maintenance of majority status....

...The Florida Constitution, article 1, section 6, provides that employees have the right, "by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively" and that such right "shall not be denied or abridged." Although there is no precise definition of what must be submitted to collective bargaining, section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (2007), provides that "the bargaining agent for the organization and the chief executive officer of the appropriate public employer or employers, jointly, shall bargain collectively in the determination of the wag...

...d discontinued payment of step increases to all school board employees. The school board also admitted that the parties were involved in negotiating new collective bargaining agreements. As affirmative defenses to the charge the school board claimed section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes (1989), gave the school board authority to fail to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the agreements and that the statute provides that such an action shall not constitute, or be evidence of, an unfair labor practice....

...had a reasonable expectation that they would receive the step increase on July 1, 1991. The hearing officer found that the school board had not established the defense of waiver or shown that it had properly underfunded *1146 the budget pursuant to section 447.309(2) and then held that exigent circumstances, although not pled, required immediate action....

...PERC adopted the hearing officer's findings of fact and agreed that the school board had not established a waiver, but disagreed with his holding that the board had pled and proved exigent circumstances. PERC also rejected the school board's contention that it had acted properly pursuant to section 447.309(2). In discussing the school board's contention, PERC stated that section 447.309(2) allows a public employer to unilaterally alter terms and conditions of employment, thereby avoiding its section 447.309(1) bargaining obligation. Because section 447.309(2) impairs the right of employees to bargain collectively, guaranteed by Article I, section 6, Florida Constitution, the statute must be accorded a strict construction....

...effect. The commission concluded that the section is inapplicable to an employer's action during a hiatus and, therefore, cannot shield the school board from liability for unilaterally terminating the step increases. Based upon its interpretation of section 447.309(2), PERC entered an order finding that the school board violated section 447.501(1)(a) and (c) by unilaterally discontinuing salary step increments during the hiatus between collective bargaining agreements. This timely appeal followed. We disagree with PERC's holding that section 447.309(2) is not applicable in this case because the bargaining agreements had expired and the parties were negotiating new ones....

...We conclude that the statute applies whenever a legislative body, such as the school board in this case, is requested to appropriate public funds to satisfy an obligation which arises out of collective bargaining. If we were to accept the agency's interpretation of section 447.309(2), a public employee would have a right he did not bargain for, i.e....

...subject matter of this action, the superintendent, as chief executive officer of the school board, requested the board, as a legislative body, to appropriate sufficient funds to fully implement the agreements. This request which was made pursuant to section 447.309(2) was approved and the agreements were fully funded for the initial year. In preparing and submitting his annual budget requests for the next two years of the agreement, the superintendent, also pursuant to section 447.309(2), requested sufficient funds to maintain the agreements....

...step increases at any time funded agreements were in effect. We would not, however, hold it to be an unfair labor practice if the school board, before ratifying the agreements, or in adopting its annual budgets, had not fully funded the agreements. § 447.309(2); United Faculty v....

...he legislative body has the absolute right and obligation under the constitution to fund or not fund any agreement entered into between the employees and the school board as their employer. The legislature clearly reserved this right when it enacted section 447.309(2) and made it clear that underfunding an agreement was not an unfair labor practice....

...Any other rule would permit the executive branch of government, by entering into collective bargaining agreements calling for additional appropriations, to invade the legislative branch's exclusive right to appropriate funds. Florida Police Benevolent Ass'n. PERC applied a strict interpretation to section 447.309(2) because it concluded that it impairs the right of employees to bargain collectively as guaranteed by Article I, section 6 of the Florida Constitution. In doing *1149 so, PERC concluded that the section only applied when an agreement was in existence. We disagree with both conclusions. Section 447.309(2) does not impair the right to bargain....

...priate public moneys. United Faculty. We, accordingly, disagree with PERC's conclusion that the statute must be strictly construed because it impairs the right to bargain collectively. As mentioned above, we also disagree with PERC's conclusion that section 447.309(2) only applies when there is an agreement in existence....

...We conclude it applies whenever it is necessary to appropriate funds to implement a requirement that arises out of collective bargaining. The appropriation of funds is the absolute right of the legislative body. The school board had this right before it entered into any agreements. Section 447.309(2) reserved this right after the agreements were executed, and it must be construed to reserve the right to underfund any obligation that arises from collective bargaining....

...00 tons of wood pellets at a fiscal year 1984/85 price of $63.36 per ton. The department shall not supplement these funds from any source in the absence of express Legislative authority, (emphasis supplied) . The opinion there notes the provision in section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes (1975), by which the legislature reserved the right to appropriate "less than the amount requested” to fund the agreement, and provided that when less than the bargained contract amount is appropriated, the "agreement shall be administered ......

been amended several times by referendum. Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes, recognizes that agents

...As previously indicated in AGO 075-224, the intent of the Legislature in enacting the Public Employees Relations Act clearly appears to allow the ratification of a bargaining agreement to be completed and the appropriation to be requested after the normal budget deadlines or the commencement of the fiscal year. See s. 447.309 (2) and (4), F.S....

...er on the basis of the amounts appropriated by the legislative body. The failure of the legislative body to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the collective bargaining agreement shall not constitute, or be evidence of, any unfair labor practice. [Section 447.309 (2), F.S....

...The Hillsborough County case, however, dealt with mandatory bargaining provisions such as wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. See generally City of Miami v. F.O.P., Miami Lodge 20, 571 So.2d 1309, 1320 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (“Under Section 447.309, Florida Statutes (1983), if a subject involves the determination of ‘wages, hours, and terms and conditions of *521 employment of the public employees,’ then it is considered a ‘mandatory’ subject of bargaining over which the...

...ng to sign a final agreement agreed upon with the certified bargaining agent for the public employees in the bargaining unit. § 447.501(l)(a) and (c), Fla. Stat. (2010). The Legislature further defined the duty to engage in collective bargaining in section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (2010)....

...ntract to the process of enacting legislation. Our conclusion that the last-minute proposal amounted to a denial of the right to collective bargaining is supported not only by a practical assessment of the facts, but also by the applicable statutes. Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes states that the “bargaining agent for the organization and the chief executive officer of the appropriate public employer or employers, jointly, shall bargain collectively in the determination of the wages, hour...

...ernor, and not by a third party to whom the process has been delegated. Here, the Governor’s proposal granted a third party a unilateral right to impose a new condition in the agreement, and, in that respect, it was contrary to the requirements of section 447.309(1)....

...This state’s public policy is best effectuated by ... [Requiring the state, local governments, and other political subdivisions to negotiate with bargaining agents duly certified to represent public employees. *1074 § 447.201, Fla. Stat. (2008). Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (2008), requires a public employer to bargain collectively the wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment for employees in each certified bargaining unit....

...Terns and conditions not discussed by the parties in negotiations nevertheless continue to be terms and conditions of employment and, by virtue of Section ¼7.309(1), an employer must negotiate with the certified bargaining agent prior to changing them. The obligation to bargain imposed by Section 447.309(1), extends to all terms and conditions of employment....

the legislative body of the public employer. Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1975). Any agreement

...PERC agreed with the Union that here there was no “agreement.” The facts, as found by the hearing officer, are essentially undisputed. The City of Hollywood (City) and the Hollywood Municipal Employees Local 2432 (Union), while engaged in collective bargaining pursuant to Section 447.309, Florida Statutes, tentatively “signed off” on 31 proposals....

...gation to bargain over items which are legislatively resolved, had the effect of foreclosing any bargaining on those issues resolved by the legislative body for so long as the legislative body decided the term would be, up to a limit of three years. Section 447.309(4)....

...5th DCA 1980), prompted the Legislature to amend the impasse resolution procedures by the enactment of subsection (4)(e) of Section 447.403, the last sentence of which requires: If such agreement is not ratified by all parties, pursuant to the provisions of s. 447.309, the legislative body’s action taken pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (d) shall take effect as of the date of such legislative body’s action for the remainder of the first fiscal year which was the subject of negotiations; howev...

...e legislative body, the parties are specifically required to reduce the com-píete agreement to writing (including agreed-upon items, and legislatively resolved items), and submit the agreement for ratification pursuant to the existing provisions in s. 447.309. [emphasis added] The Watt Amendment to House Bill 1655 deleted from the proposed subsection (4)(e) reference to returning to Section 447.309(4), which contains provisions for further bargaining....

course of the collective bargaining process. Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes, provides that the chief

...While the Legislature has mandated that each public employer and bargaining agent must negotiate a grievance procedure, it has not, in Section 447.401, specified which issues must be included in the procedure. Section 447.401 must be read in pari mate-ria with Section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1981), which sets forth the matters which must be included in a collective bargaining agreement....

...Collective bargaining means a process of mutual obligations in which a public employer and a bargaining agent have to meet at reasonable times, negotiate in good faith, and effect a written contract encompassing agreements reached concerning the wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment. § 447.309(1), Fla....

...This multi-party, multi-faceted declaratory decree action involves an interpretation of the Public Employees Relations Act 1 (PERA) but resolves itself into one narrow legal issue, that being whether a Civil Service Board has discretion under the provisions of Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1975), to amend or not its rules and regulations which are in conflict with a collective bargaining agreement entered into by and between an employer-agency and certain public employees who otherwise would be regulated in the terms and conditions of their employment by the Civil Service Board. The net effect of the trial court’s ruling herein is that a Civil Service Board does have discretion in the premises and we agree. Section 447.309(3) provides as follows: “If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over which the chief executive officer has no amendatory power, the chief executive officer s...

...3 The extent to which other limitations may be imposed on a public employee’s right to bargain collectively without fatally rendering sterile the right itself must be left to a case by case resolution of the problem. We are not here asked to, nor do we, pass upon the constitutionality of the aforequoted subsection 447.309(3) insofar as it may confer so much unguided discretion on a Civil Service Board as effectively to frustrate the constitutional right of public employees; nor in the present posture of the case do we review the exercise of any such discretion with respect to whether it is arbitrary or unreasonable....

...ounty Aviation Authority). In view whereof, the judgment appealed from should be, and it is hereby, affirmed. HOBSON, Acting C. J., and GRIMES,-J., concur. . Sections 447.201, et seq., Florida Statutes (1975). . Fla.Const. art. 1, § 6 (1968). . See Section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes.

...ount of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization. The right of employees, by and through a labor organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged. Public employees shall not have the right to strike. Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes, says: If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance rule or regulation over which the chief executive officer has no amendatory power, the chief executive officer sh...

...In that case the Supreme Court considered whether the refusal of a civil service board to amend its rules in order to comply with a collective bargaining agreement would violate, because the refusal would abridge the right of the employees to bargain collectively. The Court held that Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes, would be unconstitutional if the statute was interpreted to allow a civil service board to veto the provision of a collective bargaining agreement that had been negotiated by a public employer and a certified employee organization....

...arising between collective bargaining agreements and statutes or ordinances. Rather, we object to the unbridled discretion of civil service boards to strike down collective bargaining agreements through their rule making and amendatory powers. Thus, section 447.309(3) stands as it applies to conflicts between statutes or ordinances and agreements reached between public employers and employees through the art of collective bargaining....

...itution. Having arrived at this conclusion, it is now appropriate to consider the Supreme Court’s language in the Hillsborough County case quoted earlier that caused the Attorney General to opine that the referendum was required. In concise terms, Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes, says that if there is a conflict between a collective bargaining agreement and any law, ordinance, rule or regulation, the chief executive of the governmental entity must, if he or she has no amendatory power, submit the matter to the governmental body that can make the amendment....

...ict with civil service rules and regulations and the governmental body having amendatory power over the civil service rules and regulations refuses to amend those rules and regulations in such a manner as to eliminate the conflict, does section *242 447.309(3) apply to civil service rules and regulations and therefore govern the effectiveness of the collective bargaining agreement? Hillsborough County, supra, 522 So.2d at 359 ....

...ement. The Supreme Court said no, and required the public employer to implement the collective bargaining agreement despite its conflict with the civil service rules. Immediately before the questioned language the high court held essentially that if Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes, were interpreted to allow a civil service board to veto a collective bargaining agreement, then the statute had to be unconstitutional as applied. In the language that is troubling this court, the Supreme Court then notes that its holding does not apply to conflicts between collective bargaining agreements and statutes and ordinances, and that Section 447.309(3) still governs those conflicts....

...rgaining agreements. Finally, and most importantly, the real conflict in the present case is not between the collective bargaining agreement and any statute or ordinance, it is between two unintentionally conflicting statutes: Section 166.021(4) and Section 447.309(3)....

...ORDERED, DECLARED AND ADJUDGED that the referendum requirement of Section 166.021(4), Florida Statutes, with respect to the collective bargained Pension Agreement in this case is violative of Article-1, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution, and that in accordance with Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes, no referendum is nee- *243 essary for the City to ratify the subject pension agreement....

...4th DCA 1976), the trial court’s dismissal was reversed where the action concerned cancellation of an incentives award program which was held not to be arguably embraced in Part II, Chapter 447, Public Employees Relations Act. . The circuit court may wish to harmonize Section 447.309, and especially Section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1977), with Chapter 75-464....

public employee. However, subparagraph (3) of Section 447.309, concerning collective bargaining and the subjects

...enactments by public boards; Times Publishing Company v. Williams , 222 So.2d 470 , 473 (Fla. 2d DCA 1969). 2 See, City of Fort Myers v. News-Press Publishing Company, Inc., 514 So.2d 408 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 75-48 (1975). 3 See, s. 447.309 , Fla. Stat.; City of Winter Haven v. Florida Public Employees Relations Commission , 358 So.2d 1374 , 1376 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). 4 Section 447.309 (1), Fla. Stat. 5 Section 447.309 (4), Fla....

...ppeal were filed by the PBA and the GEA. *506 We hold that the Authority did not commit unfair labor practices. In its failure to implement the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement the Authority appeared to have acted in accordance with section 447.309(3), Florida Statutes (1983), which provides: If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over which the chief executive officer [of the public employer] has no amen...

...ing agreement shall not become effective. The Authority had a duty to bargain in good faith. Section 447.501(l)(c). The Authority did not violate that duty. To the contrary, the Authority, after negotiating the agreement, not only appeared to follow section 447.309(3) but also followed this court’s opinion in Pinellas County Police Benevolent Association v....

...2d DCA 1977). Pinellas held that the Board has discretion to amend or not amend its rules and regulations when a public employer requests an amendment to eliminate a conflict with a collective bargaining agreement. Pinellas also held that, in accordance with section 447.309(3), collective bargaining agreement provisions are not effective when in conflict with civil service rules and regulations unless and until those rules and regulations are amended to eliminate the conflict....

...They cite Hotel, Motel, Restaurant Employees & Bartenders Union, Local 737, AFL-CIO v. Escambia County School Board, 426 So.2d 1017 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983), as representing currently valid law. In Escambia the First District Court of Appeal concluded that section 447.309(3) does not govern conflicts between collective bargaining agreements and civil service laws or regulations. That conclusion appeared to run counter to the literal wording of section 447.309(3), as the First District recognized. The Escambia opinion agreed with PERC’s statement in that case that the argument was “facially very appealing” that section 447.309(3) resolves any conflict between a collective bargaining agreement and civil service rules and regulations....

...such laws, ordinances, or rules and regulations shall not apply, except as provided in s. 447.-301(4). In light of section 447.601, Escambia adopted the argument of PERC in that case that “[i]t seems clear from a reading *507 of both statutes that Section 447.309(3) must be read as contemplating conflicts between collective bargaining agreements and laws or regulations other than laws or regulations relating to civil service systems.” 426 So.2d at 1019 ....

...Secondly, they argue, citing Aerojet-General Corp. v. Askew, 511 F.2d 710 (5th Cir.1975), that the PBA and the GEA are bound by the results of that suit through application of the doctrine of “virtual representation.” The ap-pellees disagree with those arguments and also contend that section 447.309(3), as interpreted in Pinellas, is unconstitutional because the pertinent civil service rules and regulations impede public employees’ rights under article I, section 6 of the Florida Constitution to collective bargain....

...Whether or not estoppel by judgment is applicable, the Authority, by taking the steps which it took in requesting that the Board amend its rules and regulations so as to eliminate the conflict, followed the law as set out in Pinellas. Also, whether or not section 447.309(3), as interpreted in Pinellas, may be held to be unconstitution *508 al, the Authority followed the established law....

...fter the decision by the first appellate court. Our declining to address that constitutional issue should not be taken as any indication that we share the doubts expressed in Escambia. We are not necessarily inclined to agree that a statute, such as section 447.309(3), could not represent an expression of policy, properly within the legislative sphere, to harmonize collective bargaining agreements with civil service laws and regulations. At the same time, as further explained below, we also do not reach the aspect dealt with in Escambia which apparently involved whether, in light of section 447.601 dealing specifically with civil service rules and regulations, section 447.309(3), which only refers to “any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation,” is intended to express that policy. Escambia does not refer to Pinellas, nor does Pinellas refer to section 447.6Ó1 on which Escambia relied. Nor does Escambia refer to other differences in the wording of sections 447.-309(3) and 447.601. For example, section 447.309(3) refers to a “provision of a collective bargaining agreement ......

...PLOYER CONFLICT WITH CIVIL SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS AND THE GOVERNMENTAL BODY HAVING AMEND-ATORY POWER OVER THE CIVIL SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS REFUSES TO AMEND THOSE RULES AND REGULATIONS IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO ELIMINATE THE CONFLICT, DOES SECTION 447.309(3) APPLY TO CIVIL SERVICE RULES AND REGULATIONS AND THEREFORE GOVERN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT? Any conclusion that the Pinellas interpretation of section 447.309(3), which provides an affirmative answer to the foregoing question, is correct would seem to bring into focus the doubts expressed in Escambia as to the constitutionality of 447.309(3) under that interpretation....

...ative resolution of an impasse. FFUAPD v. State of Florida, 16 FPER 21115 (1990); Palowitch v. Orange County School Bd., 3 FPER 280 (1977), affirmed, 367 So.2d 730 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979). In regard to the exception by legislative resolution of impasse, section 447.309(2), Florida Statutes (1991), provides: [U]pon execution of the collective bargaining agreement, the chief executive shall, in his annual budget request or by other appropriate means, request the legislative body to appropriate such am...

...The failure of the legislative body to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the collective bargaining agreement shall not constitute, or be evidence of, any unfair labor practice. (Emphasis added). This appeal turns on whether the "collective bargaining agreement" referred to in section 447.309(2) refers to the general contract governing the parties, or to the specific provision on wages as the Commission concluded. The Commission held there was no existing collective bargaining agreement on wages, since the parties were actively negotiating on that issue under the "reopener" provision referred to above. *523 The terms of section 447.309(2) are unambiguous. After a collective bargaining agreement is negotiated and concluded in good faith, section 447.309(2) prevents any subsequent legislative underfunding from being used as evidence of an unfair labor practice against the public employer....

...This statute makes no exception for the situation involved herein where the public employer wears two hats, one as the public employer, and the other as the legislative body. Despite the absence of a precise definition of "collective bargaining agreement" in chapter 447, section 447.309(5) does provide the basic characteristics of a "collective bargaining agreement": Any collective bargaining agreement shall not provide for a term of existence of more than 3 years and shall contain all of the terms and conditions of employment of the employees in the bargaining unit .. . except those terms and conditions provided for in applicable merit and civil service rules and regulations. By both a plain reading of section 447.309(2), and a consideration of section 447.309(5), it appears that "collective bargaining agreement" as used in section 447.309 refers to the entire existing agreement between the parties. CONCLUSION We conclude that the plain meaning of section 447.309(2) requires reversal. The benefit of section 447.309(2) to a public employer is triggered by the execution of the collective bargaining agreement which in our case occurred well before the reopened negotiations on wages and the subsequent legislative underfunding. We hold a reopen provision, contained in an existing collective bargaining agreement, and negotiations begun pursuant thereto, do not remove the protection of section 447.309(2) for the School Board with respect to the salary provisions of the agreement....

...The failure of the legislative body to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the collective bargaining agreement shall not constitute, or be evidence of, any unfair labor practice. (Emphasis added). This appeal turns on whether the “collective bargaining agreement” referred to in section 447.309(2) refers to the general contract governing the parties, or to the specific provision on wages as the Commission concluded. The Commission held there was no existing collective bargaining agreement on wages, since the parties were actively negotiating on that issue,under the “reopener” provision referred to above. *523 The terms of section 447.309(2) are unambiguous. After a collective bargaining agreement is negotiated and concluded in good faith, section 447.309(2) prevents any subsequent legislative underfunding from being used, as evidence of an unfair labor practice against the public employer....

...This statute makes no exception for the situation involved herein where the public employer wears two hats, one as the public employer, and the other as the legislative body. Despite the absence of a precise definition of “collective bargaining agreement” in chapter 447, section 447.309(5) does provide the basic characteristics of a “collective bargaining agreement”: Any collective bargaining agreement shall not provide for a term of existence of more than 3 years and shall contain all of the terms and conditions of employment of the employees in the bargaining unit ......

...except those terms and conditions provided for in applicable merit and civil service rules and regulations. By both a plain reading of section 447.-309(2), and a consideration of section 447.-309(5), it appears that “collective bargaining agreement” as used in section 447.309 refers to the entire existing agreement between the parties. CONCLUSION We conclude that the plain meaning of section 447.309(2) requires reversal. The benefit of section 447.309(2) to a public employer is triggered by the execution of the collective bargaining agreement which in our case occurred well before the reopened negotiations on wages and the subsequent legislative underfunding. We hold a reopen provision, contained in an existing collective bargaining agreement, and negotiations begun pursuant thereto, do not remove the protection of section 447.309(2) for the School Board with respect to the salary provisions of the agreement....

the legislative body of the public employer. Section 447.309, F.S.; City of Winter Haven v. Florida Public

...City of Dunedin, 8 FPER ¶ 13102 (1982), has held that such a unilateral increase in insurance premiums is, in fact, an unfair labor practice. Prior PERC decisions have held that an employee insurance program is a term and condition of employment within the meaning of Section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1981) and is a subject of bargaining....

of the agreement does not become effective. Section 447.309(3), F. S. The fact that negotiations may result

...nal order entered upon petition for declaratory statement filed by the appellee Levy County Education Association. The order found that supplemental pay for coaching duties performed by teachers is a “wage” subject to collective bargaining under section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1983)....

...PERC previously held in Martin County Education Association v. School Board of Martin County, 5 FPER sec. 10199 (1979), affd. per curiam, 380 So.2d 582 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980), that supplemental pay for coaching duties performed by teachers was not a wage subject to collective bargaining under section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1983)....

...t coaching and teaching duties are separate and distinct and held that such extracurricular duties, athletic and nonathletic, are at least in part instructional in nature. It concluded that supplemental pay for coaches who also teach is a wage under section 447.309(1), Florida Statutes (1983)....

...Basic contract law,, which PERC and the Union have correctly cited and argued extensively in their briefs, clearly requires ratification and approval of a proposed agreement by both parties before either party is bound. This principle is recognized in section 447.309(4), Florida Statutes (1979). Clearly, then, the City would be obligated to bargain upon demand, if only basic contract principles apply, because of the Union’s failure to ratify the agreement. The City, because of the language of section 447.309(4), in the context of section 447.309 as a whole, suggests that it is not totally clear whether legislative action is conditioned upon the ratification of both parties. Ratification is clearly required under section 447.309(4) in the case of a contract reached without impasse....

...ct duration articles. It is compelling that the duration of an agreement is as substantive as the amount of sick pay provided. Chapter 447, Florida Statutes (1975) does not specifically authorize resolution of impasse as to length of a contract, but section 447.309(1) gives as the subject of collective bargaining “[Wjages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.” A reasonable interpretation of “terms and conditions of....

...o obligation on either party to bargain further. The Union argues that if the interpretation we now reach prevails no public body will ever accept less than a multiple year contract. This danger was anticipated by the Legislature in its enactment of section 447.309(5), Florida Statutes (1975) limiting any collective bargaining agreement for public employees to three years....

...Because the parties were no longer at impasse, the County Commission was not authorized to act as the legislative body to resolve any bargaining issues, and the ensuing legislative body action was void from the outset. The County and the ATU should have resumed negotiations after the second TA was rejected by the employees. § 447.309(4), Fla....

...e., a legislative body proceeding that was not authorized by law because the parties were no longer at impasse. As PERC determined in Sarasota County, under the terms of the impasse statute such proceedings were void from the outset, and pursuant to section 447.309(4) the parties were required to resume negotiations after the tentative agreement was rejected by the union membership rather than proceed to a legislative body hearing....

...The legislature, however, provided for a two and one-half percent wage increase in the 2000-2001 General Appropriation Act. P.B.A. filed a declaratory action in circuit court based upon the legislature’s action. P.B.A. argued in the complaint that Section 8.1.A(1) of the 2000-2001 General *586 Appropriation Act 1 , section 447.309(2)(b) 2 , Florida Statutes, and the overall conduct of the state, Governor Bush and the Florida Legislature during the bargaining process, were all unconstitutional as violations of the fundamental right to bargain collectively which is guaranteed by Article I, Section 6, of the Florida Constitution....

...ntent of the Legislature for all eligible unit and non-unit employees assigned to the Security Services pay plan to receive a competitive pay adjustment of 2.5% on each employee's September 30, 2000, base rate of pay, effective October 1, 2000.” . Section 447.309(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2000) provides: "If the state is a party to a collective bargaining agreement in which less than the requested amount is appropriated by the Legislature, the collective bargaining agreement shall be administered on the basis of the amounts appropriated by the Legislature....