CHAPTER 353
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 465
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FAIR SHARE FEES AND THE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 1302, Title 19 of the Delaware Code, by adding a new subsection, and by redesignating the subsequent subsections, which new subsection shall read:
"(k) 'Fair Share Fee' means a fee that a nonmember shall be required to pay to his or her exclusive representative to offset his or her pro-rata share of the exclusive representative's expenditures. Such fee shall be equal in amount to regular membership dues that a member of the exclusive representative's affiliated organizations, provided that the exclusive representative establishes and maintains a procedure by which any nonmember fee payer may obtain a rebate.".
Section 2. Amend § 1302, Title 19 of the Delaware Code, by adding a new subsection, and by redesignating the subsequent subsections, which new subsection shall read:
"(n) 'Nonmember' means an employee who is not a member of the exclusive representative, but whom the exclusive representative is required to represent pursuant to this Chapter.".
Section 3. Amend § 1302, Title 19 of the Delaware Code, by adding a new subsection, and by redesignating the subsequent subsections, which new subsection shall read:
"(q) 'Rebate' means that portion of a nonmember's pro-rata share of the expenditures of the exclusive representative which are not made for purposes pertaining to the collective bargaining process, contract administration, or pursuit of matters affecting wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.".
Section 4. Amend Chapter 13, Title 19 of the Delaware Code, by adding a new section, to read:
"§ 1319 Fair Share Fees.
(a) Where the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement so provide, a public employer shall deduct a fair share fee from each nonmember's salary or wages and promptly transmit this amount to the exclusive representative.
(b) As a precondition to the collection of fair share fees, the exclusive representative shall establish and maintain a procedure that:
(i) provides nonmembers with an adequate explanation of the basis for the fee and any rebate;
(ii) provides nonmembers with a reasonably prompt opportunity to challenge the amount of the fee and any rebate before an impartial decision-maker; and
(iii) provides an escrow for the amounts reasonably in dispute while such challenges are pending.
A public employer shall not refuse to carry out its obligations under subsection (a) of this section on the grounds that the exclusive representative has not satisfied its responsibilities under this subsection.
(c) In order to avoid undue delays in the receipt of, and determination of the validity of, fair share fees or rebates, any suit challenging a fair share fee or rebate must be filed within six months after receipt of the notice described in Subsection (b) of this section, or within six months after the nonmember exhausts the procedure described in Subsection (b) of this Section, whichever is later.".
Section 5. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall, for any reason, be adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this Act and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, or part thereof, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered and to the person or circumstances involved; and, to this end, the provisions of this Act are declared to be and are severable.