Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County; The Petitioner sought a declaration as to whether its implementation of a mandatory influenza vaccination policy is a mandatory subject of bargaining. According to the petition the Petitioner, which is a ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT SERVICES

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Public Employees Relations Commission (Commission) has declined to rule on the petition for declaratory statement filed by Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County on April 26, 2016. The following is a summary of the agency's declination of the petition:

The Petitioner sought a declaration as to whether its implementation of a mandatory influenza vaccination policy is a mandatory subject of bargaining. According to the petition the Petitioner, which is a public employer, is party to collective bargaining agreements with the Service Employees International Union, Local 1991, and the Dade County Public Employees Local 1363, AFSCME, AFL-CIO (the Unions). The Petitioner intends to implement a mandatory influenza vaccination policy in August 2016 that will be applicable to healthcare employees, including members of the bargaining units represented by the Unions. The policy will require that all healthcare employees receive the influenza vaccine, free of charge, unless there is an approved medical or religious exemption. Exempted employees will be required by the policy to wear a surgical mask while delivering patient care and while in patient care areas for the duration of the influenza season. The Petitioner maintains that it is its management right to implement this mandatory influenza vaccination policy and has no obligation to bargain with the Unions other than over potential impacts of the policy. The petition asserts that the Unions have expressed opposition on the grounds that they contend the policy is a mandatory subject of bargaining and unilateral imposition of the policy would violate Section 447.503, Florida Statutes. The Commission declined to rule on the question raised by the petition because the issue has ripened into an actual controversy. A petition for declaratory statement is not the appropriate procedure for resolving an existing dispute. To the extent that any party is entitled to any relief, the proper procedure is to file an unfair labor practice charge.

A copy of the Order Declining of the Petition for Declaratory Statement may be obtained by contacting: The Clerk, Public Employees Relations Commission, 4708 Capital Circle NW, Suite 300, Tallahassee, Florida 32303-7256.

Please refer all comments to: The Clerk, Public Employees Relations Commission, 4708 Capital Circle NW, Suite 300, Tallahassee, Florida 32303-7256.