Conditions of employment are personnel policies, practices or matters
that affect the working conditions of employees. Personnel policies can
range from leave policies, dress codes, merit promotion policies, discipline
procedures, etc. This includes written rules for managing employees.
Personnel practices are often unwritten rules such as swapping weekend
overtime assignments, employees’ use of coffee mess, length of lunch
periods, or anything that that has become a “past practice” if followed
consistently for a long period of time, with the knowledge and acceptance of
union and management. Other conditions of the employees’ work environment
include things such as lights, air-conditioning, parking, safety, cafeteria,
etc.
- Conditions of employment do not include policies, practices, and
matters
- relating to political activities prohibited under civil service
law,
- relating to classification of positions, or
- specifically provided for by Federal statute.
- Changes to working conditions are subject to union
notification/bargaining obligations. Conditions of employment may impact
one bargaining unit employee or a large group of bargaining unit
employees; nevertheless labor obligations must be adhered to and unions
must be notified when there will be changes to conditions of employment.
The duty to bargain is limited to negotiable conditions of employment of
bargaining unit employees and when the changes are not otherwise
inconsistent with law or applicable rule or regulation.