Question of the Month: Can a school board member vote on the district’s negotiated collective bargaining agreement if their family member is employed by the district?  

Ohio’s Ethics Law generally prohibits a public official from using their influence to secure authorization of a public contract for the public official’s family. However, the Ohio Ethics Commission has held that a school board member can vote, discuss, deliberate, lobby or otherwise participate in the ratification or rejection of a negotiated collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that affects their family member, so long as the following criteria are met:  

SERB Data as a Resource

For those school districts who will be involved in negotiations in 2020, now is the time to start your preparations and draft proposals. Of course, knowing exactly what to propose is usually an amalgam of available resources coupled with trends and expectations.

Collective Bargaining Seminar

Join the Division of Legal Services at OSBA’s offices on Friday, Sept. 6 for our second collective bargaining workshop. The program will cover the bargaining process, current issues and some difficult subjects in school negotiations. You will also leave with important tips for effective bargaining and discuss some frequently exchanged bargaining proposals.

Upcoming Collective Bargaining Seminar

OSBA’s Division of Legal Services will be offering a new seminar on October 1, 2018, focusing on the basic theories and practices of collective bargaining.

 

Janus: an end to fair share fees

In a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled today that the State of Illinois’ extraction of agency fees from non-consenting public-sector employees violates the First Amendment.

Arming School Employees and Collective Bargaining

In the current discussions involving school shooting incidents and arming staff members, one interesting question that inevitably arises concerns collective bargaining issues that may come into play as well. Obviously, permitting staff to possess firearms, as well as expecting them to use them if the situation dictates can be construed as a term or condition of employment.