81-1377. Negotiation of labor contracts; Nebraska State Patrol; limitation on disciplinary procedures or collective bargaining.

(1) The Chief Negotiator or any other employer-representative and the exclusive collective-bargaining agent for employees under the Chief Negotiator's or employer-representative's jurisdiction shall bargain and negotiate labor contracts in good faith and reasonably in advance of the budget-making process.

(2) Retirement programs shall not be bargainable by or on behalf of any state employee.

(3) Nothing in the disciplinary procedures or collective-bargaining agreement of the Nebraska State Patrol shall:

(a) Limit the discretion of the Superintendent of Law Enforcement and Public Safety to disclose to the Legislature, the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, the Nebraska Police Standards Advisory Council, the Equal Opportunity Commission, or a complainant the status or outcome of an internal investigation or discipline;

(b) Limit the consideration by the patrol, for purposes of progressive discipline, of disciplinary action in a prior case that occurred within the ten years preceding the date such progressive discipline is imposed;

(c) Limit the time during which a disciplinary investigation may be initiated or discipline may be imposed to less than two years after the occurrence of the conduct which is the subject of the investigation or discipline;

(d) Require the release to a member who is under internal investigation for an allegation that could result in a charge of a Class I misdemeanor or felony or an allegation involving dishonesty, prior to the initial internal investigation interview, of reports and materials concerning the internal investigation of such member, except that the member shall be entitled to know the nature of the complaint underlying the investigation;

(e) Limit or restrict access by the individual or individuals conducting the internal investigation to materials, including records of current or past discipline or misconduct, regarding the member under investigation; or

(f) Prevent, limit, or restrict access by the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice to internal investigation reports or materials.

(4) The obligation to negotiate in good faith shall not compel the Chief Negotiator or any other employer-representative or the exclusive collective-bargaining agent to agree to a proposal or make a concession.

(5) All contracts involving state employees and negotiated pursuant to the Industrial Relations Act or the State Employees Collective Bargaining Act shall cover a two-year period coinciding with the biennial state budget, except that the first contract entered into by a bargaining unit may cover only the second fiscal year of the biennium.

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Annotations

The specific number of unused sick leave hours included in a retirement calculation does not constitute a retirement program under subsection (2) of this section. Livengood v. Nebraska State Patrol Ret. Sys., 273 Neb. 247, 729 N.W.2d 55 (2007).