Designation of employees as managerial
PEF and State of New York, 35 PERB 4047
PERB's Director of Public Employment Practices and Representation Monte Klien ruled that incumbent of the position must participate in the policy making process on a regular basis in contrast to merely serving as a high level supervisor in order for the individual to be designated managerial.*
The Public Employees Federation [PEF] objected to having the incumbent of the position of Forester 4 in the State Department of Environmental Conservation designated managerial and thereby excluded from the State's Professional, Scientific and Technical Unit represented by PEF.
Although the incumbent, Bruce Williamson, performed high-level supervisor duties and made recommendations that were used in formulating policy, this was not found sufficient to justify designating him managerial within the meaning of the Taylor Law. Kline pointed out that PERB has consistently followed the Legislature's caution that "employees be excluded from bargaining units only upon a very clear exercise of managerial responsibilities" and it is the employer's burden to present evidence "which compels such exclusion."
Kline said that "[w]hile an employee need not be the ultimate decision maker to be designated a policy formulator, the employee must participate with regularity in the process by which policy making decisions are made." The Department of Environmental Conservation was unable to demonstrate this factor to Kline's satisfaction and he ruled that the Forester 4 position encumbered by Williamson should be included in the unit represented by PEF. * Although there it a tendency to refer to “managerial” or “confidential” positions, it is the incumbent of the position, rather than the position itself, that is designated “managerial” or “confidential”. For example, Section 201.7(a) of the Civil Service Law provides, in pertinent part, as follows: “Employees may be designated as managerial only if they are persons ... who ….” See, also, paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) of §201.7 that also define “managerial” in terms of incumbents of certain positions in contrast to designating the positions themselves as “managerial.”