HBA-CMT H.B. 3113 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3113
By: Ritter
Corrections
4/1/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The employee grievance policy at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(TDCJ) lacks third party input and participation. Current agency policy
mandates a three-step grievance process through which all decisions on an
employee-filed grievance are decided by supervisors, wardens, and the
executive director of TDCJ.  There is no access to nonbiased third-party
decision-making in the current process.  House Bill 3113 establishes both
mediation and arbitration as problem-solving techniques and authorizes
mediation in the second step of the process and third-party binding
arbitration in the final step of the grievance process. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 3113 amends the Government Code to require the Texas Board of
Criminal Justice (board) to establish procedures and practices by November
1, 2001, through which the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) will
address employment-related grievances and requires the board to establish
specified practices and procedures.  The bill provides that on the request
of either party of a grievance, mediation must be used in an attempt to
resolve the grievance relating to the discharge of an employee on its
submission or on an appeal.  The bill provides that if a party to the
employment-related grievance fails to comply with the adopted time limits,
the opposing party prevails in the grievance action.   

The bill authorizes an employee to be represented by a person selected by
the employee to participate  in the employment-related grievance process on
behalf of the employee and sets forth provisions for employee participation
in the grievance process.   

The bill requires the TDCJ and the employee to enter into binding
arbitration, at the choice of the employee in the grievance action and sets
forth procedures for the arbitration process.  The bill provides that a
grievance action is confidential except to the extent that the provisions
pertaining to public information apply, and prohibits TDCJ from retaliating
against an employee who files an employment-related grievance. 

The bill requires the department to submit an annual report to the board on
TDCJ's use of the employmentrelated grievance process, and sets forth
content requirements for the report. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.