TO: Deans, Directors, Department Heads and Administrators

FROM: Keith Hood, Manager of Labor Relations

DATE: December 1, 2008

The State Office of Labor Relations circulated the following information regarding employee/employer rights and obligations regarding union representation at investigatory interviews which may result in disciplinary action.

• Management should notify employees of the right to union representation at an investigatory meeting which may lead to disciplinary action. If the employee chooses to waive this right, a written waiver is recommended.
• Management may not select the union representative for the employee.
• Management should allow time for the employee to consult with a union representative before the meeting. Work time must be granted if the expediency of the meeting does not allow for the use of personal time for this consultation.
• Management cannot require the union representative to remain silent throughout the meeting.
• Employees cannot unreasonably delay the investigatory interview by insisting on a union representative who is absent from the work site when there is another representative available.
• The union representative may not transform the meeting into a purely adversarial confrontation between the union and the employer.

Please call Labor Relations with any questions at (860) 486-5684.