To amend sections 9.81, 4113.02, 4117.03, 4117.05, 4117.09, and 4117.11; to amend, for the purpose of adopting a new section number as indicated in parentheses, section 4113.02 (4119.04); and to enact sections 4117.031, 4117.081, 4119.01, 4119.02, 4119.03, 4119.05, 4119.06, 4119.07, and 4119.99 of the Revised Code to remove any requirement under the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Law that public employees join or pay dues to any employee organization, to expand the scope of unfair labor practices under that law, to make other changes in the Public Employees Collective Bargaining Law, to prohibit any requirement that employees of private employers join or pay dues to any employee organization and to require public and private employers to post notices to that effect, to prohibit certain actions by private employers relative to employee organization membership, and to establish civil and criminal penalties against private employers who violate those prohibitions.

Section 1.  That sections 9.81, 4113.02, 4117.03, 4117.05, 4117.09, and 4117.11 be amended; section 4113.02 (4119.04) be amended for the purpose of adopting a new section number as indicated in parentheses; and sections 4117.031, 4117.081, 4119.01, 4119.02, 4119.03, 4119.05, 4119.06, 4119.07, and 4119.99 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 9.81.  After an authorization adopted under section 9.80 of the Revised Code, any public officer or employee of any department or division of the state, any political subdivision or school district thereof, or of any institution supported in whole or in part by the state, a county, or municipal corporation, who desires to make a contribution by the payroll deduction plan to one or more of the specified charitable agencies which are corporations not for profit, community chests, united funds, or other similar united community fund organizations, may be permitted to have such contribution payments deducted from the salary or wages due such public officer or employee by filing a written request and authorization signed by such public officer or employee and specifying the amount of the deduction in each payroll period with the fiscal officer of the state, political subdivision, or school district, or institution by which such public officer or employee is employed. Such authorization may be withdrawn in writing by such public officer or employee at any time. No funds may be withheld from the salary or wages of any such public officer or employee for the purposes permitted by sections 9.80 and 9.81 of the Revised Code unless the withholding is specifically, freely, and voluntarily authorized by that public officer or employee in writing.

Upon receipt of evidence of such request by the appropriate fiscal officer, or upon receipt of a written deduction authorization under division (B)(2) or (C) of section 4117.09 of the Revised Code, such fiscal officer shall make such deduction and shall, at periodic intervals to the extent of the amount collected, pay the designated charitable agencies which are corporations not for profit, community chests, united funds, or other similar united community fund organizations, or the exclusive representative designated under section 4117.05 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4117.03.  (A) Public employees have the right to:

(1) Form, join, assist, or participate in, or refrain from forming, joining, assisting, or participating in, except as otherwise provided in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code, any employee organization of their own choosing;

(2) Engage in, and refrain from engaging in, other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection;

(3) Representation by an employee organization;

(4) Bargain collectively with their public employers to determine wages, hours, terms and other conditions of employment and the continuation, modification, or deletion of an existing provision of a collective bargaining agreement, and enter into collective bargaining agreements;

(5) Present grievances and have them adjusted, without the intervention of the bargaining representative, as long as the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of the collective bargaining agreement then in effect and as long as the bargaining representatives have the opportunity to be present at the adjustment;

(6) Refuse any representation by an exclusive representative or an employee organization;

(7) Authorize their public employers to deduct from their wages, earnings, or compensation any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind to be held for or paid over to an exclusive representative. The authorization shall be in writing and signed by the employee.

(B) Persons on active duty or acting in any capacity as members of the organized militia do not have collective bargaining rights.

(C) Except as provided in division (D) of this section, nothing in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter prohibits public employers from electing to engage in collective bargaining, to meet and confer, to hold discussions, or to engage in any other form of collective negotiations with public employees who are not subject to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter pursuant to division (C) of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code.

(D) A public employer shall not engage in collective bargaining or other forms of collective negotiations with the employees of county boards of elections referred to in division (C)(12) of section 4117.01 of the Revised Code.

(E) Every public employer that receives a written authorization from a public employee pursuant to division (A)(7) of this section shall promptly notify the employee, in writing, that the employee may revoke the authorization at any time by providing the employer with a written notice of the revocation. The revocation becomes effective thirty days after the public employer receives the revocation.

Sec. 4117.031.  No public employer shall do any of the following:

(A) Require any person, as a condition of employment or of the continuation of employment, to become or remain a member of any exclusive representative;

(B) Require any person, as a condition of employment or of the continuation of employment, to pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind, including fair share fees, to an exclusive representative unless the person is a member of that exclusive representative;

(C) Require any person engaged in agricultural labor to be referred, recommended, or approved by an exclusive representative as a condition of employment or of the continuation of employment;

(D) Deduct from the wages, earnings, or compensation of any public employee any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind, including fair share fees, to be held for or paid over to an exclusive representative unless the public employer first receives a written authorization for those deductions in accordance with division (A)(7) of section 4117.03 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4117.05.  (A) An employee organization becomes the exclusive representative of all the public employees in an appropriate unit for the purposes of collective bargaining by either:

(1) Being certified by the state employment relations board when a majority of the voting employees in the unit select the employee organization as their representative in a board-conducted election under section 4117.07 of the Revised Code;

(2) Filing a request with a public employer with a copy to the state employment relations board for recognition as an exclusive representative. In the request for recognition, the employee organization shall describe the bargaining unit, shall allege that a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit wish to be represented by the employee organization, and shall support the request with substantial evidence based on, and in accordance with, rules prescribed by the board demonstrating that a majority of the employees in the bargaining unit wish to be represented by the employee organization. Immediately upon receipt of a request, the public employer shall either request an election under division (A)(2) of section 4117.07 of the Revised Code, or take the following action:

(a) Post notice in each facility at which employees in the proposed unit are employed, setting forth the description of the bargaining unit, the name of the employee organization requesting recognition, and the date of the request for recognition, and advising employees that objections to certification must be filed with the state employment relations board not later than the twenty-first day following the date of the request for recognition;

(b) Immediately notify the state employment relations board of the request for recognition.

The state employment relations board shall certify the employee organization filing the request for recognition on the twenty-second day following the filing of the request for recognition, unless by the twenty-first day following the filing of the request for recognition it receives at least one of the following:

(i) A petition for an election from the public employer pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 4117.07 of the Revised Code;

(ii) Substantial evidence based on, and in accordance with, rules prescribed by the board demonstrating that a majority of the employees in the described bargaining unit do not wish to be represented by the employee organization filing the request for recognition;

(iii) Substantial evidence based on, and in accordance with, rules prescribed by the board from another employee organization demonstrating that at least ten per cent of the employees in the described bargaining unit wish to be represented by such other employee organization; or

(iv) Substantial evidence based on, and in accordance with, rules prescribed by the board indicating that the proposed unit is not an appropriate unit pursuant to section 4117.06 of the Revised Code.

(B) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit a public employer to recognize, or the state employment relations board to certify, an employee organization as an exclusive representative under Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter if there is in effect a lawful written agreement, contract, or memorandum of understanding between the public employer and another employee organization which, on the effective date of this section April 1, 1984, has been recognized by a public employer as the exclusive representative of the employees in a unit or which by tradition, custom, practice, election, or negotiation has been the only employee organization representing all employees in the unit; this restriction does not apply to that period of time covered by any agreement which exceeds three years. For the purposes of this section, extensions of agreement do not affect the expiration of the original agreement.

(C) Nothing in this section shall be construed to infringe upon the rights of individual employees under section 4117.03 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4117.081.  (A) Every public employer shall post in a conspicuous place and keep continuously displayed the notice described in division (B) of this section. Each public employer shall provide a copy of the notice to each employee at the time the employee is first hired and at the time of any change in the employee's employment status, including, but not limited to, the promotion, demotion, or lay-off of the employee.

(B) The notice required to be posted and displayed pursuant to division (A) of this section shall read as follows:

Under Ohio law, public employees are protected in choosing whether to join or to refrain from joining exclusive union representatives. It is unlawful for a public employer and an exclusive representative to enter into a contract or agreement that requires employees to pay dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind as a condition of obtaining or keeping a job. Under the law, a public employer is prohibited from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because that employee joins an exclusive representative or refuses to join or pay dues or other charges to an exclusive representative. This notice is posted pursuant to section 4117.081 of the Revised Code."

Sec. 4117.09.  (A) The parties to any collective bargaining agreement shall reduce the agreement to writing and both execute it.

(B) The agreement shall contain a provision that:

(1) Provides for a grievance procedure which may culminate with final and binding arbitration of unresolved grievances, and disputed interpretations of agreements, and which is valid and enforceable under its terms when entered into in accordance with this chapter. No publication thereof is required to make it effective. A party to the agreement may bring suits for violation of agreements or the enforcement of an award by an arbitrator in the court of common pleas of any county wherein a party resides or transacts business.

(2) Authorizes the public employer to deduct the periodic dues, initiation fees, and assessments of members of the exclusive representative upon presentation of a written deduction authorization by the employee pursuant to division (A)(7) of section 4117.03 of the Revised Code.

(C) The agreement may contain a provision that requires as a condition of employment, on or after a mutually agreed upon probationary period or sixty days following the beginning of employment, whichever is less, or the effective date of a collective bargaining agreement, whichever is later, that the employees in the unit who are not members of the employee organization pay to the employee organization a fair share fee. The arrangement does not require any employee to become a member of the employee organization, nor shall fair share fees exceed dues paid by members of the employee organization who are in the same bargaining unit. Any public employee organization representing public employees pursuant to this chapter shall prescribe an internal procedure to determine a rebate, if any, for nonmembers which conforms to federal law, provided a nonmember makes a timely demand on the employee organization. Absent arbitrary and capricious action, such determination is conclusive on the parties except that a challenge to the determination may be filed with the state employment relations board within thirty days of the determination date specifying the arbitrary or capricious nature of the determination and the board shall review the rebate determination and decide whether it was arbitrary or capricious. The deduction of a fair share fee by the public employer from the payroll check of the employee and its payment to the employee organization is automatic and does not require the written authorization of the employee.

The internal rebate procedure shall provide for a rebate of expenditures in support of partisan politics or ideological causes not germaine to the work of employee organizations in the realm of collective bargaining.

Any public employee who is a member of and adheres to established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization and which is exempt from taxation under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be required to join or financially support any employee organization as a condition of employment. Upon submission of proper proof of religious conviction to the board, the board shall declare the employee exempt from becoming a member of or financially supporting an employee organization. The employee shall be required, in lieu of the fair share fee, to pay an amount of money equal to the fair share fee to a nonreligious charitable fund exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code mutually agreed upon by the employee and the representative of the employee organization to which the employee would otherwise be required to pay the fair share fee. The employee shall furnish to the employee organization written receipts evidencing such payment, and failure to make the payment or furnish the receipts shall subject the employee to the same sanctions as would nonpayment of dues under the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

No public employer shall agree to a provision requiring that a public employee become a member of an employee organization as a condition for securing or retaining employment. Any agreement that purports to require that employees join or pay any moneys to any exclusive representative is void and unenforceable.

(D) As used in this division, "teacher" means any employee of a school district certified to teach in the public schools of this state.

The agreement may contain a provision that provides for a peer review plan under which teachers in a bargaining unit or representatives of an employee organization representing teachers may, for other teachers of the same bargaining unit or teachers whom the employee organization represents, participate in assisting, instructing, reviewing, evaluating, or appraising and make recommendations or participate in decisions with respect to the retention, discharge, renewal, or nonrenewal of, the teachers covered by a peer review plan.

The participation of teachers or their employee organization representative in a peer review plan permitted under this division shall not be construed as an unfair labor practice under this chapter or as a violation of any other provision of law or rule adopted pursuant thereto.

(E) No agreement shall contain an expiration date that is later than three years from the date of execution. The parties may extend any agreement, but the extensions do not affect the expiration date of the original agreement.

(F) Any agreement, understanding, or practice, written or oral, between a public employer and an exclusive representative that violates this chapter is void and unenforceable.

Sec. 4117.11.  (A) It is an unfair labor practice for a public employer, its agents, or representatives to:

(1) Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter or an employee organization in the selection of its representative for the purposes of collective bargaining or the adjustment of grievances;

(2) Initiate, create, dominate, or interfere with the formation or administration of any employee organization, or contribute financial or other support to it;, except that a public employer may permit employees to confer with it during working hours without loss of time or pay, permit the exclusive representative to use the facilities of the public employer for membership or other meetings, or permit the exclusive representative to use the internal mail system or other internal communications system;

(3) Discriminate in regard to hire or tenure of employment or any term or condition of employment on the basis of the exercise of rights guaranteed by Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code. Nothing precludes any employer from making and enforcing an agreement pursuant to division (C) of section 4117.09 of the Revised Code. this chapter;

(4) Discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because he the employee has filed charges or given testimony in good faith under Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter;

(5) Refuse to bargain collectively with the representative of his the employer's employees recognized as the exclusive representative or certified pursuant to Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter;

(6) Establish a pattern or practice of repeated failures to timely process grievances and requests for arbitration of grievances;

(7) Lock out or otherwise prevent employees from performing their regularly assigned duties where an object thereof is to bring pressure on the employees or an employee organization to compromise or capitulate to the employer's terms regarding a labor relations dispute;

(8) Cause or attempt to cause an employee organization, its agents, or representatives to violate division (B) of this section;

(9) Encourage or discourage membership in an exclusive representative by discriminating in the hiring, tenure, or other terms and conditions of employment;

(10) Enter into an all-exclusive representative agreement that requires its employees to become members of an exclusive representative;

(11) Violate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, including a term requiring the acceptance of an arbitration award;

(12) Refuse to obey an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction under this chapter;

(13) Deduct dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind, including fair share fees, from an employee's earnings except as provided in section 4117.03 of the Revised Code;

(14) Employ or retain any person to observe, covertly or otherwise, employees or their representatives when, or to determine when, those employees or representatives are exercising their rights under this chapter;

(15) Make, circulate, or cause to be made or circulated an employee blacklist. For purposes of this division, "blacklist" means an understanding or agreement by which the names of employees or potential employees or a list of their names, descriptions, or other means of identification is spoken, written, or implied for the purpose of being communicated or transmitted between two or more employers or their agents in order to prevent or prohibit the identified employees or potential employees from securing employment with one of those employers. A "blacklist" does not include either of the following:

(a) Job performance information of former or current employees provided by an employer pursuant to section 4113.71 of the Revised Code;

(b) Communications concerning employees, prospective employees, or former employees made by an employer, prospective employer, or former employer that are required by law.

(16) Commit any crime in connection with any controversy regarding employment relations with its employees, an exclusive representative, or an employee organization under this chapter;

(17) Fail to conspicuously post and maintain the notice required by section 4117.081 of the Revised Code.

(B) It is an unfair labor practice for an employee organization, its agents, or representatives, or public employees to:

(1) Restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter. This division does not impair the right of an employee organization to prescribe its own rules with respect to the acquisition or retention of membership therein, or an employer in the selection of his the employer's representative for the purpose of collective brgaining bargaining or the adjustment of grievances.

(2) Cause or attempt to cause an employer to violate division (A) of this section;

(3) Refuse to bargain collectively with a public employer if the employee organization is recognized as the exclusive representative or certified as the exclusive representative of public employees in a bargaining unit;

(4) Call, institute, maintain, or conduct a boycott against any public employer, or picket any place of business of a public employer, on account of any jurisdictional work dispute;

(5) Induce or encourage any individual employed by any person to engage in a strike in violation of Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code this chapter or refusal to handle goods or perform services; or threaten, coerce, or restrain any person where an object thereof is to force or require any public employee to cease dealing or doing business with any other person, or force or require a public employer to recognize for representation purposes an employee organization not certified by the state employment relations board;

(6) Fail to fairly represent all public employees in a bargaining unit;

(7) Induce or encourage any individual in connection with a labor relations dispute to picket the residence or any place of private employment of any public official or representative of the public employer;

(8) Engage in any picketing, striking, or other concerted refusal to work without giving written notice to the public employer and to the state employment relations board not less than ten days prior to the action. The notice shall state the date and time that the action will commence and, once the notice is given, the parties may extend it by the written agreement of both.

(C) The determination by the board or any court that a public officer or employee has committed any of the acts prohibited by divisions (A) and (B) of this section shall not be made the basis of any charge for the removal from office or recall of the public officer or the suspension from or termination of employment of or disciplinary acts against an employee, nor shall the officer or employee be found subject to any suit for damages based on such a determination; however, nothing in this division prevents any party to a collective bargaining agreement from seeking enforcement or damages for a violation thereof against the other party to the agreement.

(D) As to jurisdictional work disputes, the board shall hear and determine the dispute unless, within ten days after notice to the board by a party to the dispute that a dispute exists, the parties to the dispute submit to the board satisfactory evidence that they have adjusted, or agreed upon the method for the voluntary adjustment of, the dispute.

Sec. 4119.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Employer" means every person, firm, and private corporation that employs one or more employees regularly in the same business or in or about the same establishment under any contract of hire, whether the contract is express or implied, or oral or written. "Employer" does not include a "public employer" as defined in section 4117.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) "Employee" means every person, including an individual engaged in agricultural labor, in the service of any employer.

(C) "Employee organization" means any labor or bona fide organization in which employees participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment.

Sec. 4119.02.  No employer or agent or representative of an employer, individually or in concert, shall do any of the following:

(A) Require any person, as a condition of employment or of the continuation of employment, to become or remain a member of any employee organization;

(B) Require any person, as a condition of employment or of the continuation of employment, to pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind, including fair share fees, to an employee organization unless the person is a member of that employee organization;

(C) Require any person engaged in agricultural labor to be referred, recommended, or approved by an employee organization as a condition of employment or of the continuation of employment with the employer;

(D) Deduct from the wages, earnings, or compensation of any employee any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind, including fair share fees, to be held for or paid over to an employee organization unless the employer first receives a written authorization for those deductions as provided in section 4119.03 of the Revised Code;

(E) Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in this chapter;

(F) Discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee because the employee has filed charges or given testimony in good faith under this chapter;

(G) Enter into an all-employee organization agreement that requires its employees to become members of an employee organization;

(H) Refuse to obey an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction under this chapter;

(I) Employ or retain any person to observe, covertly or otherwise, employees or their representatives when, or to determine when, those employees or representatives are exercising their rights under this chapter;

(J) Make, circulate, or cause to be made or circulated an employee blacklist. For purposes of this division, "blacklist" means an understanding or agreement by which the names of employees or potential employees or a list of their names, descriptions, or other means of identification is spoken, written, or implied for the purpose of being communicated or transmitted between two or more employers or their agents in order to prevent or prohibit the identified employees or potential employees from securing employment with one of those employers. A "blacklist" does not include either of the following:

(1) Job performance information of former or current employees provided by an employer pursuant to section 4113.71 of the Revised Code;

(2) Communications concerning employees, prospective employees, or former employees made by an employer, prospective employer, or former employer that are required by law.

(K) Commit any crime in connection with any controversy regarding employment relations with its employees or an employee organization under this chapter;

(L) Fail to conspicuously post and maintain the notice required by section 4119.05 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4119.03.  (A) An employee may authorize the employee's employer to deduct from the employee's wages, earnings, or compensation any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind to be held for or paid over to an employee organization. The authorization shall be in writing and signed by the employee.

(B) Every employer that receives a written authorization from an employee pursuant to division (A) of this section shall promptly notify the employee, in writing, that the employee may revoke the authorization at any time by providing the employer with a written notice of the revocation. The revocation becomes effective thirty days after the employer receives the revocation.

Sec. 4113.02 4119.04.  (A) Every undertaking or promise, whether written or oral, express or implied, constituting, or contained in, any contract or agreement of hiring or employment between any individual, firm, association, or corporation, and any employee or prospective employee of the same, whereby either party to such contract or agreement undertakes or promises not to join, become, or remain a member of any labor employee organization or of any organization of employers, or either party to such contract or agreement undertakes or promises that he the party will withdraw from the employment relation in the event that he the party joins, becomes, or remains a member of any labor employee organization or of any organization of employers, is contrary to public policy and void.

(B) Any agreement, understanding, or practice, written or oral, between an employer and an employee organization that violates this chapter is void and unenforceable.

Sec. 4119.05.  (A) Every employer shall post in a conspicuous place and keep continuously displayed the notice described in division (B) of this section. Each employer shall provide a copy of the notice to each employee at the time the employee is first hired and at the time of any change in the employee's employment status, including, but not limited to, the promotion, demotion, or lay-off of the employee.

(B) The notice required to be posted and displayed pursuant to division (A) of this section shall read as follows:

Under Ohio law, employees are protected in choosing whether to join or to refrain from joining an employee organization. It is unlawful for an employer and an employee organization to enter into a contract or agreement that requires employees to pay dues, fees, assessments, or charges of any kind as a condition of obtaining or keeping a job. Under the law, an employer is prohibited from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because that employee joins an employee organization or refuses to join or pay dues or other charges to an employee organization. This notice is posted pursuant to section 4119.05 of the Revised Code."

Sec. 4119.06.  Any person who is injured or is likely to be injured as a result of a violation of this chapter may bring an action for injunctive relief in the court of common pleas in the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred, and may recover any actual damages the person sustained as a result of the violation or threatened violation.

Sec. 4119.07.  Any person may file a complaint alleging a violation of this chapter with the attorney general and the county prosecutor of the county in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. The attorney general and the county prosecutor shall investigate any complaints of an alleged violation of this chapter.

Sec. 4119.99.  Any person, employer, or employee organization who violates this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Section 2.  That existing sections 9.81, 4113.02, 4117.03, 4117.05, 4117.09, and 4117.11 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3.  Sections 9.81, 4117.03, 4117.05, 4117.09, and 4117.11 of the Revised Code, as they existed before the effective date of this act, shall apply to all collective bargaining agreements in existence before the effective date of this act. Sections 9.81, 4117.03, 4117.05, 4117.09, and 4117.11 of the Revised Code, as amended by this act, and sections 4117.031 and 4117.081 of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act, shall apply to all collective bargaining agreements entered into on or after the effective date of this act.

Section 4.  (A) Chapter 4119. of the Revised Code, as enacted by this act, applies only to collective bargaining agreements and extensions and renewals of those agreements entered into on or after the effective date of this act.

(B) Nothing in Chapter 4119. of the Revised Code abrogates, annuls, or modifies, or may be construed as abrogating, annulling, or modifying, any valid collective bargaining agreement between an employer and employee organization except as provided in division (A) of this section.