You asked how a “professional employee” is defined under the state employee collective bargaining law and how the State Board of Labor Relations applies the term.

The Office of Legislative Research is not authorized to provide legal opinions and this report should not be construed as one.

The State Board of Labor Relations (the “board”) is the quasi-judicial agency that conducts hearings and issues decisions related to collective bargaining under the State Employees Relations Act (SERA) and other state collective bargaining laws. It adjudicates prohibited practice complaints, union representation issues, and employee status regarding appropriateness of an employee unit for a particular type of employee. The board consists of three members appointed by the governor.

Under SERA (CGS § 5-270(c)) “professional employee” means

1. any employee engaged in work that:

a. is predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work;

b. involves the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance;

c. is of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given time period; and

d. requires knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual study in a college or university or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education, an apprenticeship, or training in the performance of routine mental, manual, or physical processes; or

2. any employee who has completed the courses of specialized intellectual study described above in (d) and performs related work under the supervision of a professional person to qualify to become a professional employee as defined above in (1).

Two decisions illustrate how the board applies this term to situations where placing an employee in one union or another hinges on whether the employee is considered a professional. These cases (Attachments 1 and 2) hold precedent for applying the definition of professional.

Links

Links for the attachments:

1. Board of Labor Relations, Decision No. 2157 (1982):

www.ctdol.state.ct.us/csblr/decisions-pdf/1982/2157.pdf

2. Board of Labor Relations, Decision No. 2980 (1992):

www.ctdol.state.ct.us/csblr/decisions-pdf/1992/2980.pdf.

JM:ak